# My cursor's gone crazy **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 4, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cursors-gone-crazy/636713 "2012-10-04T17:03:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cursors-gone-crazy/636713/1 "2012-10-04T17:03:11Z")
The IT guys can’t do anything for me. They tell me to type better, but the cursor on THIS SINGLE NETBOOK jumps all over the place, and I need to correct the random typing only on this one netbook, not any other computer, and the random cursor is driving me nuts. (I’ve taken ten minutes to type out these few sentences.) Suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cursors-gone-crazy/636713/2 "2012-10-04T17:09:19Z")
I get that when the battery in my wireless mouse is dying… ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cursors-gone-crazy/636713/3 "2012-10-04T17:18:51Z")
Someone else with a blue tooth device in the area. Great prank. Does it stop whenever the tech guys look at it? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cursors-gone-crazy/636713/4 "2012-10-04T17:23:03Z")
an active touchpad can do things like that. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cursors-gone-crazy/636713/5 "2012-10-04T17:44:47Z")
Are you talking about the mouse cursor? Because it sounds like you are talking about the typing cursor (or whatever it is called, the blinking vertical line) jumping around and making you type stuff in the wrong place. I occasionally have my mouse cursor randomly jump to a corner of the screen (as happens with optical mice, if not enough to be annoying), but it never changes the typing cursor location unless you click, but it isn’t a wireless mouse either which I suppose could do that if the receiver can’t properly read the data (probably no error correction used for such a simple thing). ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cursors-gone-crazy/636713/6 "2012-10-04T18:25:32Z")
Disable the touch pad, and use only a mouse or track ball. The touch pad can pick up a static charge (especially when the Santa Ana winds are blowing!) and your entire computer will seem possessed. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cursors-gone-crazy/636713/7 "2012-10-04T18:46:12Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > The touch pad can pick up a static charge (especially when the Santa Ana winds are blowing!) and your entire computer will seem possessed. Or … dum dum dommm! It really is possessed! ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cursors-gone-crazy/636713/8 "2012-10-04T19:33:10Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Or … dum dum dommm! It really is possessed! You need an old IT guy and a young IT guy. Your motherboard sucks clocks in hell! The power of DOS compels you. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cursors-gone-crazy/636713/9 "2012-10-04T20:45:50Z")
I used to have a mouse that would go haywire every now and then. I had to re-install the drivers for it on multiple occasions. If you are talking about the typing cursor, are you sure you’re not bumping the touch pad? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cursors-gone-crazy/636713/10 "2012-10-04T21:47:12Z")
If you’re using a Macbook, when the battery gets old and swells, just leaning on the keyboard with your wrists can make the cursor jump around. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cursors-gone-crazy/636713/11 "2012-10-05T02:41:35Z")
It is probably your sleeve bushing the touchpad. You can disable the pad altogether, or just disable the tap-to-click function. The cursor may still move then, but it will not matter much if it is not registering clicks, and thus moving the insertion point too.