For the last couple of weeks, my cursor has been moving on it's own. As I'm holding the mouse gently (not clicking), I can feel the vibration of the ball moving on its own - the cursor either moves straight up, straight down, straight left, or straight right - no curves. I can put a little pressure on the mouse pad and it stops. Also, it only moves when I've got my hand resting gently on it. Once it starts, taking my hand off doesn't stop it.

I've cleaned the mouse but that didn't do any good and no one else has noticed anything wrong with it when they use my computer.

That's really strange. My first thought was that the mouse needed cleaning but you've already done that. The only other non paranormal things I can come up with is that your wearing something that has become magnetized or has a lot of static electricity. You might want to take off your watch, rings and anything else metal to see if it still happens.

One more little question... does the mouse cord rest against anything else besides the desktop & mousepad? I have noticed that the cord can sometimes be stiff enough to move the mouse if the cord is pushed up against something. I have noticed this happening to me sometimes with my old mouse, because my desktop is kinda crowded.

My new mouse is like a cheap hotel (no ballroom) LOL, since it is the optical type, and hasn't a ball at all. A red light beam shines on the mousepad, and this is how it finds its way around.... but it presents a new problem. The mouse doesn't have to move at all, and the cursor will often jump about 1/4 inch on the screen. This happens most when I am using a scrollbar. It jumps from the 'Down Arrow' to the 'Up Arrow' at the bottom of the scrollbar for the browser window. This is very aggrivating when I am scrolling through a long page, and I suddenly change direction without realizing it.... GRRR!!! Now, I am moving upward, and looking at things I have already seen!!! I have tried to change the sensitivity settings, etc., but I must not have found the right one yet. =P Maddening!!!!!

Thanks for the non-paranormal suggestions - keep them coming!

I had thought of static electricity and magnatism. I can't think of anything that would cause this. I don't usually wear much jewlery and I do keep a bottle of hand lotion by my computer that I'm constantly using so I think we can rule those two things out.

I just checked my cord and it moves very freely and there's nothing tangling it besides, this happens when I'm holding the outer case of the mouse (it is not moving) but I can still feel the ball moving inside - like it's moving in place but still making contact with the rollers that control the cursor. Also, this mouse doesn't have the scrolling feature - when I want to page up or down, I have to use the scroll bar on the right of the screen.

I've thought about getting one of those laser mice but maybe I'll think again.

I've experienced the cord problem. While working on the computer I've seen the pointer moving seemingly on its own. I found it was the cord. It could be just that the cord is pushing straight against the mouse. That is not really having anything in the way just tension on the cord in a linear direction sometimes causes the mouse to move.
I might also be a slight case of psychokenesis. Maybe subconscious mind powers are manifesting themselves and moving the mouse!!! =)

Psychokenesis. Now that could be cool!

Mouse update -

The cursor is still moving on it's own here and there. The other day, it started to move up so instead of putting more pressure on it to make it stop, I released my grip on the mouse and it moved out of my hand slightly until the cursor reached the top of the screen and then it stopped. I thought maybe something was putting pressure on the cord and was pulling it out of my hand but I couldn't find any kinks or other cords that might be putting weight on it to make it move.

Just now, it did the opposite. The cursor started to move down so I released my grip and the mouse moved backward until it hit my palm and couldn't move any further.

Now pulling the cord I can understand but there's nothing I can think of that would push the cord to make the mouse move backward.

I'd buy or borrow another mouse and see if the problem happens with it as well... it could be a faulty mouse. Or maybe you have a ghost who wants to send e-mail or something!

Kevin..

That is strange, Connie! Yeah, I think I'd try another mouse for a while to see if it continues. Another thing - does your mouse have any preferences (prefs) or settings that can be thrown away so that it builds new ones? Sometimes the prefs can become corrupt from crashes, etc.

Kell