1. afinemess

    afinemess Active Member

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    Technical problems

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by afinemess, Dec 31, 2009.

    I got a new laptop for Christmas to write on, and it's giving me issues. I thought maybe some of you savvy people could give me some insight. It's a Dell, and no matter if it's in microsoft word or office word processor, when I'm in the middle of typing, it changes fonts on me, switches formatting, and even deletes entire paragraphs. I thought my hands might be resting on the keys wrong, but even when I made sure I wasn't, it did it. Sound like something I'm doing that I can fix, or I got a lemon? I'll be looking into it more tomorrow and calling my computer tech brother in law. But I thought maybe it was a simple fix yall could help with. I had some things I wanted to get into, but I'll hold off.
     
  2. ManhattanMss

    ManhattanMss New Member

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    I'm not a techie, but this doesn't sound good to me. I don't think you need to feel like you ought to know why this is happening, and my inclination would be to return it to Dell. I'd certainly contact them (and maybe give them an opportunity to provide a "fix") but I'm smellin' lemonade, myself.:(
     
  3. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    i've had nothing but dell laptops for many years and never was subject to such misbehavior... of bro-in-law is equally flummoxed, call dell's help line and ask them... you can also do an online chat, since it's in warranty...
     
  4. SonnehLee

    SonnehLee Contributor Contributor

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    What version of Word do you have? It sounds like your word processor might be the problem, not the computer as a whole. But I don't know for sure.
     
  5. Mercurial

    Mercurial Contributor Contributor

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    This happens to me a lot too, but I dont think its the program (you're probably lucky enough to have Windows 7, right? I have Vista) or the brand (I have an HP, you've a Dell). I blame this on the touchpad-thing right below the keyboard. What I did was turn off that little pad and invested in an actual mouse.

    Voila! Problem solved.
     
  6. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    i've always used a peripheral mouse and keyboard with my laptops!... writing for hours on end, every single day, it's a necessity...
     
  7. lavendershy

    lavendershy New Member

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    I, too got a Dell laptop for Christmas (tacklehugs for Dad), and I have noticed that my hands rest on the mouse when I'm typing. They also move, and since tapping the mouse is clicking, I can inadvertently select and delete stuff while I type. Try just holding your wrists up a little, like a pianist. I was having tons of trouble, but I've gotten used to keeping my hands off the mouse while I type, and things of that sort rarely happen anymore.

    Cheers,
    lav

    Edit: Oops. Didn't see that someone else had already said this, sorry. I don't find it bad enough to get a real mouse, though.
     
  8. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    I despise touchpads. I leave mine disabled and always use a USB trackball next to the laptop. I can enable the touchpad with an fn key combination if I don't have a trackball at hand, but I never need to do so.
     
  9. afinemess

    afinemess Active Member

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    Thank you all for the advice, I havent had a chance to get back on here the past few days. I figured it out, it was the mouse pad. I upped it to the hardest touch, and it has fixed the problem. I wasn't even touching it and it was going off, like the breeze in the room was setting it off. So frustrating. I may take that advice and get a peripheral mouse and keyboard Maia. Thank you all! :) Your the best.
     

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