How to stop my computer moving or deleting my text

[scotia]

I operate my laptop with a separate wireless mouse and keyboard. So my fingers go nowhere near the Laptop trackpad and keyboard.

[Bouleversee]

mc2fool - no dimple on my touchpad.

Ok, then turn off the touchpad though Windows.

Click Start and type touchpad and select Touchpad settings then click on Additional settings and then Disable.

If that fixes the problem then fine and if it doesn't at least you'll have eliminated accidentally touching the touchpad while typing as being the cause.

So I typed touchpad into the searchbox at the bottom left of the screen and it came up with:

Folders: Touchpad driver WV32bit
Store: TouchPad Palm Check tool

What do I do next, please. (My middle name is Doris)

[Bouleversee]

I operate my laptop with a separate wireless mouse and keyboard. So my fingers go nowhere near the Laptop trackpad and keyboard.

I don't have room on my cluttered desk for a separate keyboard but if I concentrate on clearing the clutter I might at least be able to move the laptop over to the left a bit and maybe I'd be less likely to catch my hand on the touchpad by accident.

[Itsallaguess]

What do I do next, please.

Did you try 'Touchfreeze', which was mentioned earlier?

https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/detail ... reeze.html

Download link here - https://www.majorgeeks.com/mg/getmirror/touchfreeze,1.html

It should take just seconds to install, and you are likely to see instant improvements if the tool does what it's designed to do....

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[kiloran]

Many thanks. I think I'll wait till my son visits tomorrow since I don't even know where my Windows search box is

As I mentioned, I have a couple of HP Pavilions, and, by chance, I've just found a way to disable the touchpad.

Go to your Start button and click it to get your list of programs. My list includes ELAN Touchpad Settings. I clicked on this and got the following window:
https://imgur.com/L9y5iI6

Click on the "Disable when external USB pointing device plug in" then click on the Apply button.

Job done! Assuming your laptop has the ELAN touchpad

--kiloran

[mc2fool]

So I typed touchpad into the searchbox at the bottom left of the screen and it came up with:

Folders: Touchpad driver WV32bit
Store: TouchPad Palm Check tool

What do I do next, please. (My middle name is Doris)

That's odd. You must have a way of changing the touchpad settings somewhere....

Try looking under Start and type and select Settings. From there it should be under Devices. On my HP laptop the settings to enable/disable the touchpad appear under both Touchpad, Additional settings and Mouse, Additional mouse options.

[Bouleversee]

That didn't work either and my son couldn't stay to help sort the problem so I have had to stick a pin in it. In the meantime, when in the middle of typing an urgent letter this morning, the caps lock seems to have stuck on caps although it's OK on here ( have just gone back to the letter to see if it had been rectified but no such luck) and I don't know what to do about that either. I had typed a couple of lines before it occurred so presumably it's not connected with last night's Microsoft update (I do wish they wouldn't keep changing things). I don't understand why it should work OK on here but not on a letter. Any suggestions?

[Bouleversee]

I have sorted the caps lock problem by copying the letter heading and pasting it as a new file in my word docs. and am retyping the letter without (so far) any excess caps. problem. Still curious to know what caused it, though. Will get back to the original problem when I have time.

[kiloran]

That didn't work either and my son couldn't stay to help sort the problem so I have had to stick a pin in it. In the meantime, when in the middle of typing an urgent letter this morning, the caps lock seems to have stuck on caps although it's OK on here ( have just gone back to the letter to see if it had been rectified but no such luck) and I don't know what to do about that either. I had typed a couple of lines before it occurred so presumably it's not connected with last night's Microsoft update (I do wish they wouldn't keep changing things). I don't understand why it should work OK on here but not on a letter. Any suggestions?

What didn't work? You've had a number of suggestions and we don't know what you have tried. It helps if you quote the post you are replying to.

What software do you use to create letters? Microsoft Word 2010. LibreOffice Writer? Google Docs? or.....?

--kiloran

[Bouleversee]

That didn't work either and my son couldn't stay to help sort the problem so I have had to stick a pin in it. In the meantime, when in the middle of typing an urgent letter this morning, the caps lock seems to have stuck on caps although it's OK on here ( have just gone back to the letter to see if it had been rectified but no such luck) and I don't know what to do about that either. I had typed a couple of lines before it occurred so presumably it's not connected with last night's Microsoft update (I do wish they wouldn't keep changing things). I don't understand why it should work OK on here but not on a letter. Any suggestions?

What didn't work? You've had a number of suggestions and we don't know what you have tried. It helps if you quote the post you are replying to.

What software do you use to create letters? Microsoft Word 2010. LibreOffice Writer? Google Docs? or.....?

--kiloran

Microsoft Word. I was able to type my letter in the new document letter heading without any problems and must now dash out and post it recorded delivery.

As regards the original query, I am going to see if my son-in-law can help me using Teamviewer when we both have time s it's still happening. If not (by no means certain) I'll come back to the board. In the meantime, many thanks to all.

[didds]

My experience of similar issues histprically with laptops its just a naff laptop keyboard "thing". The solution every time has been a usb keyboard. I appreciate the OP hasnt got room on his desk etc But having spent hours trying to work out was was wrong the first time I expereinced it (circa 2001/2) i just dont bother any longer, i just stick a usb keyboard in .

I'm not convicned its drivers - i think its shoddy hardware.

Others MMV

didds

[Bouleversee]

My experience of similar issues histprically with laptops its just a naff laptop keyboard "thing". The solution every time has been a usb keyboard. I appreciate the OP hasnt got room on his desk etc But having spent hours trying to work out was was wrong the first time I expereinced it (circa 2001/2) i just dont bother any longer, i just stick a usb keyboard in .

I'm not convicned its drivers - i think its shoddy hardware.

Others MMV

didds

You may be right. I certainly won't be buying an HP next time; I never had any problems with my Toshiba till it died on me. It's an ancient "she" not a "he", btw. Should I ever get my desk cleared (not made easier by all the time wasted by this sort of problem, not to mention debt collectors pursuing me for a parking fine I paid immediately, months ago, I may invest in a separate keyboard but I don't see how you are able to read the text if you have another keyboard in front of the existing one. My desk is L shaped and I don't think the cables would reach the power points if a moved to the longer section. Sufficient unto the day ….

[scotia]

I may invest in a separate keyboard but I don't see how you are able to read the text if you have another keyboard in front of the existing one.

Yes - the (separate) keyboard keys move away from the laptop keyboard keys by the depth of the (separate) keyboard plus the distance used up by the track pad - probably about 9-10 inches. So the Laptop Screen will now be at least 9 inches further away when typing. This doesn't give me a problem with text size, but it does change the required focal distance. So my glasses of 2.5 magnification which I use for reading books (or the Laptop without a separate keyboard) are replaced by glasses of 1.5 magnification which focus on the further away screen.
A wireless keyboard leads to less desk clutter, and more flexibility than one which is USB-cable connected, and this also goes for a mouse. Its usual to purchase a wireless keyboard and a mouse together - both working through a small single dongle which plugs into a USB port. I have found that PC world have a wide selection - some at very modest prices - so if you spill your coffee over it, its not a disaster!

[Bouleversee]

Thanks, I'll bear this in mind. Do you get the glasses from an optician's. I have an astigmatism so the sort one can buy from a chemist would be no good for me. I've just ordered some new varifocals with transitions and I might be able to get a second pair at a discount, using some old frames, for this purpose if I can't solve the problem.

Back to the jumping/deleting text problem, I haven't yet managed to have a teamviewer session with my s-I-l but in a quick phone call, he did tell me that if I pressed and held down control and then pressed z the computer would undo what it had just done. I tried this when it happened again this afternoon and it worked. I expect the rest of you knew that and assumed I would too but no such luck. That will improve life and save me a lot of retyping time until I can stop it happening in the first place.

I have managed to type this without any poltergeist interference.

[Itsallaguess]

That will improve life and save me a lot of retyping time until I can stop it happening in the first place.

Did you ever give this a go B?

https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=18597#p237785

https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=18597&start=20#p237835

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Bouleversee]

Not yet. I was a bit nervous about it and am waiting to discuss with son-in-law.

[Itsallaguess]

Not yet. I was a bit nervous about it and am waiting to discuss with son-in-law.

Thanks B - it was never clear from your earlier replies that you'd acknowledged the option.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Bouleversee]

I never got any further with son in law who is very busy and travels a lot so having lost another complete post on here and finding I was not always able to reverse the jumps/deletions, in desperation I rang John Lewis, from whom I bought my laptop, and a very nice young man (who had to ask someone else as his first shot didn't work) talked me through how to disable the touchpad. For anyone else with a similar problem, this is what I was told to do for my HP Pavilion laptop:

1. Clear anything open on screen leaving only desktop
2. Left click on Start
3. Left click on settings
4. " " devices
5. " " touchpad
6. " " Related settings
7. " " Clickpad - disable

I understand that if you disconnect your mouse, the touchpad will be enabled automatically.

I am sure that any of you would have been able to discover that for yourselves but I am Doris.

This is the first thing I have typed. So far, so good.
Thanks again to all who helped.

Bouleversee.

[mc2fool]

For anyone else with a similar problem, this is what I was told to do for my HP Pavilion laptop:

1. Clear anything open on screen leaving only desktop
2. Left click on Start
3. Left click on settings
4. " " devices
5. " " touchpad
6. " " Related settings
7. " " Clickpad - disable

It's not Related settings you click on, that's a heading, it's Additional settings, which is directly under the Related settings heading, and the above is exactly where I recommended you look earlier in this thread over a month ago.

Try looking under Start and type and select Settings. From there it should be under Devices. On my HP laptop the settings to enable/disable the touchpad appear under both Touchpad, Additional settings and Mouse, Additional mouse options.

[Bouleversee]

I admit I am useless. If only I had had you breathing into my ear as I did it all.