Optimist - thanks - will try that next time it happens - its a new machine (2months old) 50+ Gig free space and have defraged! Out of interest, the top user at the moment is iiAppStart using 53mb.

Skinny

Best of luck. I suggest that you keep task manager open all the time then it is ready if a problem arises. If you have the screen space it has an always on top option.

Computer: Toshiba satellite laptop running Windows XP.Pentium 4
Problem: Mouse pointer slowing or stopping or jumping whilst on web sites.

diagnosis: none but have noticed it seems to get worse when popups and popbehinds appear. Find it hard to believe that perhaps the processor is being overloaded being Pentium 4.

PLEASE if anybody has any ideas let me know. Scary when trading as you can imagine.

Need spyware detection/removal program and program to check system security.

The topic did come up in the tread but I am unable to do a search since the
'all message' option is not available on this thread (too many postings?).

Thanks.

axdpc, get adaware from http://www.download.com ;-)

maddoctor, in the control panel select mouse option and make sure you have turned off snap to function and change speed of mouse if you want ;-)

Richgit, thanks. will do.

http://www.crazybrowser.com/

leo1, thanks.

Richgit, done it, picked up some cookies 9removed) and one MS pgm in the registry which I am reluctant to remove.

Belated thanks re question 549.Downloaded file all seems fine now.
Iain

richgit , "snap to function" not there. thanks anyway.
Please somebody help.

Docproc - Is your Toshiba Sat. using a Synaptics TouchPad? My old one (an 1800 model - stolen this year) had a Synaptics TouchPad properties page which allowed configuration of the TouchPad. If I can remember rightly the page was in the control panel and also as an icon in the system tray. Right clicking on the system tray icon produces a menu and a properties option. It's in the properties that you will find the refresh option. Select the Fast pointer refresh rate for the smoothest pointer motion. If the pointer appears unsteady or flickers, try the Slow pointer refresh rate.

Also, Touch Sensitivity adjusts how firmly you must contact the touchpad for it to react. Basically, the closer to *Heavy Touch* you move the slider, the more finger pressure you must apply for it to be seen as a touch. If you see undesired or erratic pointer motion, try moving the slider toward Heavy Touch.


Synaptics web site: http://www.synaptics.com/
Synaptics driver downloads: http://www.synaptics.com/support/downloads.cfm

Toshiba online tecnical support: http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/su/su_sc_home.jsp
Toshiba's *Ask Iris* virtual technical head: http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/su/su_askIris.jsp

If you have a spare buttonised cyber mammal handy you could try testing out the mouse pointer that way to see if the effect is the same.

Jeroo , No Alps Electric touchpad and bl**dy useless. Had a Compaq Presario previously and 100 times better. This computer has been a total waste of money and only good for the dustbin. In addition have been to Toshiba website and they recognise the problem but give no solution. Stick to the better known computer manufacturers!!!!. Thanks anyway.

Maddoctor, I've noticed a similar problem with my HP XE3 laptop (Win 98).

I have an external keyboard connected to the PS2 socket and an external mouse on the serial port. Everything is ok when I first switch on, but if I leave the computer on for several hours the mouse gradually starts to malfunction in the way you describe. I didn't notice any problems before I had the external mouse and KB so I've been assuming it's something to do with that.

The only way I've found of curing the problem has been to re-start the computer. I'm going to try a USB mouse instead of the serial one to see if the problem clears up.

I don't really want to go back to using the laptop's own touchpad...

PeterG , Yes restarting is a temporary cure. I've wondered if overheating is a problem (well known I think in laptops) but I don't have sufficient knowledge to judge if this is the case. The software is continuously recalibrating the mouse and it must be some problem with this and as I have said if a lot of data is coming in over the net is this plus recalibrating too much for the processor. I don't know and now wonder if for trading I should get an ordinary PC. Recommendations on that would be appreciated by fellow traders here.

Just did a google search on "external mouse" + laptop + erratic. Quite a few hits. One recommendation is to disable the internal pointing device when using an external mouse. I'll give it a try.

I've received an email (trusted source) with a winmail.dat attachment which I can't open. Error message says there isn't a program associated with it. Any clues, please?

Could be alsorts of files
DAT files are sometimes data files, usually comma delimited, that contain ASCII format data - They are also Mcaffe updates and one is even called index.dat which records a list of websites you have visited, cookies received and files downloaded.
There are probably even more .dat types.
Ask whoever sent it to resend it in a format you understand or open and look inside it with notepad maybe?


Edit - Try outlook - WINMAIL.DAT is a proprietary Outlook file that allows Outlook users to send Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format (TNEF) information (see Microsoft's technical support article at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q241/5/38.ASP). This TNEF information is unopenable and irrelevant outside of Outlook.

TOK, you can get the general gist of what it contains by saving it to disk, right clicking on it in Explorer and Open With/Select Program/Notepad. It will probably be mainly control characters (gobbledigook) but there will probably be text strings that will show what it is.

leo and kayak - Gentlemen, thanks for all of that. What fascinating stuff gobbledygook is to look at! The sender didn't know what it was all about either!