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Old 03-21-2019, 01:28 PM   #1
GabiAPF
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Unhappy Mouse pointer randomly jumps to the bottom of the screen


More precisely, to the bottom center. So even if it's already at the bottom, it moves horizontally to the center. This has been happening all the time for the last few days. Sometimes it takes up to 10 seconds before jumping, sometimes it jumps down every single second, making my computer really hard to manage.

I'm running KDE on Debian Jessie. I've been running it for about two years and this problem only started manifesting a few days ago. I am using an optical mouse, but I have tried unplugging the mouse and the cursor still jumps down. I have also tried unplugging the keyboard, and it keeps happening. This is a desktop computer, so no touchpad.

Could you please help me figure out what the problem is?

Thanks in advance.
 
Old 03-21-2019, 02:20 PM   #2
273
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Do you have anything else plugged into your USB sockets? If you leave them unplugged do you see the same thing?
If so, it may be software -- so could you install, for example, GNOME or XFCE and see whether the same thing happens?
If it happens in another desktop then there's a command to show xinput but I'm not sure on the name.
 
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Old 03-21-2019, 08:55 PM   #3
frankbell
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I think the command that 273 refers to is xev, but I'm not sure it would capture a self-moving cursor.

I stumbled over one called mev. I've never used it, but it might be worth a look.
 
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Old 03-22-2019, 02:11 PM   #4
GabiAPF
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 273 View Post
Do you have anything else plugged into your USB sockets? If you leave them unplugged do you see the same thing?
If so, it may be software -- so could you install, for example, GNOME or XFCE and see whether the same thing happens?
If it happens in another desktop then there's a command to show xinput but I'm not sure on the name.
Wow, I can't believe what happened. Turns out the small art tablet which I hadn't used in years and was collecting dust under my desk was interfering with my mouse. In other words, I had two mice but I had forgotten about one of them and hadn't even realized it was connected to the computer until I started checking my USB ports. Sorry about that, and thanks!
 
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Old 03-22-2019, 02:32 PM   #5
273
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Quote:
Originally Posted by frankbell View Post
I think the command that 273 refers to is xev, but I'm not sure it would capture a self-moving cursor.

I stumbled over one called mev. I've never used it, but it might be worth a look.
I suspected something like the below answer as I have similar behavior with one of my cheap laptops which has a malfunctioning touchpad.
I actually replied to this thread to remind me to try xev to confirm that, so thank you!
 
Old 03-22-2019, 08:26 PM   #6
frankbell
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GabiAPF, thanks for filling us in and glad you figured it out.

It's a reminder that we should always double-check the hardware, something all of us forget from time to time!
 
  


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