Jumping cursor

[Alan55016]

I've had a problem for quite a while that seems to be worsening. When I power up, almost always, on the initial screen where you enter the password, I will see the cursor jumping around. Previously I would push on the power icon, select restart, and when it was back up the cursor worked perfectly. Recently I've needed to restart more than once to steady it down; sometimes four or five times. And to go one step further, at random intervals the cursor jumps to the Windows icon all by itself. 

According to Device Manager the Synaptics SMBus touchpad driver is at level 19.5.35.50. 

Any ideas how I might finally cure this?

[praveenbv]

Hi@Alan55016, Welcome to the HP Support Community!

This is a wonderful location to converse with the community, get assistance and find tips! I understand you are having issues with the cursor moves on its own on your HP Notebook. Don't worry as I have a few suggestions which should help you resolve this issue.

To provide you with an accurate solution, I'll need a few more details:

Did this happen after a recent software update?

Have you tried to connect an external mouse and check if it works?

Have you checked if the cursor moves even in the Bios?

In the meantime, let's try these steps here: Many startup errors and other problems can be resolved by decreasing the amount of power stored in hardware components. Decreasing stored power is sometimes referred to as a "Hard Reset". Use the following steps to perform a hard reset on a computer:

Perform a Hard reset on the notebook: Many startup errors and other problems can be resolved by decreasing the amount of power stored in hardware components. Decreasing stored power is sometimes referred to as a "Hard Reset". Use the following steps to perform a hard reset on a computer:

The next thing, I would suggest here is to boot the computer into the Bios screen and check if the cursor moves on its own or not, If the cursor keeps moving on its own even in the Bios, then it's a possible hardware failure. If the cursor does not move on the Bios, then it's likely a software or driver issue, then you can try to update the Bios, graphics card drivers as well as touchpad drivers on your PC from our HP support website, using this link.

Once done, restart the computer and check if that works.

If the issue persists, let's try to check the settings:

Check the Mouse options under the control panel: 

Start → Control Panel → Mouse → Buttons tab.  

Check the box labeled "Use MS Office compatible scroll only."  

Also, check the box below labeled "Scroll inactive window only." 

If the issue persists, attempt the below steps: 

Attempt using an alternate/external mouse.  

(If that works when the touchpad is disabled on Synaptic software, it would mean that it's a touchpad failure, 

However, if the external mouse doesn't work either, it could be a software/driver issue). 

Uninstall and reinstall the drivers for your mouse: 

Go to the Device Manager and select your mouse. Uninstall it and then restart your computer. During restart, your mouse driver will automatically be reinstalled. 

• 1.   Click on Start and type ‘Device Manager’. 
• 2.   Click Device Manager. 
• 3.   Click + sign next to Mouse. 
• 4.   Right-click on mouse entry and choose "uninstall". 
• 5.   Restart your computer. 

Please let me know if this resolves the issue, or if you require further assistance!

Keep me posted. Happy to help!

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Have a great day! 

[Alan55016]

I did the hard reset and it seems to have helped. But I know not to get happy too soon. I'll update again in a few days when I have a better feel for the situation.

There's been an update to the BIOS for my machine but I've always been afraid of those. If they go wrong what do I do? I don't need that stress any more.

Be back soon.

Alan

[Johyatt]

I am also experiencing this issue with my Envy laptop (have been since purchase off on and); however, I am using the touchpad and not a mouse.  I used to be able to control by doing a complete shutdown (Restart had no effect). I have updated all drivers today in hopes that this will resolve. It continues to happen but at the moment it is an on/off situation. I was going to get a mouse until I read the other threads where users are experiencing the problems even with a mouse. When it first happened I thought my laptop had been 'sabotaged' and ran antivirus/malware scan and was relieved that it wasn't that. Still annoyed by this. I've set my sensitivity to low to help reduce the episodes. And of course the warranty has just expired!

[BwanaDave]

I have a 15" 3000 laptop with the same issue. My question is why has this jumping cursor been an issue since at least 2017 without HP (it just happened again) resolving it before the product gets to the consumer?