HT203171: If your pointer is jumpy when you use a trackpad, Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse

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claire28
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: eratic macbook

Recently my macbook has been acting eratically, the cursor is jumping here there and everywhere (when I'm not even touching the computer) and clicking on programs, playing music, highlighting text and images, right clicking and editing information... the list goes on. It is impossible to use. Just over a week ago, a friend used their USB in it which was around the time it stared to refused to copy and paste from internet to word documents. I am wondering if it has a virus or something? and what I can do considering it is so crazy.  My macbook is almost 2yrs old and all software is up to date, with regualr iAntivirus running. Any ideas?

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Mar 22, 2012 6:35 PM

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claire28

Q: eratic macbook

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  • by HACKINT0SH,

    HACKINT0SH HACKINT0SH Mar 22, 2012 9:28 PM in response to claire28
    Level 5 (5,774 points)
    iLife
    Mar 22, 2012 9:28 PM in response to claire28

    I wish it were a virus, but that's unlikely since there are no viruses in the wild for OS X, and never was.  Which brings me to the next question, why are you running AntiVirus software on your mac?  It's like buying a shield to protect you from Martians.

     

    I did read just recently on these forums about another notebook causing similar issues due to the internal battery swelling and causing tension on the trackpad. But I don't want to jump to conclusions just yet.

     

    Does this problem occure even right after you turned on the notebook? Is there any patterns?

  • by claire28,

    claire28 claire28 Mar 23, 2012 6:27 PM in response to HACKINT0SH
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 23, 2012 6:27 PM in response to HACKINT0SH

    I'm pretty sure iAntiVirus was on my computer from the get go - i didnt even realise it was there until recently. I rarely turn off my computer to be honest, i have restarted it a few times whilst its been acting up and it seems to work ok but very slowly for about 5 mins then does the same thing again...

  • by HACKINT0SH,

    HACKINT0SH HACKINT0SH Mar 24, 2012 12:50 AM in response to claire28
    Level 5 (5,774 points)
    iLife
    Mar 24, 2012 12:50 AM in response to claire28

    I'm guessing it's hardware, but can't be 100% sure just yet.

     

    Can you back up everything important, and then re-install your OS? Let's see if there is any change, if not, then you may need to make an appointment to a genius bar, and hopefully you're still under AppleCare?

     

    Try a PRAM Reset, and SMC first though.  Even a Safe-Boot as well.