Computer problem has us stumped

[RADIOLEE]

Just thought I'd throw this one in front of the knowledgable folks on this forum as it has everyone stumped so far.

Every once in a while the scroll function on my mouse will go crazy and start changing text size, or going back and forward to web pages already visited. Simultaneously, the keyboard will sporadically go into capitals or stop altogether. Sometimes totally illogical screens like properties will come up when I click and just generally weird stuff goes on. If I shut down, it usually stops for a while, sometimes all day.

Things we have tried:

different mouse
USB mouse
different keyboard
re-installing Windows
repairing Windows
uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers for the mouse and keyboard

I have P-cillin anti-virus and it is showing no viruses.

I am wondering if anyone here has ever encountered a problem like this and if anyone has any ideas where the problem lies.

Thanks!
Lee

[Frank Berry]

Those symptoms look like a motherboard issue.
Have you checked to make sure all cooling fans are operating?

[RADIOLEE]

That makes some sense, Frank.

A couple months ago, the fan crapped out and was replaced. the computer shut down at one point before the fan was replaced.

Thanks, it's still under warranty......

Lee

[drdokman]

My answer is the motherboard. I had this sort of thing happen years ago. It has to be hardware and logically the MB.

[head_spaz]

Is this a store bought or a custom system?
I've seen stuff like this many times.
The first thing I always check is to see if there are extra spacers/standoffs under the motherboard. I see this happen quite a bit, especially in upgrades where the new motherboard has less mounting pads than the old board. The standoffs short the traces.
Or... it could be the motherboard itself... the keyboard controller is quite vulnerable to electro static shock.
Good luck.

[theChris]

ok, well the wheel functions in IE are:
wheel up/down = scroll up/down.
+shift = page forward/back
+ctrl = zoom out/in

i know on some versions of windows the OS will lock the right mouse button, ctrl, alt, or shift keys for odd reasons. if the crtl key becomes locked for some reason, the page will zoom in or out...

i'd search the micosoft knowledge base. it may be some bios issues. try enabling or disabling pnp OS installed in the BIOS. this may or may not work. it fixes/breaks a lot of things in odd situations. to access the BIOS, follow the on screen instructions during the boot up period.

find out if you have any IRQ conflicts. these can do some strange things too!

BTW, all the "illogical" things that happen stem from logical things -- like getting the find menu from pressing "f". the ctrl key is for some reason set, and thus the "f" becomes ctrl+f, which is often a find command!

I don't recall this ever happenin on a 2000/xp box, only 98 and ME.

[fr0st]

Install the latest motherboard drivers and flash the bios (if possible) to the latest version
Should cure most problems

[Jason Hubbard]

It is a fan/motherboard interaction issue. Don't know if it is related to current consumption.

I have the same problem on a Dell laptop - the fan kicks in to cool the CPU and whilst it is doing it the mouse behaves unpredictably.

You might cure it by putting say a 1000uf capacitor across the 12v and Ground rails next to the fan, or replace the fan(s) or replace the PSU - at least this way your outlay is low compared to changing out the motherboard.

Worth a try....