Could it be Vista's issue?

[MB MinnieGirl]

I have a Dell laptop with Vista installed....and am awaiting Win 7 upgrade, but I have a problem that needs addressing now. What I am describing occurs in any program...Word, IE, Works, Outlook Express, all of them. The problem is when I am typing in any program, (including this window even as I type this), and the keystrokes I'm pressing ,in SOME combination I can't figure, out shoot me into another window meaning that another new window will open and I'm then typing in it. If that doesn't occur, then it will randomly force my cursor and typing to another area on the window...usually in the middle of text already typed making another huge mess It is also changing the font to bold, or underlined, or italics at random. Other issues include that suddenly all copy with be selected, or if I am in email, I have had the email send several times simply when I hit the "return key." I am about to loose my mind with these issues and toss the laptop into the Atlantic!

I am at a total loss. Yes, I am positive that it is not my typing skills. I am a photographer and freelance writer so this I am very savvy on the keyboard. I have checked for Virus', adware, spyware, etc. Even registry changes but none of those are the case. I am lost and it's getting to the point where my laptop cannot be used as I cannot type two sentences without these issues creeping in and making it a nightmare to complete the smallest of tasks.

ANY advise, solutions, or answers would be more than appreciated. Is there a "hot key" issue with Vista? Whatever idea's you may have...I am wide open to anything to resolve this issue.


Thank you so much!
~~~Kelly
Kfentress@sc.rr.com

 

[Magic Mom]

Is your hand or wrist brushing against the touchpad as you type?

 

[MB MinnieGirl]

Nope...I wish that were the case. I know it's based in the laptop and not typist error...I've checked and rechecked everything. I wish it WERE me...that would be easier to resolve

 

[dundee10]

Could it be that you do not normally use the touchpad, but that you have accidentally turned it on and are occasionally brushing against it? Oops!, late post. Sorry.

 

[MB MinnieGirl]

Nope...that's not the case either I'm afraid.

 

[LadyZolt]

It sounds more like a keyboard issue to me than a Vista issue. I'd turn it upside down and pat it to see if stuff falls out. Are you sure no one spilled anything into it, etc.?

If that doesn't fix it, it is possible that you are hitting the control key by accident, or if your laptop has a mouse touchpad with left and right buttons, that you're accidentally hitting one of those. Try hooking up a USB keyboard to it, and a USB mouse, too, if at all possible, and see what happens. If you have a nasty piece of malware that is causing this, it might not help to use an external keyboard. It is highly unlikely that this is the OS, though. It's either hardware in the keyboard and/or mouse, or a malicious program generating keystroke mayhem.

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[MB MinnieGirl]

It sounds more like a keyboard issue to me than a Vista issue. I'd turn it upside down and pat it to see if stuff falls out. Are you sure no one spilled anything into it, etc.?

If that doesn't fix it, it is possible that you are hitting the control key by accident, or if your laptop has a mouse touchpad with left and right buttons, that you're accidentally hitting one of those. Try hooking up a USB keyboard to it, and a USB mouse, too, if at all possible, and see what happens. If you have a nasty piece of malware that is causing this, it might not help to use an external keyboard. It is highly unlkely that this is the OS, though. It's either hardware in the keyboard and/or mouse, or a malicious program generating keystroke mayhem.

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

You think the same way I do! I ask about Vista because a friend has insisted that is what is has to be. I have thought it was due to malware or something of the kind. I have done it all...shaken the sucker, and nope, nothing in there, and even with external keyboard used, the same problems persist. And nope...no accidents with hitting the control key.

There is also another beautiful issue I'm working online...the mouse becomes uncontrollable and the curser will turn into a magnified glass that increases and decreases the size at random.

I really am going crazy with this. I've scanned for everything but gerbils, but it always comes back with nothing with exception of a few cookies which I delete immediately. If it is malware....how do I find out and HOW do I kill it for good?

 

[FireDancer]

I can't say I have ever heard of your problem before. My first instinct would be that your wrist is interacting with the touchpad but that seems ruled out. Have you checked to see if there is an update to your keyboard drivers? You may get it through windows update in some cases, from the manufacturer in some cases, or from the maker of you keyboard in rare cases (especially on a laptop).

 

[broncopooh]

My brother and I have the same problem with our Vista laptops. I thought it was just mine, until he mentioned it. He also has a friend who has the same on his Vista laptop.
I am also a very savvy computer person and typist so I know it's not me. It's really aggravating when the curser skips to a different spot because sometimes I don't look at what I'm typing and I don't notice until I've typed a sentence or two.

 

[Pomlover2586]

I have Vista.....and I had this exact same problem.....In my case it was the keypad. My writs would just barely graze the pad, and it was set on the most sensitive mode.....a little but of playing with the settings on the laptop and problem solved.

If you don't have a keypad then this isn't the issue for you......sounds like a keyboard issue at that point. Hope it works out

 

[MushyMushy]

How old is your computer?

My friend got a Dell and the keyboard went bad. She called them and they sent her out a new keyboard and talked her through setting it up. She's about as big a computer dummy as I've ever met and was able to do it with no problem. Oh, and that was their "in home" service.

 

[bicker]

This happens to me all the time, and for me it is always a matter of grazing the touchpad.

I had it with Windows XP too.

 

[LeCras]

I always disable to touch pads on my laptops to avoid eexactly this. Very annoying.

Try connecting an external keyboard to your laptop and see if it still happens?

Charlotte

 

[MB MinnieGirl]

Alright....I couldn't stand it any longer. This is a laptop that is less than a month old. So...I continued searching into the night and ended up installing some software from a trusted site of, www.savemybutt.com that searches for Malware specifically. POOF! Found and destroyed! Keep in mind that this was after McAfee missed it, (which I now no longer have) so did Spybot, and AVG. But....knock on wood...it has successfully REMOVED the evil devil and is now working without problem.

Thanks for all of the suggestions....and for those of you having the same issue, and you know for certain it is not you touching the touchpad....you're right in thinking that it is a nasty little monster on your computer. Don't stop searching for the nasty little thing and go the site I mentioned above.

~~~Kelly

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I was experiencing an issue where my curser had a mind of it own. Then one day I wiped my touch pad with a damp paper towel and dried it and it stopped doing it. Every few weeks it happens and I just wipe it off again and we are good to go for a few weeks more. I figured because I used a lot of hand lotion that it had built up overtime on the pad.

 

[LadyZolt]

So...I continued searching into the night and ended up installing some software from a trusted site of, www.savemybutt.com that searches for Malware specifically. POOF! Found and destroyed!

Kelly: Terrific! I'm very glad you found it! DH was fixing someone's computer this week and it had a root virus. He had to reinstall the OS, which is the last resort. But that is something you can do if you really have to -- back up your data, then reinstall your OS. Anyway, I'm so glad you were persistent and didn't need to do that. You go!! Malware flees in your sight!

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)