- #1
- 10,877
- 422
My laptop has been driving me nuts for the past 28 hours. Weird things are happening when I try to use the mouse. For example, when I've just logged in (Windows 7), the mouse is always in one of these two modes:
1. Mouse actions work on the desktop, but not on the taskbar.
2. Mouse actions work on the taskbar, but not on the desktop.
I can occasionally switch from mode 1 to mode 2 by clicking on the taskbar, and I can occasionally switch from mode 2 to mode 1 by clicking on the desktop, but most of the time, I'm just unable to switch.
Things get more weird if I open browser. Typically the mouse only works inside the tabs. I can open and close tabs. I can type things in an input field on the active tab (after I've clicked inside it). I can't type anything in the address bar. I can't do things like move or resize the window. The only way to close the window is to close all the tabs.
Occasionally, the computer appears to be thinking that I'm trying to drag something somewhere, when I have only clicked on a button or icon once and then moved the mouse away. This has happened both in a browser and on the taskbar.
In Firefox, some weird alternative scrolling feature is often activated even though I haven't done anything to make this happen. The location of the mouse pointer determines the direction and speed of the scrolling. For example, if I want to scroll down, I just hold the pointer below this thing
when it shows up. If I want to scroll faster, I just move the mouse pointer down a bit and leave it there. Of course, I don't want to use this feature at all. I have no idea why it's switched on.
I have tried obvious things like "turning it off and then on again". I tried uninstalling the mouse drivers and rebooted.
Around the time when this started, I was having difficulties pushing down the 7 key. I vacuumed the keyboard and it seemed to solve the problem. But I at least considered the possibility that my current problem is related to this one. I thought that maybe the computer thinks that a key is being held down constantly, and that this is interfering with the operation of the mouse. But I ran some testing software that tells me what key is being held down, and I didn't find anything odd.
If I just unplug the mouse and then try to use the touchpad, it behaves equally weird. The only way I know to stop the weird behavior is to unplug the mouse and reboot. When I log in again (mouse still unplugged), the touchpad is behaving OK.
I don't really expect anyone to be able to tell me what's wrong and how to fix it, but I figured I should at least ask.
I don't have another mouse that I can try. Maybe I'll buy one tomorrow.
1. Mouse actions work on the desktop, but not on the taskbar.
2. Mouse actions work on the taskbar, but not on the desktop.
I can occasionally switch from mode 1 to mode 2 by clicking on the taskbar, and I can occasionally switch from mode 2 to mode 1 by clicking on the desktop, but most of the time, I'm just unable to switch.
Things get more weird if I open browser. Typically the mouse only works inside the tabs. I can open and close tabs. I can type things in an input field on the active tab (after I've clicked inside it). I can't type anything in the address bar. I can't do things like move or resize the window. The only way to close the window is to close all the tabs.
Occasionally, the computer appears to be thinking that I'm trying to drag something somewhere, when I have only clicked on a button or icon once and then moved the mouse away. This has happened both in a browser and on the taskbar.
In Firefox, some weird alternative scrolling feature is often activated even though I haven't done anything to make this happen. The location of the mouse pointer determines the direction and speed of the scrolling. For example, if I want to scroll down, I just hold the pointer below this thing
when it shows up. If I want to scroll faster, I just move the mouse pointer down a bit and leave it there. Of course, I don't want to use this feature at all. I have no idea why it's switched on.
I have tried obvious things like "turning it off and then on again". I tried uninstalling the mouse drivers and rebooted.
Around the time when this started, I was having difficulties pushing down the 7 key. I vacuumed the keyboard and it seemed to solve the problem. But I at least considered the possibility that my current problem is related to this one. I thought that maybe the computer thinks that a key is being held down constantly, and that this is interfering with the operation of the mouse. But I ran some testing software that tells me what key is being held down, and I didn't find anything odd.
If I just unplug the mouse and then try to use the touchpad, it behaves equally weird. The only way I know to stop the weird behavior is to unplug the mouse and reboot. When I log in again (mouse still unplugged), the touchpad is behaving OK.
I don't really expect anyone to be able to tell me what's wrong and how to fix it, but I figured I should at least ask.
I don't have another mouse that I can try. Maybe I'll buy one tomorrow.