guthmund

Here's an odd problem that keeps popping up on the job.

This has happened a dozen different times on a dozen different computers.

Let me see if I can explain this properly... Whenever the mouse is used to highlight something...say the last file in a list of files, it will highlight all files. If I highlight a file in the middle, it highlights all the files before the selected file and none of them that follow.

Now, it's not just files. It's everything. I select an icon on the desktop, it selects all the icons before the selected icon as well. I want to put my cursor in the middle of a paragraph (be it Word, Notepad, Wordpad) it selects all the previous text.

I've tried Google, but I couldn't seem to find anything. I should mention, every machine (generic Dell computers with Pentium 4 chips) runs Windows XP Pro and runs virtually no extraneous programs at start up other than Symantec AV and a program called Centurion Guard (they're public access computers.)

Thanks for the help

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Redlemon

Is your shift-key stuck? It certainly sounds like "shift-click" behavior.

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Jinn

Are the mice all the same? If so.. what brand?

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Rlyss

Try hitting your shift key five times and see if 'Sticky Keys' is on. If it is, cancel it and see if it helps?

mikec

my thoughts exactly. go into control panel, accessibility options

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guthmund

Well they're all generic Dell mice with the exception of yesterday's machine, which had a different brand of mouse.


See that's what I thought at first as well.

Closer inspection of the accessibility options in the control panel reveals nothing. I've rooted around in the file option menus, the accessibility stuff, everywhere I can think of, for the most part, and I find nothing.

If it is just a stuck key, it's the oddest damn set of coincidences I've ever seen. This morning marked the 13th different machine that showed up with the same problem.

It's not a big problem (a reboot usually fixes it), but rather an annoying problem. I was just wondering if anybody had run across it before.

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Redlemon

Sometimes it happens through software as well. Is there any non-mainstream software that is consistent across these machines? Perhaps you are playing some game that uses the Shift key as a control? I just hit Shift 5 times in a row and got a message regarding Sticky Keys. Perhaps your warning message has been disconnected.

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guthmund

So far it's happened on 13 different systems. For the most part, they're all loaded with the same software, so you may be on to something there. However, the other 15 computers that surround them haven't been having any reported problems.

From what I can remember, it doesn't seem to matter what the patron was doing when it started. I remember one was working in Word, one was on the internet checking her grades, one was in notepad, and one was using SPSS. Those are just the ones I attended personally.

I'll check on the warning message. Since every pc is loaded with the same stuff (it's an image of an install in the back) maybe the warning message is turned off, but that wouldn't explain why it goes away after reboot. Does the accessiblity options default when the pc is restarted?

You keep coming back to this...I must say I admire your persistance.

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feelgood

Scan the machine for viruses and spyware, I've seen too many computers installed with shit to know that it can perform some odd behaviors

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guthmund

Scanned every week.

Scanning right now, as a matter of fact. I'll let you guys know if anything turns up.

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feelgood

If you don't mind my asking but how's it coming along?

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guthmund

Don't mind at all.

For some reason, it's just stopped. I haven't had a question about any of the systems in about a week and a half.

We haven't done anything to them except the regular Windows Update and a virus scan. The AV didn't spot anything that I'm aware of (I monitor it personally), so, unless Windows Update fixed it (we all know how good Microsoft is at fixing holes, eh?) then I don't know what the hell it was.

For what it's worth, I'd still be interested if anybody had any ideas.

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