USING A MOUSE WITH A LAPTOP

I use an external mouse with my laptop

recently the mouse has not been working very smoothly - it can be jerky

I have checked the battery and it is oK I thought it might be the mouse mat so I bought a new one from the chinese bazar shop. It will not even work on the new mat. I have checked for updated drivers and I seem to have the latest version of the drivers installed

Any ideas what can be causing the mouse not to be working correctly and how I might cure the problem?

Or is it a new mouse?

Thanks

new mouse required I change mine regular or might just be furred up inside have you cleaned the optical lens on the bottom

Thanks Fred - will try cleaning the optical lens