Unsolved
This post is more than 5 years old
6 Posts
0
2646
March 25th, 2004 15:00
Cursor position chnages while typing
I can't figure out if this is a real problem or if it is me.
I have the Dell Inspiron 8500 with Windows XP Pro installed. I bought this last fall in November. While I am typing, I find that the position of the cursor suddenly moves to some other place prior to where I am and my tyoing picks up from there. Below is an example line from the last time this happened - I was sending an email to someone at my work:
I want to make sure I am aware of your priorities sinfor 20 million thingsce I am asking
This should have read:
I want to make sure I am aware of your priorities since I am asking for 20 million things
What happened was that after typing the word "asking" the position of the cursor moved to in the middle of the word "since" and then kept going. This happens to me all the time. It has never happened to me on any other keyboard or computer before. Granted - this is the first laptop I have owned so I am using this a lot.
One thing that seems to be almost common is that many times this happens right after typing a "g" - although not all or even most g's. Next to the G key is the mouse stick on the middle of the keyboard and I can't help but feel it is related.
Anyone else seen this?
Glenn
DELL-BobT
3.1K Posts
0
March 25th, 2004 19:00
Gamul,
Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.
Further troubleshooting ideas can be found in the following knowledge base articles:
One more idea, often third-party mouse drivers can cause performance issues with the system's touchpad. If you are using an external mouse and it requires additional drivers, I would suspect that these drivers are likely conflicting with those for the touch-pad. You should remove the drivers for both pointing devices and then reinstall those for the mouse that you wish to use.
jayg66
5 Posts
0
March 26th, 2004 21:00
Wow--just when you think you are going crazy and alone...
I have the same config (8500/XP-Pro) and have been experiencing the same problem for about a year now--it happens when I am using the laptop keyboard but *not* when I am hooked into the docking station and using my auxillary usb keyboard. I have not been able to categorize the occurances--it seems very random but has been extremely frustrating. Let me know if you have success following these offered instructions as I am about to undertake them too.
At least we are not alone,
jay
Gamul
6 Posts
0
March 27th, 2004 17:00
So - it is too soon to really say for sure but I have not seen this since I disabled the pointing stick, which is right next to the "g" key which seems to have been the prime key that is the last one typed before I go off to another location. If you still have the pointing stick enabled then I would suggest disabling it for a while to try it out. I will post again if this occurs again with the next thing I will try out to see what happens. I prefer to only try out one thing at a time though to make sure of what the real cause is.
Glenn
jayg66
5 Posts
0
March 29th, 2004 16:00
glenn, what did you do to specifically disable the "pointing stick" on the keyboard? i dont see access to it in either the mouse or keyboard control panels. thanks, jay
Gamul
6 Posts
0
March 30th, 2004 10:00
Hi Jay,
I am not at my home laptop right now so I can't walk through it exactly - but I am comfortable enough to try from memory.
As we both have Windows XP Pro the steps should be the same. I am not sure why you did not see it from the mouse controls. I went to the control panel and selected the mouse icon from there. The very first Tab it took me to had the controls for enabling and disabling both the touch pad and the pointing stick.
If you do not have the controls there then perhaps you have a different service pack level or something? I don't know what I have off hand but I got my PC in November and you mentioned you have had your for 1 year. Perhaps there is a difference there. I would suggest looking around other places in the control panel for them too. Also - check out the help files to see if they specify where you can find them.
It's funny - you can not disable both (touch pad or pointing stick) but have to have 1 of them enabled. I would prefer both be disabled as I use an external mouse and don't need either. Also - my kids tend to pop in once in a while and find these controls fun to play with.
On a side note - the problem is still not there since disabling the pointing stick. Looks like this was the issue. I must have kept brushing the stick while typing adjacent keys.
I will try to update this message later with specifc instructions tonight when I am back home.
Glenn
Message Edited by Gamul on 03-30-2004 06:10 AM
jayg66
5 Posts
0
March 30th, 2004 15:00
I think my issue is that I installed the drivers and control software for my external mouse (a logitech product) and so the control panel i see is specific to that device. I will try uninstalling the logitech software and hope that gets me back to the original mouse control panel where I should be able to disable the touch pad and pointer. Thanks for your help and glad to hear that the problem has disappeared.
-Jay
Gamul
6 Posts
0
March 31st, 2004 08:00
Hi Jay,
Interesting about your mouse driver taking over your mouse properties panel. I would think that would not be allowed.
anyway - here are more precise instructions:
Open Control Panel and select the mouse properties. In the mouse properties panel you want the tab titled "Device Select". Under "Pointing Stick" select the disable radio button.
My Windows XP is version 2002 service pack 1.
Hope that helps.
Glenn