Twice over the last two months I have 'upgraded' the driver for my hoary old Microsoft Trackball Explorer. It is the pointing device of choice here at the Castle of Confusion, aka The Home for Wayward Trackballs. Each time I have upgraded, I have experienced cursor freezing by the mouse. It moves erratically, slows down and then refuses to budge.
Each time I open up the innards of the Trackball Explorer and shoo away any dust. Usually, it's surprisingly sparse. Almost non-existent. And you know, the operation doesn't solve a blessed thing. So I stick in one my Logitech Track Man Wheels (told ya I have several), use IT to roll back the Microsoft mouse driver to the 2001 version and reboot the computer.
Presto! It's like magic. As long as I resist the urge to 'upgrade' when Microsoft puts out a new Intellipoint Driver, I'm working like normal. It DOES figure that my trackball breaks when I 'upgrade.' It's a discontinued model and Microsoft doesn't make any money off me while I continue to use it. I SHOULD know that's the purpose of 'upgrading,' but I'm old and I forget sometimes.
Let's hope I'll remember NOT to upgrade next time. This shutting down and rebooting takes time!
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