Toshiba glitch - do I hate Toshiba?
Computer Industry January 12th, 2006I hate this thing that my Toshiba laptop does. I don’t even know what to call it, but if someone out there recognizes the behavior and can give me a verb for it, I’d appreciate it, because then I might be able to call Toshiba, tell them the problem, and eventually solve it. I also hate the fact that I can’t even call this thing by its true name: like it’s some kind of demon that can’t be trapped without a magic word.
It’s like this. I’m a writer, and when I’m on my game, I’m typing about 45 words a minute. That’s great, because some of the assignments I get are less than fascinating, and the quicker I can get through them the happier I am. Typing somewhat quickly (even with the five fingers I used to type, having flunked typing in school) is a great help. But not with the Toshiba Satellite P35-611 - oh, no! When I type faster than maybe 30 wpm, the cursor suddenly leaps partway up the page, continuing to place the text I type into the middle of stuff I’ve already written. Sometimes it only skips a few lines; sometimes, it’s closer to a half page. Once I see it, I have to stop and go back, erase the misplaced text, return to where I was originally typing and retype it. By then, what little concentration I may have had to start with has been destroyed: I’m frothing at the mouth and shrieking obscenities. This is especially inconvenient when I’m writing dozens of pages on, say, septic systems. It doesn’t take too long to lose your motivation even under the best of circumstances when it comes to writing about sewage.
Maybe what really makes me hate this seemingly solvable technical problem is the fact that Toshiba doesn’t have an online customer support—can you believe that! You have to call their 800 number and wait and wait before you get someone who may or may not understand you anyway. I really hate using the telephone when I just want to send a quick email and get a quick email back that tells me how to solve the problem. (And changing the cursor speed didn’t work, and that was my only idea). So maybe what I really hate is Toshiba—so, by what self-destructive impulse do I keep buying their laptops?
Damn.
Credits: Lori Covington
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January 13th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
Lori,
I doubt the problem is with the hardware of the laptop (Toshiba) but more likely with the application you are using to write with (Word, etc). If you use Notepad/Wordpad, etc. and type at the same frenetic pace ;) do you see the same problem. If yes then ok, it could be the keyboard, etc but if they are ok then I doubt Toshiba can help.
Good luck! :)
Merrick
April 12th, 2007 at 12:48 am
Hi Lori,
I work in IT Support & I’ve come across this problem before & although the problem may not be the same for you, what I’ve discovered is that the users are (completely unknown to them) lightly brushing the touch pad situated directly below the keyboard with their thumbs or their thumb knuckles & because this registers a tap on the touchpad, the cursor jumps up the page to wherever the mouse pointer was at the time the touchpad was brushed. You should test this by placing the mouse somewhere that you are specifically aware & then start typing & see if eventually your text jumps up to wherever you left the mouse pointer. A resolution is to cover the touchpad with something slim & flat so that you can’t brush it when you’re typing.
Good luck,
KMS
February 25th, 2008 at 3:05 am
does it have a little nub in the middle of the keyboard?
If it does it just means you’r bumping it. My hp does that. or if it has a touch pad your wrist could be moving it. if you tap it twice it will select. I don’t think it’s the laptops fault. A good way to avoid it is hook up an external mouse. If it runs vista, find an xp disk and downgrade it!