Mouse and keypad freezing up

[Guest]

My mouse and keyboard are freezing up several times daily. Sometimes it is
possible to free them up using Task Manager but often necessary to remove
battery to power down system.
I have plenty of RAM (1.2G). System resources seem to be fine. Any ideas?

 

[Malke]

My mouse and keyboard are freezing up several times daily. Sometimes
it is possible to free them up using Task Manager but often necessary
to remove battery to power down system.
I have plenty of RAM (1.2G). System resources seem to be fine. Any
ideas?

Usually lockups are not caused by the mouse/keyboard but by either
running programs/processes, bad drivers, malware or hardware issues. We
don't have enough information from you to give you focused
troubleshooting, but here are some things to start with:

1. Look in Event Viewer for clues:
Start>Run>eventvwr.msc [enter]

2. Scan for viruses/malware:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

3. If the machine is clean, does the problem occur in Safe Mode? Get
into Safe Mode by repeatedly tapping the F8 key as the computer is
starting up. This will get you to the right menu. Navigate using your
Up arrow key; the mouse will not work here. If the problem does not
occur in Safe Mode, do clean-boot troubleshooting:

Clean boot in Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353
Clean-boot advanced troubleshooting in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434
and How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

4. What changed between the time things worked and the time they didn't?
Install any drivers, hardware, software? If yes to any of those,
rollback the drivers, uninstall the hardware/software. Does that stop
the problem?

5. If all software troubleshooting produces nothing, do hardware
troubleshooting:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Troubleshooting

Malke

 

[Plato]

My mouse and keyboard are freezing up several times daily. Sometimes it is
possible to free them up using Task Manager but often necessary to remove
battery to power down system.

Are you virus/spyware/trojan free?

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the advice. The problem did not occur in safe mode (the problem
is getting worse and seems to be peculiar to accessing Excel files stored on
the server). I followed the safe boot instructions but problems persist.
The advanced safe boot steps look rather complex. I might attempt but may
have to defer to someone more experienced than myself. Thanks for your help

My mouse and keyboard are freezing up several times daily. Sometimes
it is possible to free them up using Task Manager but often necessary
to remove battery to power down system.
I have plenty of RAM (1.2G). System resources seem to be fine. Any
ideas?

Usually lockups are not caused by the mouse/keyboard but by either
running programs/processes, bad drivers, malware or hardware issues. We
don't have enough information from you to give you focused
troubleshooting, but here are some things to start with:

1. Look in Event Viewer for clues:
Start>Run>eventvwr.msc [enter]

2. Scan for viruses/malware:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

3. If the machine is clean, does the problem occur in Safe Mode? Get
into Safe Mode by repeatedly tapping the F8 key as the computer is
starting up. This will get you to the right menu. Navigate using your
Up arrow key; the mouse will not work here. If the problem does not
occur in Safe Mode, do clean-boot troubleshooting:

Clean boot in Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353
Clean-boot advanced troubleshooting in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434
and How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

4. What changed between the time things worked and the time they didn't?
Install any drivers, hardware, software? If yes to any of those,
rollback the drivers, uninstall the hardware/software. Does that stop
the problem?

5. If all software troubleshooting produces nothing, do hardware
troubleshooting:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Troubleshooting

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

 

[Malke]

Thanks for the advice. The problem did not occur in safe mode (the
problem is getting worse and seems to be peculiar to accessing Excel
files stored on
the server). I followed the safe boot instructions but problems
persist.
The advanced safe boot steps look rather complex. I might attempt but
may
have to defer to someone more experienced than myself. Thanks for
your help

You're welcome, and you're smart to turn to a professional. It is a wise
person who knows their areas of expertise.

Malke

 

[Guest]

I have Norton anti-virus, Spybot, and Lava soft all doing their thing.
Whatever nasties they discover are supposedly taken care of. But alas, my
computer's unhappy state persists.