[earthcoyote]

Hi guys,

I'm on a Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop. On Tuesday I noticed while typing in an instant messenger that wherever my curser was laying my computer would randomly click. I've had this computer for almost two years so i've learned where to place my hands to avoid the touchpad while typing. I've had a few minor viruses and junk on my computer but it nearly ran the same as when I pulled it out of the box for the first time. After running virus scans and anti-malware programs which didn't surface a thing I decided to roll back my system to a few days previous before the issues turned up. When that proved to be unaffective I turned off my touchpad and solely used my USB mouse to see if I could rule out a hardware issue. My USB mouse now sometimes stops to load a phantom program for a brief second or becomes choppy and sometimes won't move like it's supposed to. On top of these issues I've now started to notice my favicons changing to things they aren't supposed to be... (Google now displays the "dancing banana" icon, msn displays a laptop, Google Maps displays the US Postal Service icon, etc.) More virus scans and anti-malware programs provide nothing. I am at a loss on what to do and the closest computer repair site has a waiting list into the new year.

Any and all help are appreciated. I can provide HijackThis logs when asked and will also provide specs if needed.

Again, I am using a Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop running Vista, Service Pack 2 and Internet Explorer 8. Virus protection is Avast! Free.

Thank you.

[new tech guy]

Sounds silly and i know you stated you think you trained your hands but try disabling your mousepad while typing and see if the issue stops, should have a small hardware switch on it. If it persists, possibly reinstall the mouse driver.

[earthcoyote]

Hi,

Thank you for the reply. I have disabled the touchpad while I have a USB mouse present and the problem still persists. Several instances have lead me to believe there is an unwanted program or item on my computer that is causing it distress but I cannot seem to find it. Programs have began to hang on loading screens, the spinning circle for a loading program now shows at random times even while idling, etc.

[new tech guy]

Hm, if you run the system in safe mode, does it still happen, that should sort out any software issue. Also a thing to check on the usb mouse is the battery itself. My mother uses a wireless laptop mouse for her pc and somtimes gets these issues when the batteries get weak. But if you test with the touchpad in safemode, let us know if the problem persists. Bear in mind you may want to link into your network through a wired line and use safe mode with networking as it will allow internet access.