possibly an OS problem? - comp not consistently responding to mouse clicks

Hi folks.

I could use some guidance. I'm trying to fix a problem with my (totally-non-computer-literate) boyfriend's computer. (I'm the geek in the family).

The computer is an HP Pavillion dv 9000 laptop running Windows XP Pro, purchased in Jan 2007. It's not in great physical shape, as a while ago the plastic frame around the screen started separating at the seam. I was away for about 6 weeks, and when I came back I saw that the separation had gotten really bad. The side of the screen is exposed, and the plastic frame has broken away from the hinge on the left side. That at least doesn't seem to have impacted the functioning of the computer, but I only mention it just in case.

The real problem is this. A couple of weeks ago my boyfriend was traveling for work (taking his computer), and while he was away, he began having problems with it, namely Firefox had basically stopped responding to mouse clicks. He could move the mouse and point, but could not get the program to respond to the clicks. He could only work in firefox if one tab was open. One of the friends he was staying with downloaded and re-installed firefox, but it seems the problem continued. He stopped using Firefox and switched to IE, and it seems to work in IE.

Now I've seen it 'in person' and what I can tell you about the problem is this. The computer seems to respond to mouse clicks in some situations, and not in others. It doesn't matter whether i'm using an external mouse or the touchpad. It still doesn't work in Firefox, seems to work in IE and Word. But occasionally it does weird things, like highlighting the entire document in a PDF.

Also, when first starting up the computer, it's impossible to click to choose a user account in Windows. I've been able to do it by clicking on a username -- which gets no response -- then using the arrow keys and enter to select the username and log on to windows. (Strangely, if I don't do that first useless step of trying to click on the username, the arrow keys won't work.) My boyfriend tells me that when he's at the login screen, what he does is to press Ctrl-Alt-Del, which gives him a Windows login screen, asking for a password (which we don't use), then he's able to click "cancel" and then it logs in under his username.

Other times when the computer has stopped responding to mouse clicks when he's already logged on and working, he'll do Ctrl-Alt-Del again, get the task manager, then he can close it with a mouse click and he's back in business.

[Also, may or may not be relevant, the computer has started randomly clicking from time to time when it's idle. We'll be sitting on the couch watching tv and hear the computer make the clicking sound you hear when you click on a link - usually four times in short succesion. Odd...]


So, here's where I could use some guidance. I'm almost 100% certain this problem has nothing to do with the actual mouse -- it's not that the mouse is running out of battery, or the usb is not well connected or whatever -- since the problems happen regardless of whether i'm using the external mouse or the touchpad (he generally doesn't use the touchpad, but it's always worked fine before).

I'm guessing there is some kind of software conflict, some kind of corrupted file or something, causing these problems. I've tried using the Windows system restore to bring the computer back to a date before he started having the problem, but every date I try, system restore fails.

Could this be some kind of malware causing this problem? I did manage to run a full system scan using Norton, which took for-ev-er, and all it turned up was one cookie.

Any suggestions or solutions??I would really really appreciate any guidance you all can give!! This is basically impossible to work with...

Many thanks!

ps, apologies for my long-winded explanation, but I always figure more detail is better than less.

 

I'm leaning more towards the touchpad is bad. Can you go into the device manager and disable the touchpad, and only use the mouse? im betting it will work.

 

Actually, on this HP, there is a button right above the touchpad which toggles it on and off, so when it's not activated (which it usually isn't) there should be no input coming from the touchpad to interfere with the input from the external mouse.

 

I stand corrected then. :-o

You've verified that it does it whether or not the external mouse is connected or not, and the touchpad is on or off, any combination of those?

 

Does it behave this whacky in safe mode also?

Given the rough shape of the machine, one would tend to blame hardware, but we can eliminate software with a few tests, this being one of them.

 

Since it works ok in IE, but not in Firefox, it sounds like a Firefox prob. Have you tried disabling newer extensions? Also, I've screwed up my computer with a bad theme before. Try a different theme, and see if that helps. Also, have you tried restoring in SAFE mode? I had a problem restoring my computer in normal mode, but found that I could restore it in SAFE mode.

 

If you go to programs and click Mozilla Firefox, you will have an entry Mozilla Firefox (Safe Mode) not to be confused with operating windows in safe mode. You will get a box allowing you to change things permanently. Do not check/tick anything. At this point, you do not want to permanently disable anything. You simply want to see if one or more add-ons might be causing the problem.

 

OK, I will try and see if I can restore in safe mode, and report back.

@smoking gun, yes, I've tried all different permutations of mouse-ness.

@yturieow, it doesn't just act strange in Firefox; it also has problems with Adobe Acrobat Reader, and at the windows sign-in screen.

Also, to all, my boyfriend reported last night that since this problem began, it is taking much, much longer to boot up these days than before.