mouse pointer drifting on it's on

[Bill Tisdale]

Yesterday my mouse pointer started drifting on it's own
across my desktop. Sometimes it was faster than others.
I have a Dell laptop inspiron 4000 and have computer with
external mouse and mouse pad. The external mouse stopped
working but I have a small amount of control of the mouse
pad when it is drifting slowly. Dell tech support went
through all their checks and finally suggested I reload
windows XP. I did a reinstall repair and after it kept
drifting I started backing up for a full format install
and amazingly it stopped drifting right before I
formatted. With my old copy of xp loaded I went up on
the web for updates and after the critical service pack 1
installed the mouse is drifting again! Any ideas on what
I need to do? I believe my hardware is fine.

thanks
Bill

 

[Juli]

We have had the same problem on a Dell LatitudeC600
laptop. We have several but only one exhibits the
wandering mouse syndrome. If you look at DellTalk you
will see that many people have had this problem and there
really is no cure. We have updated drivers did reformat
and reinstall - nothing has worked! It comes and goes.
Good luck.

 

[My Name]

This is a known issue with trackpoint-type (i.e. eraser) pointing
devices. I experienced it with my old Toshiba, and so have many others.
The causes are a sudden change in ambient temperature and exerting
continuous pressure on the device.

To rectify the problem as quickly as possible, remove your hands from the
pointing device and let it drift. It'll stop quite quickly and you can
get back to work.