[Dixonary] OT - windows 7 on new netbook

[Jim Hart]

I thought I was going to be offline for a week or so while at the
coast but on the way my car veered uncontrollably into the Officeworks
carpark and I had to buy a little netbook before I could get out.

It's up and running and generally does all it should, and i'm sort of
getting used to the cramped keyboard and the irritatingly small
mousepad buttons. Well, not really buttons, more like a microscopic
space bar that clicks at either end but not in the middle.

Which leads me to my problem: I seem to be getting mouseclicks without
clicking. E.g. I composed ao definition and hovered over 'post
message' while I re-read it and suddenly it had gone. Just as well I
didn't need to change anything. Similarly mail messages in my gmail
inbox open spontaneously. But not everything seems to do this, in the
random nature of computer irritations.

I suppose possibly it's a hypersensitive mouse that responds to minute
atmospheric changes but it doesn't feel like that. I'm more inclined
to suspect it's a Microsoft 'feature' for Windows 7. I still use XP on
my home computer.

Somewhere in the Windows7 setup under 'Make your mouse easier to use'
I found a setting called 'activate a window by hovering' which seemed
to exactly describe my 'feature'. Trouble was this option was
unselected and turning it on and later turning it off made no
difference.

Asking F1 key didn't give me any answer, nor did a google search, so
now i'm putting it over to Dixonary which is the font of all wisdom.

FWIW it's an 'emachine' by Acer and the labels say 'Intel atom inside'
and 'Windows 7 starter'.

Jim



I

[Paul Keating]

Jim,

Nothing like that ever happens to me on Windows 7. It does have significant
annoyances but a mouse that is disobedient or takes gross liberties is
definitely not one of them.

Windows 7 is, to my way of thinking, way nicer than XP, which I have always
hated, and only ever used because I had to, at work, and still do. At home I
moved directly from W2K to W7 so I skipped the baby versions in between.

This does sound to me rather more a hardware (or hardware abstraction layer)
problem than a Windows 7 problem.

And Merry Christmas to you!

P

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Hart
Subject: [Dixonary] OT - windows 7 on new netbook

Which leads me to my problem: I seem to be getting mouseclicks without
clicking. ... I'm ... more inclined to suspect it's a Microsoft 'feature'
for Windows 7.

[Jim Hart]

Thanks Paul.

> a mouse that is disobedient or takes gross liberties is

That sums it up perfectly. Interesting to know you haven't seen this.

> This does sound to me rather more a hardware (or hardware abstraction layer)
> problem than a Windows 7 problem.

Hardware abstraction layer? What's that? Presumably something that
lies between the physical mousepad switch and the visible effect.

As for actual hardware, the button feels firm with a definite click,
not like a hypersensitive switch but that's hardly a definitive test.

I'm willing to try a few options but if it continues I'll just take it
back to the shop next week and let them worry about it. Life is too
short.

And seasoned greetings to you too!

Jim

[Tim Lodge]

Jim

I saw this too with a new Acer Laptop a year ago. I couldn't remember
how I fixed it, but Google found this at
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7hardware/thread/38ba4092-26d0-40a2-9949-4b0b06875fe0:

Mouse Properties > Device Settings (Tab) > Settings (button) > Tapping
(menu item) > then uncheck "Enable Tapping"

I hope this fixes it for you.

-- Tim L

[Tim Lodge]

Jim

Afterthought:

You might need to read the whole of the thread at
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7hardware/thread/38ba4092-26d0-40a2-9949-4b0b06875fe0
to find the solution that works for you - there seem to be several
different solutions.

-- Tim L

[Jim Hart]

Thanks for the link Tim. Interesting and they describe my problems
perfectly, both the open-on-hover feature and the random-leaping-
cursor effect.

I'll try those suggestions before going back to the shop. No point in
replacing it if they all do it, esp in post-xmas shopping traffic.

[Jim Hart]

Tim, I hope I'm not repeating myself. I thought I posted a reply to
you half an hour ago but I can't see it.

Many thanks for the suggestion to disable tapping - I think it has
done the trick. I would never have found it on my own, especially as
I didn't even know I could tap instead of click.

Anyway it seems to be behaving properly now and thankfully windows no
longer open spontaneously when I hover on a link. The cursor still
seems a bit skittish so perhaps a few other odd quirks remain. Then
again it could be the operator's senility.

Jim

[Tim Lodge]

Jim

It's good to hear you've managed to fix it - I must say I couldn't
remember what to do, even though I'd fixed it on my machine. However,
the thread I referred you to did offer several possible solutions. As
usual with Windows, there seems to be a large number of different ways
to skin the same cat!

-- Tim L

[John Barrs]

Tim (or anyone)

I have anebeastie with WIN7 - I am learning my way around - but I cannot
find anywhere any sound controls other than volume - mine sounds tinny and
I'd like to down the treble and up the base - just a little - but can I find
anything - even help, which is otherwise usually good, has no reference to
treble, base or sounbd control = volume excepted

help

JohnnyB


On 24 December 2010 23:39, Paul Keating <pjakeating (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

> Jim,
>
> Nothing like that ever happens to me on Windows 7. It does have significant
> annoyances but a mouse that is disobedient or takes gross liberties is
> definitely not one of them.
>
> Windows 7 is, to my way of thinking, way nicer than XP, which I have always
> hated, and only ever used because I had to, at work, and still do. At home I
> moved directly from W2K to W7 so I skipped the baby versions in between.
>
> This does sound to me rather more a hardware (or hardware abstraction
> layer) problem than a Windows 7 problem.
>
> And Merry Christmas to you!
>
> P
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Jim Hart
> Subject: [Dixonary] OT - windows 7 on new netbook
>
> Which leads me to my problem: I seem to be getting mouseclicks without
> clicking. ... I'm ... more inclined to suspect it's a Microsoft 'feature'
> for Windows 7.
>

[davidh]

Tim (or anyone)

I have anebeastie with WIN7 - I am learning my way around - but I cannot
find anywhere any sound controls other than volume - mine sounds tinny and
I'd like to down the treble and up the base - just a little - but can I find
anything - even help, which is otherwise usually good, has no reference to
treble, base or sounbd control = volume excepted

help

JohnnyB
I don't have Win 7. But I do have a manufacturer specific (Realtek) sound chip control applet in my Control Panel separate from and different from the sound control applet that appears in the System Tray. They both work on the same device (chip) because I have only one single such device, so that single device is always the 'default'. However, the manufacturer (Realtek) sound chip (on motherboard) control applet DOES have a couple EXTRA controls not available via the standard Windows applet that sits in the System Tray.

Unfortunately, I had a couple years ago to search up the sound chip on the Internet to find some documentation about how to use the UI because I was too dumb to figure out how to use it by myself. (The MIC boost was in the OUTPUT parts of the control app :rolleyes:.)

[Tim Lodge]

Johnny

I've only got Win 7 on a laptop, so I haven't tried to do any
adjustments to sound. I suspect, as David implies, that it depends on
the sound card you have installed.

These links show that you're not the first to ask the question, and
might provide a solution:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/2835-63-global-sound-mixer-treble-bass-programs

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1909644/vista-win7-bass-and-treble-volume

http://superuser.com/questions/175973/is-there-a-way-to-control-bass-and-treble-under-windows-7

-- Tim L

On Dec 26, 10:38*pm, John Barrs <johnnyba... (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:
> Tim (or anyone)
>
> I have anebeastie with WIN7 - I am learning my way around - but I cannot
> find anywhere any sound controls other than volume - mine sounds tinny and
> I'd like to down the treble and up the base - just a little - but can I find
> anything - even help, which is otherwise usually good, has no reference to
> treble, base or sounbd control = volume excepted
>
> help
>
> JohnnyB
>

[davidh]

My on board sound chip has software from Realtek to do an equalizer and a bunch of presets for equalizer and a bunch of presets for various sound effects, e.g. reverbs, etc.

That being the case for a run of the mill chip, I'd sorta guess that most such chips and better ones would have at least an equalizer which equalizer would sort of make treble and base controls superfluous or obsolete. AFAIK neither Microsoft nor the digital sound industry in general has a standard UI which any general purpose software outfit could standardize on. My wife has a couple high function Creative Sound Blaster cards and the UI is complex enough that I feel relieved that I can at least manage to understand the basics of it :eek:

[Toni Savage]

That happens to me when I forget to turn off the touchpad after attaching the
mouse....these touchpads are ..ummm... touchy.
*-- Toni Savage



----- Original Message ----
From: Jim Hart <jfshart (AT) gmail (DOT) com>
To: Dixonary <dixonary (AT) googlegroups (DOT) com>
Sent: Fri, December 24, 2010 8:22:54 PM
Subject: [Dixonary] Re: OT - windows 7 on new netbook

Thanks Paul.

>* a mouse that is disobedient or takes gross liberties is

That sums it up perfectly. Interesting to know you haven't seen this.

> This does sound to me rather more a hardware (or hardware abstraction layer)
> problem than a Windows 7 problem.

Hardware abstraction layer? What's that? Presumably something that
lies between the physical mousepad switch and the visible effect.

As for actual hardware, the button feels firm with a definite click,
not like a hypersensitive switch but that's hardly a definitive test.

I'm willing to try a few options but if it continues I'll just take it
back to the shop next week and let them worry about it. Life is too
short.

And seasoned greetings to you too!

Jim

[Chuck]

Long before Windows 7 I had an amusing experience which might help
someone here someday . . .

I have a WACOM tablet with a stylus in a holder and rarely use or think
about it. The full tablet surface corresponds to my screen and whenever
the stylus is placed anywhere on the surface, the mouse cursor on the
screen goes to the corresponding place.

One day after the cleaners had been through my office I experienced a
problem with my mouse cursor jumping to a specific place on the screen
(always the same place) repeatedly but at random intervals. I tried new
drivers, old drivers, messing with settings, and everything I could
think of for about three hours until, in a resigned collapse I spotted
the stylus, in it's holder, sitting on the tablet. Not enough contact
to be persistent - but enough proximity to cause randomly timed jumps to
the indicated place.

It was a memorable aha moment.

The stylus now sits on the opposite end of my desk from the tablet, and
is immediately checked whenever unexpected mouse activity occurs.

Having been through the touchy touchpad experience with a laptop
previously didn't help me at all in this case.