So, we’ve got a problem with an XP laptop.
Using it last night the cat walked across the keyboard. Since then, the mouse (yes, I know, but don’t laugh) will not move. It is stuck. We’ve rebooted, taken the battery out and rebooted, nothing seems to get the mouse working again. It just sits there in the middle of the screen.
It’s an Acer, if that makes any difference.
Is there perhaps a key combination that he hit which turns off the mousepad?
11 responses so far ↓
1 Stephen // Dec 20, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Try Fn + F7
2 sanbikinoraion // Dec 20, 2007 at 4:01 pm
There is probably an Acer trackpad management tool buried somewhere in the start menu which should allow you to check whether the trackpad has been disabled or not.
Of course, plugging a USB mouse into the laptop temporarily might make investigating such settings easier…
3 Allan Scullion // Dec 20, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Stephen is likely right – Acer’s have an Fn+F-key combination to enable/disable the trackpad. I don’t have mine infront of me now but F7 sounds about right
4 Cleanthes // Dec 20, 2007 at 7:23 pm
Well I’d offer up the cat as a sacrifice to the gods as a pretty good opening gambit.
5 Little Black Sambo // Dec 20, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Those mousepads are a big nuisance for anybody with normal sized hands; very difficult to avoid touching them when you are just typing. Does any one know if you can disable the mousepad on a Dell? I have not found a way.
6 pj // Dec 20, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Fn +F7 Oh you wonderful wonderful people. I’ve been looking for just that piece of information for ages. Now I won’t get half way through typing a file name and find that my shirt cuff has shut the window for me.
7 Kay Tie // Dec 20, 2007 at 11:42 pm
“Does any one know if you can disable the mousepad on a Dell? I have not found a way.”
I found a way. I bought a MacBook, which has a function to ignore accidental brushing of the trackpad.
8 Tim Newman // Dec 21, 2007 at 12:01 am
Most touchpads can only be disabled through the bios.
9 Monty // Dec 21, 2007 at 1:06 am
It pays to keep pets (especially cats), away from your PC. Their coats can build up a great deal of static, and that can be a problem if it discharges near to exposed electronics, such as cable entries.
10 Surreptitious Evil // Dec 21, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Our cats will, when feeling insufficiently worshipped, walk over and sit down on the keyboard when you are typing. Mrs S-E has a new Macbook Pro – so flying cats are quite common at the moment.
Unfortunately, Kat Tie, there is no OSX function to ignore deliberate feline treadling of the keyboard.
Tim adds: Fn F7 did indeed work, so thanks!
11 Kay Tie // Dec 21, 2007 at 2:08 pm
“Unfortunately, Kat Tie, there is no OSX function to ignore deliberate feline treadling of the keyboard.”
Leopard 10.5.2 will include support for the iProd: 5000V through the keyboard when the iSight camera sees a turtleshell pattern.
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