laptop pointer has a mind of it's own

trout

short time lurker ... first time poster

i've been using laptops in work for about 8 years now ... first Toshiba, and more recently IBM Thinkpads (T21 & T23) ... i thought these Thinkpads were excellent

recently we have been issued with Dell Latitude D620's and for the most part, they are fine machines

for various motor control reasons, i find trackpads very hard to use (which is why i like the IBM Thinkpads) so i use the built in pointers

the problem i am having with the new laptop is the wee blue mouse pointer built into the keyboard seems to have a mind of it's own ... after say 25-30 minutes of use, the pointer will drag up and to the left of it's own accord, so i have to wrestle it back to where i want it to be ... quite frustrating

i keep the mouse settings at the lowest sensitivity and i don't believe the pointer is pinched or damaged in any way ... i am also sure i am not touching the trackpad accidentally ... to eliminate any s/w issues, i have regenned the laptop twice (Win XP Pro) ... still the same

the reason i am posting this now is i have just seen the same behaviour on another work laptop, same model, same vintage

it seems to only happen when i am running off battery, when an external mouse is not really feasible for me, and the laptop case seems to be quite warm ... is it possible this is heat related ? any thoughts/advice

Backtoblack

LOL! I bought a toshiba laptop before xmas and had serious problems with my mousepad - Always used a mouse for more than ten years..
Finally this weekend, I got a wireless mouse. Absolutely so much better and easier!
I tried to change setttings etc with the mousepad but its just too slow to use and personally I can't get use to its weird little shortcuts - backtap = back to previous page for example!!! GRRRR!
Anyway, someone else suggested to get a small bluetooth mouse? maybe that would be more suited to you?
Best of luck with it anyway. I gave up!! :rolleyes:

Backtoblack

Fearing that I may not have a clue what i'm talking about as I am not a techie - I know that a mouse can tend not to work as well when low on battery? Just an idea.

trout

the pulling up & left behaviour tends to happen after 25 - 30 minutes of use, regardless of how much battery time is left ... i'm running off mains now, to see if the battery/mains has any impact (doubt it)

seems to heat related, as the base of the laptop gets very hot, way hotter than other models i've used in the past

you are probably right to use an external mouse ... bound to get the best response/experience that way ... it just bothers me to have a laptop with two mouse control solutions (pointer/trackpad) and then lug about an external mouse as well

Backtoblack

What did you decide Trout?
My first laptop gave me overheating problems.. and then the screen would go blank and in the end I got my money back - thank god! I'm not a techie but over heating isnt' good.:) I suppose to make sure that the vents are clear/not working with laptop on a duvet? Best of luck with it!!

testicle

If you don't use the nipple, you can disable it.