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Ever since I connected two 27 inch monitors to my laptop I have been experiencing "mouse-shifts". The mouse pointer jumps from one screen to the other (on a random place), or stops moving even if I move the mouse, until I lift the mouse and hold it away from the surface for 2 or 3 seconds and then everything becomes normal.

This originally started with my wired Dell mouse. I swapped it for a wired Lenovo mouse, but I experienced the same behavior.

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What is wrong here?

How do I go about fixing this?

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What operating system? –  Wuffers Jun 28 '11 at 2:12
Why are people downvoting this? @Raj More: a little more information would help us understand the issue at hand. It might be batteries or shiny surfaces. –  maxmackie Jun 28 '11 at 17:09
The mouse has no batteries. I changed from a table top to using a mouse pad, but the issue did not go away. –  Raj More Jun 28 '11 at 18:57

3 Answers 3

Sometimes a bad mouse can cause that. Have you tried another mouse? I've also seen it happen with various optical mice on patterned or glossy surfaces (Is "Laser" the type or is it the brand of mouse?).

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Yes, I changed from a Dell Optical Mouse to a Lenovo Optical mouse, but the problem remains. –  Raj More Jun 28 '11 at 18:56
Have you changed the surface you're using? Do you have a different USB port to try, or perhaps even a PS/2 port? –  Brian Knoblauch Jun 28 '11 at 20:03
It is probably my USB port misbehaving. I changed to a different port and the problem has gone! –  Raj More Jul 3 '11 at 17:21

Cat hair - Clean the lens and your work surface.

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Yes, cat hair is shocking stuff. Get a cotton ear bud or tweezers. –  Valamas Aug 17 '11 at 0:25
up vote 0 down vote accepted

Turned out to be a bad USB port.

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