Random Zooming & Page Flipping

I have MacBook Pro, 3 yrs old. OS X Version 10.8.3, Mountain Lion.
The last few days whatever screen I'm on randomly zooms in and can't be undone. I close and reopen but it happens again.

The dictionary keeps popping up. Several times the display has randomly flipped to the dashboard and to Launchpad.

Yesterday for awhile I had little control over the cursor. Sometimes it moved even when I wasn't doing anything.

The problems occur when using mouse as well as trackpad.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on Apr 11, 2013 4:32 PM

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7 replies

Jul 24, 2013 6:07 AM in response to Snark63

For me, it turned out to be the trackpad just wigging out and responding to non-existent gestures. I confirmed this by going to System Preferences/Trackpad and turning off all the items I could live without in all the tabs, especially More Gestures. After that, I was able to use it, and then I sent it in for repair, 6 days shy of my extended applecare contract expiring.


If you're not still under warranty, at least try turning off all those gestures and see if it helps.

Jul 24, 2013 10:17 AM in response to theatrechick

Try a restart.


Do a backup, using either Time Machine or a cloning program, to ensure files/data can be recovered. Two backups are better than one.


Try setting up another admin user account to see if the same problem continues. If Back-to-My Mac is selected in System Preferences, the Guest account will not work. The intent is to see if it is specific to one account or a system wide problem. This account can be deleted later.


Isolating an issue by using another user account


If the problem is still there, try booting into the Safe Mode. Disconnect all peripherals except those needed for the test. Shut down the computer and then power it back up. Immediately after hearing the startup chime, hold down the shift key and continue to hold it until the gray Apple icon and a progress bar appear. The boot up is significantly slower than normal. This will reset some caches, forces a directory check, and disables all startup and login items, among other things. When you reboot normally, the initial reboot may be slower than normal. If the system operates normally, there may be 3rd party applications which are causing a problem. Try deleting/disabling the third party applications after a restart by using the application uninstaller. For each disable/delete, you will need to restart if you don't do them all at once.

Safe Mode


Safe Mode - About


General information.


Isolating issues in Mac OS X


Troubleshooting Permission Issues



Step by Step to Fix Your Mac

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Random Zooming & Page Flipping

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