Windows 7 - Cursor Jumps all over screen

I noticed something similar happening in my previous laptop using Vista, but in Windows 7 it's almost unusable.

As I'm typing the cursor will change positions either on the application (to another area of same application), or will jump to another document.

At times I'll start to highlight something in Word to delete it, and as I hit "delete" the cursor switches to another part of the document, highlighting another paragraph and deleting it instead of what I was trying to delete.

At other times I see the cursor leave the document, go to one of the icons of another application at the bottom of the screen. Just as I hit "return" the cursor is now in another document and that document comes up on the screen instead of the one I was using.

At first I was losing whole documents. But then I got smart enough to realize that they had been closed, or stuck somewhere, and I eventually could find them instead of losing all of the work I had done.

I've been composing emails and suddenly the email disappears. It was sent before I finished composing it.

This happens about one every minute or so, and sometimes even more often.

I can see the hourglass pop up on the screne as I move the mouse. When it pops up either the screen zoom changes, screen size changes, or jumps off to one of the other icons as I mentioned above.

It looks to me as if the operating system is doing something else at those times, and if I'm going very fast (I type at about 100 wpm and up) that keystrokes get stuck somewhere I didn't intend for them to be. I make that assumption because when I move the mouse fast and see the hourglass pop up that's when it happens with the mouse, so I'm assuming that it happens with keystrokes as well. But that's a guess.

I also notice that if my finger drags across the mousepad on the laptop that sometimes that can cause this erratic behavior. Or if as I move the mouse instead of being in the center of the sensor pad I'm at the edge, that can create some real weird results.

Anyone else having similar problems?

Any fixes?

Hi Alan and welcome to Windows 7 Forums

This could be down to the sensitivity of your mousepad. As well as operating on a touch principal, some can operate capacitively if the sensitivity is high enough. To check this, try switching the mousepad off altogether and plug in an external mouse. It's very rare that I use a laptop, but on the ocassions that I have I found that the cursor moved without my intention simply because my wrist must have been moving over the mousepad.

In addition to the above advice, which I think will solve your problem; try tools (above IE screen) internet options....advanced....Make sure that, use smooth scrolling is checked. It has worked with another's problem similar to yours.

Thanks both Dwarf and Rich for you suggestions. I'd like to try both but can't find where to implement either.

I can't find where to set the sensitivity of the mouse. I've been into the controls--mouse and don't see a sensitivity setting.

And, Rich, I looked into the IE Tools as you suggested but don't see a setting for smooth scrolling.

Where do I find both of these?

Dwarf--I think you are right about my hand either being close or brushing over the top of the mousepad, but even so, it seems strange that it acts like I'm pushing the mouse button to activate whatever it's over as well.

For instance, this morning I was typing in a "comment" field on a blog. 5 different times just about as I was finishing the comment, it highlighted the whole entry and deleted it. I tried "pasting" it back but nothing was there. This is so frustrating. It's like taking 5 steps forward and then 10 backward. Suddenly a whole document disappears. A computer is supposed to be a tool to make things easier, but this new Windows 7 creates a real burden.

Above this screen, you see tools, click
click on internet options
click on advanced
In the browsing section, near the bottom near international.

To change the sensitivity of the mouse, go to control panel...mouse

Can it be your mouse?

I would say it definitely has something to do with windows 7 as I upgraded a laptop and desktop to Windows 7 and neither had done what you had described until I changed to Windows 7.

I also notice that in Photoshop, using the polygonal lasso tool that if I do not complete my selection within about 30 seconds or so, the selecion completes itself.

I had this issue with my sony laptop and it was fixed by installing new touchpad drivers (even though I use an external Bluetooth mouse)

While reseaching the solution I noticed that this is a very common problem on laptops for anybody using the default windows 7 touchpad drivers.

I am having the same problem, sometimes the cursor seems to have a mind of its own. I use a HP dv2000 and Windows 7, with an external mouse. I turned off the mouse pad and that didn't fix the problem. I followed advice above and looked for updated mouse drivers and results came back that drivers are up to date. don't know where to go from here.

Mike

Forget the system telling you that the drivers are up-to-date, go to the manufacturers site and try any touchpad drivers it has for your model.

Try these (you may have to run in vista compatibility mode) - http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/s...roduct=1817074

Alan Boyer described my problem exactly. WIndows 7 64 bit - had no similar problems with Windows XP.

Anyone figured it out yet? Have tried advice given herein, with no results . . .