cursor jumps around when typing

[amcjr]

I have a HP pavilion dv2000 laptop about 4 months old. I have the "jumping cursor" problem. The cursor will jump around the screen when I'm typing (I've had to correct this email 4 times already. Turning off the touch pad stops the problem but so does typing on another computer. I've tried a number of things to no avail. It is an intermittent problem in that it doesn't do it every day. When it does it, it does it bad.  I have experimented and I'm sure that I'm not touching the cursor pad as I type. I do often touch the case in the area around the touchpad. I'm guessing this is a grounding issue but can't prove that so far. I like this laptop but because of this problem, I'm unlikely to buy another HP.

Any ideas, anyone?

Alex

[iam_fletcher]

If you are swearing off an entire comptuer manufacturer because one product you bought from them had an intermittant issue that could be fixed with a single service, then more power too you, but that is a poor basis for condeming an entire brand.

As far as troubleshooting your issue goes, you might have a grounding problem, i'll back up your diagnosis there, obviously the issue will be hard to verify via phone support, if you call into HP, and are in warranty, you can have the computer sent in to let them check. They would probably replace the chassie or touchpad itself for free under warranty.

[HFactor]

I've had this same problem with my TX2510.

I've tried disabling the touchpad and using an external mouse and I still have this problem.

Any suggestions?

[motherofbun]

I have this same problem too. Haven't even had this for a year. Sort of an on/off issue. And lately its been "on" for about a month. Actually, I've also had two keys fall off in the first two months. And now my "c" key will sometimes work but sometimes not.

It takes twice as long to write an email when your curser is jumping around. I'm a blogger so I spend ALOT of time typing. (Even more so now that the curser jumps when I'm trying to write a post. Very frustrating. I've never had this problem with any other laptop. And I KNOW its not my hand resting on the touch pad. In fact, I've changed the the touch pad sensitivity and adjusting my table, chair height and have have made some other adjustments and it will still do this.

I've had a number of other issues with this laptop. The  HP Pavilion Entertainment PC (At least the one I bought) is slow to start up and basically a big ole POS. I'm with you in that this will be the last laptop from HP that I purchase. In the time I've written this email the curser has jumped around 13 times!

I'm kicking myself for not buying a Mac. I should have spent the extra money.

[motherofbun]

What about when you rely on your computer for your work and you have tight deadlines and don't get alot of lead time for projects. What if your household relies on the money generated from that sort of work and can't afford to wait a week or two for computer specialists to (possibly) fix an issue. I mean, my computer was in a box when I bought it.  No one else had touched the computer to the best of my knowledge and I saw this problem within a few days. It went away but now its back. Personally I think $799 is alot to spend on a computer. So I expected it to start up fast, for keys to not fall off and for the cursor and touch pad to work the way they should. (If I lock the touchpad I still have issues.) Also the curser jumped around 8 times in this message. The faster I type, the more it seems to jump.

I hope you don't work in customer service for HP. Your reply to that first person sounded rather condescending.

[BPvan]

I also wish I had bought a mac.  my dv2000 also developed the jumpy cursor problem about a month after I bought it.  I sent it back to HP and they replaced the keyboard.  It worked for a year, right after the warranty expired and now I have the same problem again.  I am going to try an external keyboard.  I don't  want to sink any more $$$ into this piece of crap. Going to buy a new Mac Notebook and be done with HP/Microsoft!

[BBraxton]

Does the computer stay always running (how often do you re-boot).

In a totally different context, a re-calibration (of the touchpad) happens upon re-boot, so the first thing I would try when cursor jumping begins would be to do a full shutdown of the computer. Then I would start over and see if the restart makes a difference that time. 

[BPvan]

I reboot quite frequently as I find that the computer stays quite hot in sleep mode and runs down the battery.  That's another aspect of the Mac laptop that I prefer.  You close the lid and it sleeps, you open the lid and it's back on.  No problem and the laptop is cool when it is in sleep mode. 

I decided to see if there was a connection problem with the keyboard knowing that the first time my laptop developed the jumpy cursor problem, the fix was a new keyboard.  So, I removed the keyboard, unseated the connection, looked for any visable damage to the connection, which I did not observe, then reconnected it and reinstalled the keyboard.  I have just typed this entire post without the cursor arbitrarily jumping into the text I have already typed.  I also checked for driver updates for the keyboard and mouse.  I was up to date with the keyboard driver, but not the mouse driver, so I downloaded the new mouse driver.  Removing the keyboard is very simple.  Remove the battery and then remove the three screws that have a little kayboard symbol next to them.  The keyboard then easily comes out, but is connected by a flat cable, which is released by pulling out the white tabs on each side.  This seems to have solved the problem, for now at least.  The only problem I have now is that the keyboard is not properly seated on the right side.  It is sitting up a little higher where the delete key is than it should be.  But I can live with this.  The jumpy cursor problem rendered this laptop almost completely useless.   I'd be interested to know if others who have the same problem, can resolve it by disconnecting and reconnecting the keyboard. Good luck!

[jctlmm]

I have a dv2000 and have experienced the same problem for the last 6 months. I've sent my laptop 3 times to HP service. None of them have solved the problem. So, I don't want to waste more time with HP support. Most likely my next laptop won't be an HP. After doing a long research, it seems that this problem is alsopresent in other brands (Toshiba, Sony, etc) and other touchpad manufacturers (alps, synaptics, etc). So, what's the root of the problem? Who knows!!!

I have tried multiple solutions but none of them is 100% efective.

The list includes:

1) Re-image the OS/SW (4+ times)

2) Re-installing the drivers (I tried 3 different versions, all available at HP.com)

3) At HP service they replace first the connectors, then the whole touchpad

4) Change the touchpad settings: a) Tap off when typing, b) touch sensitivity and c) disable enhance pointer precision

So far, the solution that has decreased this behavior (but not fully solved the problem) is 4).

I've also read that placing some paper foil underneath? (and/or around) the touchpad may solve the problem, but i haven't tried. 

So if anyone discovers the "real" solution, please share it with us!!!

-Juan 

[BPvan]

I don't know if the jumpy cursor has anything to do with the touch pad.  Everyone at HP Support and friends I have complained to about this problem jumped to the same conclusion, that I was inadvertantly touching the touchpad while typing.  Like I didn't know how to type.  It was my fault.  Hey I got and A in typing in high school! So, I disabled the touchpad and used an external mouse and I still had the cursor jumping all over the place when typing.  I reiterate, when I sent my laptop back to HP after this problem first surfaced they fixed it by replacing the keyboard.  It worked well for about 10 months then the problem resurfaced right after the warranty expired.  By disconnecting and reconnecting the keyboard it is fixed again.  There is no way I could have typed this much without the cursor jumping back into previous lines of text I had already typed.  If you have this problem, try what I did.  It's really very easy to do.