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38729
February 5th, 2002 04:00
Cursor problems
Just got a new 8200 a couple of weeks ago. Have already had problems with the cursor moving freely without even touching the mouse. It will float to the top, to the side, etc. Any suggestions?
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Klaas
13 Posts
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January 15th, 2004 17:00
Muriac, your suggestions are appreciated greatly. BIOS looks like an interesting explanation. However, I have installed BIOS version A03 some time ago, and still my cursor floats gently to the side of the screen without touching the mouse. Dell is weird!
Klaas
Muriac
11 Posts
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January 23rd, 2004 01:00
I'm sorry to hear the new BIOS doesn't help. I've been running with it for over a week now, and I'm happy to be able to report that my problem has disappeared entirely.
Your problem sounds different from mine, however. Mine was definitely an issue with how the mouse's signals were being interpreted. With your problem, it seems like there might be a hardware issue in the mouse itself. I'm no mouse expert, but are you in a situation where you can try:
A) a different USB mouse in your system
B) your mouse in a different system?
I've got to privilege of having four years of extended Dell warranty, so I can afford to use shotgun approaches to problems like this. Unfortunately, it means I'm not entirely sure that it was the new BIOS which made my problem go away. If you are still under Dell's warranty, have you had them replace your mouse?
cptss
74 Posts
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January 25th, 2004 14:00
aussiemac
4 Posts
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February 3rd, 2004 21:00
G'day Muriac
My affected machine is not a dell. You reckon the erratic mouse problem
might be solved by a bios update? I can't use my xp machine at all as
mouse jumps everywhere , even opens applications and windows at
random. Must be something I downloaded from the net. I'm using an old
win 98 machine for this message. Wish I had a solution.
cptss
74 Posts
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February 4th, 2004 11:00
My new Dimension 4600 came with a special ordered Logitech 500MX mouse - which would 'wiggle' and 'move around' a bit with no touching involved. Someone suggested the mouse pad (the latest greyish Dell logo pad) could be the problem. I switched to a store bought, older, larger and much darker background and voila, no more (so far) mouse 'jiggles'.
Muriac
11 Posts
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February 4th, 2004 15:00
The first, and simplest to correct is a tracking issue with the Dell-supplied mouse pad (or any other shiny pad used with an optical mouse). The symptoms are slight irregularities in mouse tracking. That is, your pointer doesn't go quite where your mouse does, but it does not move when the mouse is stationary. This problem can be solved by replacing your mousing surface. You want a mouse pad that is not shiny, but has some texture so that your mouse can tell when it moves.
The second problem is also fairly simple to correct, but sometimes not easy to diagnose. It's when your mouse cursor moves without your mouse moving. I'm not talking about huge movements or jumps, just a slight drift, usually always in the same direction. This is most likely caused by a mouse cable being laid out in some manner where it is too far from its "natural" position, and its physical elasticity causes it to move very slowly toward this position. The natural position of most cables is closer to the way they were coiled and bound when they were shipped, rather than the way they are laid out as part of a computer's operational configuration. If it's not clear what I'm talking about, take any of your computers cables that are lie in a "zig-zag", and pull them gently straight. Let go, and they will slowly become zig-zaggy again. This can happen with a mouse cable so slowly that the mouse doesn't even appear to move. If its sensitivity is set to anything above really slow, however, the pointer will drift across the screen. The solution to this problem is to play around with the position of your mouse cable, perhaps trying to straighten it out a bit or have it approach your mouse from a different angle. Once the problem's source is apparent, the solution is just a matter of trial and error.
The third problem is again one of erratic cursor behavior. The symptoms are random cursor "jumping", often to a corner of the screen, every 10-30 minutes, even when the mouse itself is not being moved. This, as far as I can tell, is a BIOS issue, and can be resolved by downloading your motherboard's latest BIOS. It worked for me, but I don't have any testimonials of this exact problem being fixed or not for other people by the BIOS update.
The fourth problem is the weirdest, and unfortunately one which I don't know how to resolve. It's when your cursor moves erratically in big ways (not just little drifts or wobbles), and also CLICKS on things. It is this difference from the other issues which makes moderator Chris M and me suspect that the affected systems are infected in some way. However, people with this problem report that their virus software does not find any infections on their machine. Now I hear from aussiemac that the problem is not just limited to Dell systems. I'm actually kind of glad of this, because it would be really stupid if it was Dell's fault and they hadn't fixed it yet. Here are some things I'd like to know from sufferers of this problem:
1. Your mouse' make and model, as well as whether or not it is optical, USB, and/or wireless.
2. Your motherboard's make and model, as well as your BIOS version. If it's a Dell, just say when you bought it and the BIOS version.
3. Your operating system.
and just in case...
4. What virus software you use, what anti-spyware software you use (if any), and what sort of firewall you use (if any).
What I'm trying to find out is whether there is anything common to the hardware and software configurations experiencing this problem. Also, I'd like to know if everyone experiencing what I'm calling "problem number four" is experiencing it in the same way. Tell me specifically what happens, how often it happens, and in what situations it happens. All I know about this problem is in the description I just wrote, and I'd like to know more about the symptoms in order to possibly discern whether this is in fact one single problem. If it isn't obvious, please allow me to remind you that the first two problems are non-exclusive, and it is perfectly possible to experience them in addition to either of the third and fourth. Hopefully the third and fourth don't happen together.
Klaas
13 Posts
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February 4th, 2004 16:00
Hi Muriac,
Thanks for your mice analysis. Issue number 2 comes close to my own experience: it looks like a tolerance threshold of a mechanical nature. The mouse goes nuts if it senses a very peculiar and exotic friction in the cable. Cursor movement is much larger than cable changes, and it is also moving along a perfectly linear line to the side or top of the screen. It doesn't happen often, a few times per week. Interesting.
Klaas
SilviaSystems
6 Posts
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February 4th, 2004 20:00
This is pertaining to issue #4
(1) Make = Logitech Trackman Marble (T-CL13)
(2) BIOS = Dell A04
(3) OS = Windows XP Pro
(4) Virus Software = Norton Internet Security 2004 (includes Firewall, Anti-Spam, Anti-Virus)
Earthlink Pop-up blocker
aussiemac
4 Posts
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February 4th, 2004 21:00
aussiemac
4 Posts
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February 4th, 2004 21:00
G'day Muriac and fellow sufferers,
Muriac's problem 4 is my problem. I use Win XP Pro. Cheap Excel PS2 Mouse, Duron 700 (Don't know motherboard yet). Very difficult to get into machine info. Have been using keyboard shortcuts to try and solve problem as mouse now completely frozen in centre of screen. All programs work as well as is possible with keyboard shortcuts. Have begun deleting programs dowloaded around time problem began (about 7 days ago). Mouse stopped jumping around since getting rid of windows media player 9 sdk. Probably not the problem. Did a virus check with McCafee online. Have no other virus protection. No mouse or keyboard facility when clicking delete after boot to enter bios. bios ask for password which I dont have. My random shortcut efforts on keyboard did result in everything working ok for about one hour yesterday. Tried inserting xp cd and reinstalled mouse driver. Reboot often but nothing changing at present. Think this is either an undetected virus or video software conflicts resulting from my downloads of codecs, direct x, active x, windows media updates, possibly even windows new moviemaker, which seems to have problems on my machine. Seems to be a waste of time to try a lot of things like reinstalling xp which I've never done before - as this has been tried. Hope I don't have to split the machine up for parts - new dvd burner works ok, 100 gb hd works ok....... mouse doesn't. regards......
Message Edited by aussiemac on 02-04-2004 06:23 PM
Muriac
11 Posts
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February 11th, 2004 18:00
I'd say that before you do anything, you should try and get your hands on a different mouse/trackball, and see if that works with your machine. USB mice are great because the OS should configure them automatically. To some extent the same is true for PS/2 mice, I think.
It's funny that nobody from Dell has popped into this thread for a while. They're probably as baffled as we are.
Dave Lyle
2 Intern
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2K Posts
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February 20th, 2004 16:00
Dimension 4300, WinXP home, basic Dell Wheel mouse (Intellimouse 1.3A PS/2)
On rare occasions - perhaps once a month - my cursor will drift faily quickly either to the top or the left of the screen. It will do it while my hand is on the mouse, so there is no undesired movement of the mouse due to cable pull. If I move the mouse while the cursor is drifting, it will immediately respond as it should. The problem has persisted through a clean WinXP install. Haven't tried a bios update (using A02) or new mouse.
I've chauked it up to ghosts.
Fred Powledge
1 Message
0
March 4th, 2004 19:00
I've read the entire thread to date, and nobody seems to have my problem: The cursor on my Inspiron 4100 runs all over the place, usually in a horizontal line, no matter whether I'm using the eraserhead, touchpad, or mouse. It moves so quickly that I cannot settle on an icon or Start Menu item long enough to open or close a program (including the mouse section of Control Panel). The computer has suddenly become totally useless to me.
It's been off for repair twice, under my 3-year contract for overnight service (the last time it took 3 weeks to get back), so I obviously don't want to trust it to Dell except as a last resort.
None of the solutions advanced in this thread have worked for me. Any ideas? Has Dell even acknowledged this problem?
--Fred Powledge
Meetloaf
4 Posts
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March 5th, 2004 22:00
Haha, this thread is hilarious...the phantom mouse operator strikes again. Sadly, I am having the same problem. It did not come to a head UNTIL I installed Windows XP proffesional. That does not mean however that XP caused, but perhaps simply helped it show its ugly head. I have tried the basics, installing mouse drivers and whatnot. I have the problem when I use my MIcrosoft optical plugged into the USB port, and when I use the little synaptics touchpad. My cursor will move to the bottom left hand corner when it starts to get ornery. Sometimes he goes fast, sometimes slow, but when he goes, I can assure you he gets there. Seeing as how this is a laptop, a few times when he starting running to that little corner of his I applied a force of about 200 Newtons to the right of the touchpad on the laptop, and it stopped for a second until I stopped pushing. I think I will try the BIOS thing, seeing as how my laptop is a couple years old. It is definitely not a virus for me, I ruled that one out immediately, I think my PC is immaculate. Anywho, here is another almost worthless post about the phantom mouse operator, I don't know if it helps us get any closer to a solution, but I am glad it only happens to me occasionaly, I pity those who spend more time with the Phantom than I. Mabye one of you can do us a favor. Next time he comes to visit, (if you have a laptop) Close the laptop IMMEDIATELY, and then put it in a box, and put that box in a box, and then duct tape it, that way he can't get out. Let me know if you catch him, I'll send you a lollipop! Oh yeah, I have a DEll LAttitude C800 pIII. Well shalom and good day to you all. The Phantom lives on!
davehudsn
2 Posts
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September 22nd, 2004 12:00
I can definitely feel your pain -
I am running Windows XP Pro on an Inspiron 1150, and Windows 2000 on a Lattitude D600. I have more than just mouse problems -- i have keyboard AND mouse problems. My problem is with BOTH machines, the only common factor is that they are DELL machines. I have about 10 different other flavors of laptops and dekstops and none of them have these problems, but all my DELLS do.
Specifically, my problem is this:
1) My mouse (logitech Trackman, but have used others) moves erratically and/or clicks/unclicks while I'm using it.
OR
2) My keyboard will put characters I'm not typing on the screen or start running away, typing a single keystroke over and over.
This boils down to BIOS plain and simple - and I don't mean the BIOS 'version', but the true meaning of the word, Basic Input Output System - Dell hasn't figured it out yet.
I saw another post that said they disabled their modem and it solved their problems. I'm going to try that when I get home tonight. I've run into the situation now that when I plug my keyboard adapter in, it crashes Windows with an "IRQ conflict" -- I haven't seen one of those since Windows 95.
Basically, I HATE Dell - I am forced to use these two laptops because of work and school. I have 15 IBM ThinkPads (yes, i'm not kidding) ranging from TP-600's up to TP-20s and I have never had a single problem with any of them. Everytime I plug anything into my Dell (esp USB), I hold my breath that it doesn't blow up. I plugged one of my USB Harddrives into my Dell and it actually destroyed my drive.