# Spacebar Problem



## RebelDigger (Aug 5, 2010)

OK this is driving me nuts. gre:I can type a block of text and all is fine but, if I need to go back and do edits, every time I hit the space bar the curser skips down a couple of lines. This happens here on HT and on all other forums I frequent as well as in Wordpad, Notepad and in emails. It does not occur in Microsoft Word. I have a Dell Latitude 620 running XP and have gone to the Dell website and done a diagnostic for hardware, everything passed. I also had the site search for driver download updates and downloaded the ones marked critical and recommended. I have CCleaner and run it, do a defrag, do scandisk and use McAfee Anti virus on a regular basis . What is causing this and how can I fix it please--anyone?


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## bignugly (Jul 13, 2011)

RebelDigger said:


> OK this is driving me nuts. gre:I can type a block of text and all is fine but, if I need to go back and do edits, every time I hit the space bar the curser skips down a couple of lines. This happens here on HT and on all other forums I frequent as well as in Wordpad, Notepad and in emails. It does not occur in Microsoft Word. I have a Dell Latitude 620 running XP and have gone to the Dell website and done a diagnostic for hardware, everything passed. I also had the site search for driver download updates and downloaded the ones marked critical and recommended. I have CCleaner and run it, do a defrag, do scandisk and use McAfee Anti virus on a regular basis . What is causing this and how can I fix it please--anyone?


Try a different keyboard to see if it works.


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## RebelDigger (Aug 5, 2010)

Is there a way to try another keyboard, like a desktop keyboard, on a laptop without having to replace the laptop keyboard? That way, if it is not the keyboard physically, I would not have had to go through all that. I am challenged technically so would have to get someone else to replace the keyboard in the laptop. I sew a fine seam, am a good cook, antique furniture restorer and fair carpenter but when it comes to electronics I have the IQ of a kindergartner -- no, wait -- 5 year olds probably know more about them than I do LOL.


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## HomeCastle (Dec 27, 2012)

Did anything get spilled on your keyboard? Definitely try another one to see if it works.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

You should be able to plug a USB keyboard in and bypass the built in keyboard. That will tell you if the laptop keyboard is bad.


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## nostawmama (Dec 29, 2011)

I know my husband was having trouble with the cursor jumping all over the place when he was on our laptop until I turned off the mousepad. His clunky hands kept hitting the pad and would "click" the mouse cursor to another location. Don't know if this might be an issue or not but maybe pay attention to hand placement and see?


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## HomeCastle (Dec 27, 2012)

nostawmama said:


> I know my husband was having trouble with the cursor jumping all over the place when he was on our laptop until I turned off the mousepad. His clunky hands kept hitting the pad and would "click" the mouse cursor to another location. Don't know if this might be an issue or not but maybe pay attention to hand placement and see?


This is a good suggestion. I've seen laptops where the mousepad is sensitive enough that you hit the spacebar and it registers as a tap on the mousepad. You could try turning off the tap setting for the mousepad and see if that makes a difference.


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## RebelDigger (Aug 5, 2010)

Thank, DS is coming over Sunday and I am having him bring a keyboard and help me try that. Don't think it is the mousepad, have had this thing for years and never had a problem with the mousepad being too sensitive. This issue just started recently. I am trying to eek another year of life out of this while I save up for a new one so I as freaking out thinking something horrible was wrong and it was going to die before I was ready LOL.


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