Start-up and random rapid-clicking / "enter" key auto-pressing

dothackjhe · 12 Aug 2015

I'm not ruling out the cause of this issue being malware of some sort, however, I have already tried those programs which are accessible to me with the aim of resolving this issue -- Avast! Free Antivirus, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (Premium), and Dr.Web CureIt!, including free Anti-rootkit programs by BitDefender, Kaspersky, Avast!, and Malwarebytes' itself -- only Malwarebytes', Avast!, and Dr.Web CureIt! seem to detect something on the computer, most of which are false positives, while others trivial (removed), yet did not seem to fix the issue.

This only started off with a rapid-clicking after every startup of the computer which can be fixed by simply pressing the "F5" key which refreshes the page. Only to randomly return again. I know it rapidly clicks when I hover over the cursor to the start menu and it suddenly close-opens the menu too fast enough for a man to click on it.

Eventually this has gotten worst by also affecting the "Enter" key which auto-presses itself by a lot sometimes whenever I am typing including now. If I am on a Word program, it auto-clicks the "Enter" key to a point that multiple lines are skipped until I refreshed the page by clicking on the "F5" key.

Moreover, I know either or both of the problems occur when the start menu suddenly pops up without me even clicking on it. The most annoying part of this problem is when it rapidly clicks on a certain program and causes it to run multiple instances of the same program, literally.

If this is not software-related, I am assuming this is to be a hardware problem of some kind but do not necessarily know what is it specifically.

Anyone got any ideas on this problem, especially on its fix?

Making a full reformat of the computer is my final resort if only it can't be fixed any other way.

JonM · 12 Aug 2015

This sounds like a hardware issue to me.

I'm going to assume you've tried swapping out the keyboard / mouse...
(or unplugging one, the other or both)

We recently had a similar issue where a user had a graphics tablet (and puck) attached to their machine. This decided to play up nastily with the mouse - do you have anything similar attached?

I would start off by removing all input devices, boot up the PC and see whether it happens, if not attach them back one by one until it starts again.
If you find it's a specific piece of hardware, I would update the drivers etc and see whether that improves things.
If not, I would just format and rebuild the machine myself as I don't have a lot of time for investigating too many root causes.
Perhaps someone else will have an idea before you resort to that...

dothackjhe · 12 Aug 2015

I have already tried switching USB ports for my keyboard and mouse, it did not necessarily fixed the problem. I only have the standard setting with my desktop configuration -- monitor, CPU, keyboard, mouse, and wired internet connection directly from the router.

Just yesterday, it has gotten worst as the problem moved towards the keyboard auto-pressing either the "enter" key or the "spacebar." This only occurs when I am on Word program or a chat box anywhere online i.e. FB Messenger or forum thread. I almost spammed a person at FB about something when the problem occurred as I typed -- it auto-keyed the "Enter" key after every letter I typed. Literally, I was typing vertically as a result -- which would looked like a spam if I did not make an excuse on it.

I am using a laptop now as I typed this, by the way.

JonM · 12 Aug 2015

I would try to unplug the keyboard while on Word (or similar) and see whether the random key pressing stops. If so, it looks like your keyboard is having some issues.

Let me know what happens.

dothackjhe · 12 Aug 2015

Although I have thought of that at one point, I have not really tried it yet. Let me see how it goes from there.

[Update]
The issue occurred as soon as I plugged both keyboard and mouse on the CPU tower.

[Update]
I guess my suspicion that the mouse is the problem is wrong but rather should be pointed towards the keyboard. The issue seems to have vanished as soon as I replaced the keyboard. I am still observing whether the issue would re-surface though.

dothackjhe · 12 Aug 2015

For some reason, it is indeed a faulty keyboard that is the cause of the problem. I am now marking this issue as solved as I have already addressed it with the help of JonM.

Best regards.