The Mouse Pointer Speed is an important parameter contributing to how easily you can navigate through Windows. If you find that you must lift your mouse and take a couple of swipes to move your cursor across the desktop, the speed is probably too slow. On the other hand, if you're having trouble zeroing in on menu items or icons because the mouse moves too quickly, the speed is probably too fast.

The change the mouse pointer speed, go to Start | Control Panel | Hardware and Sound and click the "Mouse" link under the "Devices and Printers" category. This brings up the Mouse Properties window. Click the Pointer Options tab and you'll see the following window. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Pointer Options tab of the Mouse Properties window.

Near the top of this window is a slider control in the Motion group box. Click and drag the slider to the left to slow down your pointer speed, or click and drag the slider to the right to speed up your pointer speed. The speed change occurs immediately, so if you slow it down too much you may find yourself lifting your mouse to make multiple swipes just to get to the OK button. Or if you speed it up too much you may find it more difficult to zero in on the OK button. Once you have the speed set the way you want it, click OK to dismiss the window.