Wireless Mouse battery power problem?

Not sure where to post this....

I have a Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3000. I seem to be having a problem with the mouse itself and its power. It runs off a AA battery and is supposed to last upto 6 months. Well, my first battery lasted maybe a couple months before it started to have problems. The Intellipoint software gave messages saying the battery was critically low, and the mouse would stop working intermittently.

My second battery had intermittent power right from the start, as did my third battery. My fourth was working beautifully for maybe 3 weeks before the mouse started acting up again.

I have tested the battery and it is strong (a full 1.5 volts).

Sometimes the mouse just doesn't work and won't send any signal to the USB receiver on the computer. Other times it will freeze intermittently. Often the mouse will glow green for a few seconds as (I guess) power is lost and regained (green).

Other times it works flawlessly.

This is my first wireless mouse and I don't know what to expect. Do wireless mice need an absolutely new and fresh battery to work?

up to 6 months is very different from a few weeks......

What I'm not sure is if I'm missing something or if my Mouse is defective.....

New regular batteries. I have rechargeable batteries that I will try (Duracell rechargeables - Nickel metal hydride) but I've lost my charger...! I'm going to buy a new one and we'll see what happens with them.

As I type this my mouse has been working for a couple hours or so just fine. But I KNOW it will act up later.