strange cursor behavior

[selif]

Windows XP Pro SP3, Toshiba Satellite Pro L500 EZ1530

(the laptop is new last Spring and, unlike most people I know, I always practice safe hex. This computer is more important to me than most alleged humans)

My cursor is showing the oddest behavior I have ever seen and I've been around computers since long before point and click.

This started Saturday evening. I first noticed it after I had a minor coffee spill that pretty much drowned my cordless mouse and I got everything cleaned up and tried to get back to work.

If I click on *anything* in my browser (firefox 3.6.12), be it a link, bookmark, menu item, whatever. I then have to click on an empty spot on my desktop before I am allowed to click on anything else, regardless of what it is.

I thought it might be the mouse having a problem because of the coffee spill and disconnected it and switched to the touchpad. No joy, the cursor continues to have the same behavior.

Also, I noticed that when I click on an empty spot on the desktop (no, it's not always the same place), there is sometimes a small white square that appears a variable distance from the cursor to the lower left.

I've had a problem lately with the right shift key being stiff and difficult to use like there was something under it. I tried to look under it but couldn't and so decided to try removing it to clean the are out. It could not be removed. on further inspection it looked like the enter key might be in the way and have to be removed first so I tried that.

I was able to remove the enter key but in spite of my efforts to be careful I manged to break that impossibly small plastic part under it (which means that while I could put it back, its not "right").

Given that result, I decided not to continue trying to remove the shift key.

I did check and have confirmed that NONE of the coffee spill got into the computer or keyboard. Yet this odd behavior did not start until after that happened.

I should point out that this is NOT limited to just my browser. I have found that when I run a Java app, I am unable to click on ANY of the buttons in the GUI. Needless to say this renders those programs useless in the worst way.

Whatever program I'm trying to use (java or otherwise), I get one click, then have to click the desktop before I'm allowed to click anything else in that program.

The best I could get from the Toshiba help desk is a recommendation to remove and re-install the Synaptics Pointing Device driver. I did so and there was no change.

I have NEVER seen or heard of anything like this before!

This is a major P.I.T.A. and is making it bloody difficult to get my work done. Especially when you consider that I normally keep a couple of dozen browser tabs open and with this problem that's really difficult to manage.

If anybody can offer me a clue to getting this fixed I'd appreciate it a LOT!

[nitesh mehta]

You might still have the coffee inside the touchpad that is making the cursor jump everytime and as it is a liquid other than water that cant evaporate, the best bet would to take it to some laptop repair shop and have a look at the same. You can also try to disassemble the laptop and try to look in the inside for any remains of some sticky liquids of the coffee.

[selif]

That's just it. I gave the machine as thorough an inspection as I could and there was NO indication whatsoever that coffee had gotten anywhere near the touchpad, let alone into it.

Is it possible that there is some key on a partially flakey keyboard that could be effecting mouse/cursor behavior? I checked "StickyKeys" and it's disabled. but aren't there others, albeit rarely used anymore, that might account for this oddness?

[Zhankana_n]

It might be problem with the driver installed on your computer and you can try to update that. Other than this, you can also refer this thread and see if any of the solution over here can assist you to solve the problem. Please post back if that helps for you.

[selif]

I was able to do further testing with a Kubuntu 10.10 live cd.

Equally strange though mostly different oddities plague the different OS booted from a CD-ROM. Including things like windows and applications suddenly minimizing or closing with no warning and more.

This tells me that the problem is NOT a software issue of any kind. It is a hardware problem. Apparently when trying to free the stuck right shift key I caused some kind of short or other issue.

A new keyboard has been ordered.

I'll report back when it's installed but I am fairly confident that will solve the issue once and for all

[selif]

A new keyboard has been ordered.

I'll report back when it's installed but I am fairly confident that will solve the issue once and for all

Well, so much for what I was confident in. After waiting what seemed like half of forever for it to arrive, I installed it yesterday afternoon.

Other than no longer having broken keys, It had no effect on the problem at all.

I have also used system restore to load a restore point from four days before this behavior started. This also had no effect, the problem continues to persist.

Please, if anyone has a clue what's going on I'd sure appreciate it! I've tried everything I can think of at this point and nothing is making any difference.

In short, I *REALLY* need some major help here!

.