Mousekeys causes video display issues

[Todd]

I have used mousekeys on XP Professional for many years on many different
PCs in different work situations. The problem is that after about 4 hours
of intensive usage, my video display starts to mess up. Windows are not
where they appear to be, among other things. The PC quickly becomes
unusable. The only way to get it back to normal is to log off then log back
on to Windows.
I have tried adjusting video settings, as well as changing computer
performance options in the System Properties Advanced tab, but this has not
effect.

The reason I use mousekeys is because it helps mitigate the effects of
carpal tunnel.. and seems to work better than any type of mouse or other
pointer device I have tried in the past.

In my current work situation I am not able to log off during the day.. so
this is becoming a critical situation.

I am surprised that I have never found anything in the Microsoft knowledge
base about this.

Any ideas?
Thanks!

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I have used mousekeys on XP Professional for many years on many
different PCs in different work situations. The problem is that
after about 4 hours of intensive usage, my video display starts to
mess up. Windows are not where they appear to be, among other
things. The PC quickly becomes unusable. The only way to get it
back to normal is to log off then log back on to Windows.
I have tried adjusting video settings, as well as changing computer
performance options in the System Properties Advanced tab, but this
has not effect.

The reason I use mousekeys is because it helps mitigate the effects
of carpal tunnel.. and seems to work better than any type of mouse
or other pointer device I have tried in the past.

In my current work situation I am not able to log off during the
day.. so this is becoming a critical situation.

I am surprised that I have never found anything in the Microsoft
knowledge base about this.

Assuming you mean this feature:
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsxp/mousekeys.aspx

Why are you so sure the issues you see have to do with the use of this
feature?

My suggestion: Verify your system is clean, up to date (Windows and
application updates as well as hardware device driver updates from the
actual manufacturers of *each* product) and backed up.

- Run an unscheduled backup - outside your normal schedule.
- Use MalwareBytes and SuperAntiSpyware to scan for malware of all sorts.
(Free)
- Uninstall any and all *unused* software.
- Update all hardware device drivers from the manufacturer's web page
(Microsoft probably didn't manufacturer most of your hardware - don't get
the drivers/support from them - go to the sources.) Do this for the
motherboard chipset, audio, video and network devices especially. You may
want to check for a BIOS update (critical) as well.
- Use http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ to update Windows/MS Office
products (do not get any optional *hardware* updates.)
- Visit the software vendoer web pages for other software you have installed
and check for updates to the software you have installed.
- Defragment and CHKDSK the hard disk drive(s).
- Run an unscheduled backup - outside your normal schedule.

See if that helps any...

 

[Todd]

Hi Shenan, thanks for the reply.

I am sure this is a mousekeys issue because it does not occur when I do not
use mousekeys.
Keep in mind that I have experienced this issue for years, and have tried
the things you have listed.
It occurs on every work machine where I have used mousekeys whether on a
laptop or desktop.
All my work machines have industrial strength antivirus/antispyware
software, as I am a .NET developer,
and typically work in secure environments.

I am confident that this issue could be reproduced, but as I said it takes a
good 4 hours for the issue to manifest
after working intensively in windows.

Thanks

 

[Todd]

One thing I forgot to mention is that I use the mouse for pointing (with my
left hand), and mousekeys for clicking (with my right hand). I only use the
click (5 key), double-click (+ key), and the click hold-down (0 key).
Perhaps this issue only occurs when using a mouse along with mousekeys.