Today we're going to look at mice, the simple yet hugely important part of a computer that most of us take for granted.

Many of the issues and problems associated with mice are similar to those associated with keyboards, which we covered a couple of weeks ago. I do not intend to waste your earthling hours repeating the keyboard issues, except to say that you should troubleshoot mice by applying the keyboard troubleshooting techniques I covered back there, only for mice this time.

Let's look over the main problems associated with mice, that aren't similar to keyboard problems. Usually any problems can be resolved by proper cleaning and if that doesn't do the job, then reinstallation of the device-drivers.

Cleaning a mouse is a pretty straightforward task and will require you to twist the mouse-ball cover (usually shown with two arrows on its base), remove the mouseball and give the rollers inside and the mouseball a good clean. Inside the mouse you will find three rollers, and you will probably be surprised to find that each has "threads" of grease and dirt attached. They are responsible for a slow but relentless deterioration in the freedom of your mouse. These threads are often hard and will require gentle (and I MEAN gentle ? you do not want to scratch the rollers) scraping with a screwdriver in order to remove them. Doing this may sound tedious, but you will usually notice a great deal of difference when you put the mouse back together. The mouseball needs to be rough in texture in order to gain the correct amount of traction on the mouse mat, and often you will find that the mouseball is shiny with grease too, which will also contribute to the deterioration in mouse freedom. A thorough rub with a pencil eraser will usually return the matt finish that is required, and if not, a gentle rub with the striking-face of a matchbox or sandpaper will do it ? be careful not to over-rub ? an uneven mouseball will cause you just as many problems as an unclean one. Re-assemble the mouse and try it. Even if you weren't experiencing that many problems, you will notice a difference if you do this every few months, anyway.

If that does not do the job, then we need to uninstall the software that translates your mouse movement into letters on the screen. Such software is called a device-driver, and there is one for every item of hardware on your computer. To remove the device driver (on Windows XP), "right click" on "My Computer" and select "Properties". Go to the Hardware tab, and select the "Device Manager" button. You will be presented with a "family-tree" of the devices in your computer, and against each there will be a tiny "+" (plus) sign, which you can click on to expand the contents. Look down the list for "Mice and other pointing devices" and expand it, by clicking on the plus-sign. Most of the time, you will see one entry here, and it will be a PS/2 compatible mouse. Select it and press the "Delete" key on your computer (only do this if you are experiencing some problems ? do not try this just for the sake of it!). You may now find, depending on the type of mouse you have, that you can now no longer direct the pointer with your mouse. This is normal, and you must now press your "Windows" Key (usually next to the Ctrl key, and keep pressing the down-arrow key, until "Shutdown" is selected, and then select the "Shutdown" option in the drop down list. If any of this cannot be done, simply press and hold your power button for six seconds and the computer will shutdown.

When you switch it back on, during the boot process (which we will cover in detail in a few weeks time), the mouse will be reinstalled using a fresh copy of the device driver.

A word of caution: Now that you know how to remove and force re-install device drivers, do not be misled into thinking that this is the approach you should take with all apparently failing items: Beware that many hardware items do not have a bundled device driver (i.e. the operating system does not have an included copy).