Help: Reviving the Color Classic's Mouse

[alvin777]

Hi. I'm reviving my Color Classic but the mouse won't work. How do you open this kind of ADB mouse? I know this mouse is robust and it must still be fixable if I could get to open it. Do you know any site that has instructions on how to open it?

[LCGuy]

They all have screws on the bottom of 'em. The round ones, however, have 'em hidden under the sticker...you have to either remove the sticker or put the screwdriver through the sticker, ruining it.

[MultiFinder]

They're pretty basic. Just unscrew 'em and pop the two halves apart. Clean off all the little rollers that the ball touches, and clean off the ball while you're at it. If that doesn't fix it, then look around inside for any loose wires. If you don't find any, and it still doesn't work, then buy a new one on eBay for $5

[alvin777]

Thanks for the repky. It sounds like special screws. How many is under that sticker? Are there also screws under that slippery plastic thing too? How does this kind of mouse become dead anyway? It looks more durable even than the PC mice of today. What's usually the cause?

[LCGuy]

There are exactly two (2) standard Phillips head screws underneath the sticker. Only underneath the sticker. The one on the bottom that says "Apple Desktop Bus Mouse II" and the serial number. Its usually either that the innards have just been worn out, or the cable is dodgy.

[alvin777]

If it's not the cord, what could have broken this mouse (it's robust)? What's usually the cause?

[tomlee59]

Most commonly, the rollers inside get gummed up and cease to spin reliably (or at all). A rolling ball is unfortunately a great device for conveying crud directly into the mouse's interior. A periodic clean usually takes care of this.

Other failures are relatively rare. I haven't seen too many other than an occasional bad IR LED or a broken cable connection. As others said, these mice are fairly robust.

[Quadraman]

I like repairing old mice. Prepare yourself, though. They can get pretty disgusting sometimes. You'll likely find hairballs and a gummy, slimy substance inside. You can use a wooden toothpick to get into the cracks and crevices to get everything out. I've found that most dead mice aren't really dead at all, just dirty beyond the point where they can still function.