Weird Mouse/trackpad&pointer issue

ITdude

Hi,

I just got an almost new notebook. It seems to be running fine except for one small thing. After about 5 minutes the mouse and all poinring devices freeze and I cannot move anything but the keyboard.

I tried uninstall and reinstall of drivers with no luck. If you navigate to the device manager with the kbd when this happens it no longer shows any pointing devices in the list. If you look when it is working fine you can see the ALPS driver and all the options. you can also see the trackpad graphic on the tray.

This is a Dell Latitude by the way. I am getting very frustrated because when it happens I can't do very much to troubleshoot it. I also tried to boot in safe mode and it was still stuck.

By the way, if I turn the notebook off for about 15-20 minutes and restart it works fine again for about 5 minutes!

Anyone have ideas on this annoying problem?

Thanks :

JDMurray

ITdude wrote:

By the way, if I turn the notebook off for about 15-20 minutes and restart it works fine again for about 5 minutes!

If you reboot the pointer doesn't come back? And if you leave it off for less than 15-20 minutes the pointer does not come back? It sounds like a heat problem. There are likely some electronic component related to the pointer hardware that's defective and overheating, or is being overheated by another component in the notebook.

Has somebody recently added/repaired/replaced some mechanical aspect of the notebook before this problem started? Upgrading a hard drive or adding more memory can cause more heat to be generated, as can opening it up and not reassembling it properly. The usage and repair history of the notebook might give a clue as to its current behavior.

WanBoy67

Id try and rule Windows out first, boot up with a Linux live CD/DVD and see if you get the same problem. Also does the mouse still draw power when the mouse freezes? (check the USB Root Hub in Device Manager - Windows Key+Pause/Break is a nice quick keyboard shortcut to the system properties)

drthtater

You said almost new....does it still have a warranty?

sprkymrk

Sounds like a loose cable (or wire) from the MB to the touchpad - Dell's are notorious for that. The heat problem JD pointed out is probably causing a "barely connected" wire or something to expand and become disconnected. Return it to Dell for warranty repair. They are buggers to fix yourself until you've taken a dozen or two apart and back together again.

JDMurray

sprkymrk wrote:

Return it to Dell for warranty repair. They are buggers to fix yourself until you've taken a dozen or two apart and back together again.

The only laptops that I've ever been able to disassemble, repair, and successfully reassemble have all been Dells. They are well-designed machines, although I've wished that the service manuals had a little more detail.

ITdude

Hi guys,

Sorry for not getting back sooner it has been a hectic day and I am still working on a customer's network.

The computer is a one month old Latitude D620. I just got it from someone. They claim they did not know about the issue.
It might be true since the OS was not even installed/activated till several days ago.

I thought about the heat issue too, but this happens after being on for only 3-5 minutes, not that much heat. If I do a restart, no change. If I shut it down and reboot, no change. If I shut it down and conme back a few minutes later, it works again for a few minutes.

The strange thing is, it totally disappears from the device manager and sometimes instead of the ALPS driver package, I can find a generic mouse showing in the control panel.

The other thing I "may" have noticed is that one of the usb connectors on the right side of the notebook(the top one) seens strange. If I plug a usb drive in the light on the drive comes on for a second and goes off. If I put the drive in the lower port it works fine. I need to make sure the drive isn't a problem first. I have only had a hour or so to play with the notebook. I just got it yesterday and have been slammed with work, so no time to play.

It is a very nice machine minus the headaches. 2GHZ Core 2 duo, 100GB 7200rpm drive, 2GB RAM, Bluetooth, WXGA+ display etc, However, all that means nothing without the mouse, etc.

Anyway, it is under warranty but I want to exhaust all the software possibilities(doubtful) before the inconvenience.

Thanks for all the great input, everyone!

JDMurray

ITdude wrote:

The strange thing is, it totally disappears from the device manager and sometimes instead of the ALPS driver package, I can find a generic mouse showing in the control panel.

This is an indication of a complete hardware malfunction; the device literally disappears off Windows' radar as if it were unplugged. A warranty repair job this is.

ITdude

Yea, I suspect that may be the case but I will try to take a closer look over the weekend.
It is covered by next day warranty. I just hate having someone monkey with my literally brand new machine and scratch and ding it up!

Not everyone is as careful as I am doing repairs!