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Mon 22 Oct, 2007 02:10 pm
These two problems may or may not be related; one occurs only when I am using an internet connection, the other occurs even after freshly rebooting the PC before using any software.
The first is that when I am connected to the internet using AOL (I know, AOL sucks) using Windows XP on a Dell PC. If I've swapped windows to work on something on my desktop, every 15 minutes or so, the PC brings the AOL screen to the top and I have to swap windows again. It gets annoying.
The second problem occurs with my USB mouse, a GE Optical mouse. About every 15 minutes or so, the mouse pointer goes haywire and seeks out the lower right corner of the screen and then the upper right corner of the screen and then flutters back and forth along that first line track on the screen and is unresponsive to mouse movement until I click the right mouse button to stabilize it. It works fine until the next 15 minute interval.
I noticed these problems starting to occur about two or three months ago after one of the monthly Windows Updates installations. May or may not be related.
Here's what I've done so far without resolution:
1. Reinstalled the AOL adapter.
2. Checked the mouse properties using the Windows Control panel. They continue to be the default settings.
3. No software came with the mouse, but I did check the GE website to see if I could find a driver. Didn't find anything.
4. Removed and reinstalled the mouse driver using Device Manager to eliminate file corruption.
5. Plugged the mouse into a different USB port in case the port was going bad.
6. Checked Windows Update for any new mouse drivers. There aren't any.
My next step is to do some troubleshooting on the USB controller, but thought I'd see if anyone has any other advice before I dig deeper into this.
Also, are the two problems related or separate? If I didn't know better, I'd say it was a ghost from the old AOL days when they had that stupid inactivity timer you had to click on to stay connected. But nothing like that shows up on the screen and I never lose connection from a time out.
Btw, yes, I've also gone through Timber's anti-spyware steps and nothing unusual has turned up.
I used to have a similar problem with AOL a few years ago. It was the buggy AOL software and the way it treated the ads that would change every few minutes. Certain ads took control and would cause that window to become the active window. AOL tech support had me clear my cache and reinstall software. But funny thing is none of that fixed their badly written software. They finally repaired it on their end and I changed operating systems so I couldn't use AOL anymore.
The fact that the USB mouse acts that way at the same intervals as the the AOL software would first point me to AOL. Does the mouse act up if you don't have AOL running? If so then it is a mouse problem otherwise it could well be an AOL problem.
I had the same problem with my USB optical mouse and what you probably need is a new pad. Somehow on here told me about this, matter of fact. Your mousepad is more than likely slick and shiny with age and usage and the mouse is bouncing around off of it.
MOUSE TROUBLE
Edit [Moderator]: Link removed
Edit [Moderator]: Link removed yeh
eoe wrote:I had the same problem with my USB optical mouse and what you probably need is a new pad. Somehow on here told me about this, matter of fact. Your mousepad is more than likely slick and shiny with age and usage and the mouse is bouncing around off of it.
MOUSE TROUBLE
I wish it was that easy a solution. One of the reasons I got this particular mouse is that it does not need a mouse pad. It has worked fine for most of the year on the surface of my desk and suddenly started having these convulsive tantrums a couple months ago. There aren't any mouse balls or other surfaces to clean, that was another selling point. I've dusted the little lighted optical eyes of the thing too.
I'll check out that link you gave and see if there are any insights there.
Thanks,
My optical mouse has had problems on reflective surfaces. Try a mouse pad even if you don't have to have one.
Also, I've had clients with weird problems after removing an inkjet printer, such as those that come with Dell computers. If you've disconnected or powered off the printer, make sure that you also remove the printer software. The printer software periodically polls the printer to check ink levels and whatnot, and screws up other USB devices.
Dang, I'll bet that is exactly what it is, DrewDad! My laser printer wakes up frequently for no reason at all so I keep it powered off to maintain my sanity and save electricity since I rarely use it. I bet it is the the software searching for the printer. Makes a lot of sense when compared to the regularity of the behavior. Disabling the printer software now. Will post a status report tomorrow.
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