Grar

[ladysprite]

I had a long, meaningful, complicated and intricate post about the importance of rest and comfort and taking time off to do nothing with friends.

Unfortunately, my computer ate it. All. And 'restore from saved draft' just gets me a blank screen.

I bought a new laptop about two weeks ago, and this has been happening constantly. The touch pad doesn't work when I try to use it, no matter how hard I try, and then five minutes later my sleeve will brush across one corner of it and suddenly I'll have opened three new tabs, enlarged everything on the screen to mega-size, deleted all my passwords, and recopied all my typing to some search engine bar that wasn't there thirty seconds ago. My cursor jumps around like a ballet-dancing ninja on speed. Files open that I didn't touch.

Either this thing hates me, or it's possessed. Or I am possibly too computer-stupid to use it. I want my old, decrepit, slow, ancient, broken, idiot-friendly laptop back....

Comments

[z-gryphon.livejournal.com]

If it's a Windows system, there'll be a bit in the Control Panel that'll shut off the touchpad's fancier functions - tap-to-click, tap-to-drag, etc. - which is what it sounds like you're having the trouble with. Turning all that lot off will change the touchpad into a simple pointing device, leaving clicking and dragging to the buttons, as God intended. (And if it's not a Windows system, there's probably still such a thing, I just don't know where to find it.)

The "plug in a proper mouse" suggestion's a good one too, if you've got the real estate for it. I usually use one on my tiny netbook simply because the touchpad buttons are so ludicrously small and wrong-placed. It's a Kensington SlimBlade multimedia mouse, which doubles as an iTunes remote control - not a function I use often, but I do like the way the wireless USB dongle stashes inside the battery compartment when not in use.

[deguspice.livejournal.com]

I second the suggestion of disabling the touchpad's click functions.

Also some touchpads default to the side and bottom being vertical and horizontal slide bars. This is also a feature you can disable.