Tim Jarrett
Posted 3 years, 10 months ago
Joined: 3 years, 10 months ago
I have recently had problems with my mouse arrow moving by itself. It usually heads towards the bottom left hand corner of the screen, but sometimes goes to the top right. It moves at about 3cm/second, in a fairly straight line.
I'm fairly certain it's not the mouse itself as the same problem occurs with a different mouse and with the touch pad (even with the mouse disconnected). I have noticed that it often starts moving when I press a key - i.e. it might be doing nothing unusual, then when I press a key it starts to move. I've done a bit of research online and apparently this problem is not all that uncommon. Some people said it would be the mouse (which I'm pretty sure it isn't), others said it could be an electrical fault or lots of other possibilities. I would be grateful if anyone could help as it's pretty frustrating. I have tried a system restore and that didn't help. I'm running XP on a Dell Inspiron 8600 laptop.
Thanks.
Chris Burrage
Posted 3 years, 9 months ago
Joined: 12 years, 5 months ago
Re: Mouse arrow moves by itself
If it does it with the external mouse disconnected, then it is likely the touchpad which is causing the problem. Try disabling it in mouse properties to check. If this does fix it, you may have a static buildup issue, or the touchpad may be faulty or improperly earthed. There is no true earth connection with a laptop, but a potential buildup between the body / frame and the touchpad may cause issues. You could also try the latest driver.
Chris B
Peter Selby
Posted 3 years, 9 months ago
Joined: 12 years, 5 months ago
Re: Mouse arrow moves by itself
There may be a conflict between the mouse and touchpad. If you disable the touchpad it may resolve the problem.
ALAN ROSCOE
Posted 3 years, 9 months ago
Joined: 12 years, 5 months ago
Re: Mouse arrow moves by itself
You don't by any chance have a cheese sandwich bottom left of your screen? Just joking!
I've had this problem in the past and it turned out to be mouse software problem. I solved it by uninstalling the mouse (Logitech Mouseware) software and reinstalling it.
In your case it could be that, it could be a virus, or it could be a dodgy mouse. If it has a ball, clean it, if it's optical, clean the laser, if it's wireless, move the receiver to a different USB port. Mice (Mouses ??) are cheap, if none of the above solves the problem, get a new one.
gary mcculloch
Posted 3 years, 9 months ago
Joined: 12 years, 5 months ago
Re: Mouse arrow moves by itself
i have a similar problem and i also do not think it is my mouse. It seems to move quite rapidly across the screen for about 4 seconds and then goes back to normal. It does this about once an hour. It did this before and after a disk format. It does it when i am working online and downloading information never when i am working off line.
Not a real issue but can be annoying like when i need to move the mouse quickly when playing an online game. Also running XP.
Tim Jarrett
Posted 3 years, 9 months ago
Joined: 3 years, 10 months ago
Re: Mouse arrow moves by itself - SOLVED!
Thanks very much to the people who responded. I spoke to the tech guy at work and he figured out that it was something wrong with the touch stick (? not sure if that's the right term ?) - not the touch pad but the tiny ball-shaped sensor embedded in the keyboard that you can also use to control the mouse. It had become super-sensitive and so the mouse moved whenever I touch the keyboard. He disabled the touch pad and now everything is fine.
Lawrence Glynn
Posted 3 years, 9 months ago
Joined: 12 years, 5 months ago
Re: Mouse arrow moves by itself
The usual reason this happens, and it happens a lot, is "dither" in the mouse. The movement sensor keeps oscillating between two positions and gives a series of small movement signals. Usually a tap on the mouse will bring it to rest. Optical mice suffer the same fault sometimes. It certainly can be software misinterpreting the position data. It just needs a slightly higher tolerance to deciding that mouse is now at a new position. Those most at risk are those with relatively high tracking speeds.
Don Imlach
Posted 3 years, 9 months ago
Joined: 12 years, 5 months ago
Re: Mouse arrow moves by itself
Good to see your problem solved. It sounds as though you have a Toshiba. Beware the comment about "no true earth connection with a laptop". Toshiba, for at least 12 months, have been equipping their laptop power supplies with clover leaf mains sockets, incorporating the earth. This carries through to the 0v connection in the plug to the laptop. Therfore the laptop is earthed.
Don
A Davies
Posted 3 years, 9 months ago
Joined: 12 years, 5 months ago
Re: Mouse arrow moves by itself
We had a similar problem with my son's computer. Turned out that my microsoft wireless set up was on the same frequency. I had ignored his complaints until he came in and told me my password which had appeared on his screen as I logged onto a site. Fortunately my new Logitech set up has a "secure" connection.
Chris Burrage
Posted 3 years, 9 months ago
Joined: 12 years, 5 months ago
Re: Mouse arrow moves by itself
Dear Don Imlach,
How long have Toshiba been manufacturing Dell Inspiron 8600 laptops?
Chris B
