My cursor still behaves erratically despite downloads, reinstalls, adjustments, & virus/malware scans--suggestions?
My HP Pavilion dv6704nr notebook is a little over a year old. The Synaptics touchpad was working very well until about two weeks ago. I tinkered with the pointer appearance and things went south. Since then, I've done everything under the sun to fix it, including driver rollbacks and updates from Synaptics and HP, system restores, etc. The cursor becomes more erratic (jumpy, bouncy, less precise) after longer periods of computer use (may be heat related). I've found that when I 'reset devices,' I can get relief for about one minute--then the cursor shoots up and down the screen--completely out of control! The good news is a cordless mouse has resolved the problem, but the touch pad remains disabled. I would like to enjoy the convenience of a touch pad again. Has anyone resolved this problem or made a conclusive diagnosis? If you were able to resolve the problem, please share. Thanks.
The following is a list of the more common reasons for erratic mouse movement, as well as our recommended fixes.
If your mouse is not moving, your computer may be frozen.
The mouse is not clean
An optical-mechanical mouse (mouse with a ball) may not work well because the inside of the mouse is not clean. See our computer cleaning page for steps to remedy this problem.
Optical portion of mouse is blocked
If you have an optical mouse (LED or laser) with erratic behavior, the optical eye is possibly blocked. It is not uncommon for a piece of hair or fuzz to block the sensor on the bottom of the mouse, preventing the optical sensor from working properly. Turn the mouse over and make sure there is no debris blocking the hole. Blowing into the hole usually removes any hair or fuzz that could cause problems.
Bad surface
Although most mice work on any surface, if you are having problems with the cursor, we suggest a different mouse pad or surface, such as a book or piece of paper. For example, optical mice are notorious for not working on glossy surfaces. Putting a piece a paper under the mouse is a quick fix for this issue.
Wireless mouse
If you have a wireless mouse, there can be two reasons why your mouse may be jumping.
Hp Spectre Mouse ReviewBad wireless connection
To communicate wirelessly with the computer, your mouse must have a strong signal between the computer and the mouse. Make sure your mouse is no more than a few feet away from the wireless receiver. If the receiver has a short cable, try moving the USB receiver from the back to the front of the computer to get it closer to the mouse.
Bad or failing batteries
Bad or failing batteries can also cause a low signal strength with wireless mice. Try replacing the batteries or making sure they are charged to see if the batteries are the cause of the issue.
Reconnect and try different port
It is also possible that a loose connection or bad port can cause problems with the mouse. Make sure that it is not either of these problems by disconnecting the mouse from the current USB port and connecting to another USB port.
If you are using an older computer with a PS/2 mouse, try disconnecting the mouse and reconnecting the mouse into the mouse port (usually the green port). If your computer has USB ports, you may also want to consider upgrading to a USB mouse.
Moisture or a liquid substance on finger
If you're using a touchpad, you may experience erratic behavior because of moisture or a liquid substance on your finger, such as lotion or soap. Wash your hands and wipe them with a towel thoroughly to remove any lotion or soap from your fingers. It may also help to clean off the touchpad itself too, to remove any substances that are sticking to it.
Disconnect other external input devices
If you have other input devices, such as another external mouse, graphics tablet, or keypad, connected to your machine, it may cause interference. Try disconnecting these devices to make sure they are not the cause of your problem.
Update drivers and uninstall older drivers
Because drivers control how the mouse interfaces with the operating system, if they're out of date or corrupt, the mouse is not going to work properly. Make sure you have the latest drivers from your mouse manufacturer.
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We also recommend going into Add or Remove Programs (also called 'Programs and Features' in newer versions of Windows) in the Control Panel and uninstalling all previous mouse drivers and software. Uninstalling old software is important when moving between mouse manufacturers, like going from a Logitech to a Microsoft mouse.
Defective mouse
If you have followed all of the steps listed above and continue to encounter problems, the mouse is likely defective. To determine if this is the case, try connecting the mouse to another computer. You can also try connecting another mouse to your computer. If your mouse does not work with another computer or another mouse does work on your computer, we suggest replacing your mouse.
Corrupt operating system files or virus infection
If after trying everything above, you are still having problems with your mouse and even another mouse on your computer, there may be corrupt operating system files on your computer. If one or more system files that interact with the mouse are corrupt, this can cause erratic mouse movement or failure to respond and click in various cases. If possible, restoring to a previous restore point could resolve the issue. However, you may have to perform an operating system repair install or full system recovery to resolve this type of issue.
There is also the possibility that your computer is infected with a virus or even spyware. A virus or spyware infection could cause problems with mouse movement and clicking actions, as well as other problems. Scan your computer with an antivirus program to determine if it is infected.
Hp Spectre Mouse Jumping YoutubeDefective motherboard
If you've tried all of the above steps and multiple mice do not work with your computer, it is also possible that the PS/2 or USB connections on the motherboard are defective. In this case, the motherboard needs to be replaced. We suggest taking your computer to a repair shop because of the difficulty of replacing a motherboard.
If you want to replace the motherboard, purchase the same model of motherboard as currently in your computer. If you decide to purchase a different model, do your research and make sure it is compatible with all your existing hardware.
Note
If you purchase a new, different model motherboard than what is currently in the computer, you may also need to re-install Windows due to the change in hardware. Windows has drivers installed that are specific to each motherboard and changing the motherboard will result in different drivers being needed for Windows to run properly.
Additional information
I plugged my ASUS Taichi Laptop into an external monitor via the VGA Adapter that it comes with. It was working fine, but then I configured a power option so I could shut the lid without it going to sleep (so I could use just the external monitor with an external keyboard/mouse).
Problem is though, now, when the lid is closed and I move the mouse, the mouse is moving around on it's own, but when I open the laptop lid back up, the mouse is fine.
I was thinking it might be the trackpad being touched somehow by the screen when the lid is closed? But I went into windows 8 control panel options and I couldn't find anywhere to disable it (it sees the USB mouse I think).
TheFrackTheFrack
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6 Answers
I went into device manager, Human interface Devices and expanded that. I disable the first USB Input Device, which shutoff the touch screen and it fixed my mouse/pointer issue.
Canadian Luke
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ChrisChris
Go to the Windows menu icon, select Control Panel, select Mouse. In the Mouse Properties window, select the Device Settings tab. Highlight the option that specifies your touchpad and then select Settings. Find the option that says 'Tapping' and uncheck the box to disable it. Clcik Apply and Ok and your problem is now solved. :)
Jason M.Jason M.
Just wanted to throw this in for anyone else looking for answers to this problem.
I’ve had issues with my ASUS TAICHI 21 mouse moving independently when using the touchscreen, and I’ve found that the most consistent way to solve the issue is to turn the machine off and give the outer glass a thorough wipe-down with a dust free cloth. It seems like a build up of oils on the screen leads to false positives on the touch screen.
I’ve also found that the very outer edges of the screen get increasingly sensitive to brushes of the hand as the computer gets hotter; like it does when the screen is closed for long periods.
At first I thought I was seeing results from disabling the mousepad, but I think, at least for me, those were false positives. A good cleaning and a little cool-off time solves this issue for me.
JakeGould
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KathrynKathryn
The Taichi is an unusual beast with a touchscreen on the back of the regular display.
You mention putting a sheet of paper on this, but I'm going to guess you were mousing on top of this sheet of paper, and the resistance in the paper wasn't sufficient to block touches from registering on the capacitive touchscreen.
In fact, I just tested on the Taichi behind me, and noted I was still able to operate the touchscreen with a sheet of paper on top of it . . . Skywind release date 2019.
ernieernie
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I've worked on two identical Dell XPS laptops at work, and this issue has presented itself on one of them. I was leaving the lid open, but this is a bad solution for me.
As mentioned here earlier, the lid is likely touching the trackpad. Placing a sheet of graph paper over the touchpad when I close the lid solves the issue. Next steps would be disabling the touchpad in device manager, but I need to occasionally grab my laptop and run to a meeting, etc, so thats no good for me.
NickNick
I have an Asus T100TAM which had a similar issue. I figured out that separating the lid from the base a little bit, e.g. using my checkbook, solves the problem. No more jumping or clicking while using external devices with the lid closed.
Abraxas
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MadDevMadDev
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