Five-Minute Fixes

Keep the Input Flowing

Slow and Steady Mouse

Problem: Your mouse pointer pops up all over the screen, like the target in a game of whack-a-mole.

Quick fix: You may have a conflict with graphics hardware acceleration. Right-click the desktop, choose Properties, Settings, Advanced, Troubleshooting, and select Troubleshoot in XP or Performance in 98 and Me. Move the slider next to 'Hardware acceleration' one notch to the left (see FIGURE 5). If your mouse now works fine, you can keep the setting there, but be aware that you've turned off some of the hardware-acceleration features that Windows uses to speed graphics.

Not-so-quick fix: To get rid of the conflict without slowing down your hardware, look for and install updated drivers for your graphics card and mouse.

Fluid Keystrokes

Problem: You just spilled a cup of coffee on your keyboard.

Quick fix: First, switch to decaf. Then unplug the keyboard as quickly as possible and turn it upside down to keep the liquid from penetrating the keyboard's case. Let the keyboard dry for a few hours. (Okay, maybe that's not so quick, but it's probably faster than replacing a fried keyboard.) You can hasten the drying process with a fan or hair dryer, but don't use the dryer's warm or hot settings. For sticky liquids, pop the keys off one at a time by putting gentle upward pressure on both sides of each key, and clean it. Note that the spacebar, Backspace, Shift, and other large keys can be difficult to replace.