Mouse pointer jumping around the screen

My mouse pointer has just started jumping around the screen. It vibrates and slowly moves down the screen even if I am not touching it. I have cleaned the sensor but that has not helped. I unplugged it and the pointer still jumped around.
Any ideas what might be causing this as I have not seen quite this problem on other discussions.

HI,
That's interesting... restart your iMac. See if that makes a difference.
Also, do you have anything nearby that might cause interference, like a cell phone or graphics tablet?
May sound crazy, but dust and lint build up on a mouse pad can cause erratic cursor behavior.
You could try deleting this file.
com.apple.driver.AppleHIDMouse.plist
/Users/YourName/Library/Preferences. Drag that file to the Trash, empty the Trash and restart your iMac.

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Hi all - i have just noticed this since the upgrade to Snow Leopard
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Darren, Lockerbie, Scotland

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Is this the original Apple mouse? Do you have any third-party mouse drivers installed? (Look in System Preferences under "Other"). Presumablly you've tried adjusting the mouse sensitivity in System Preferences; have you also checked if the mouse if jumpy in other user accounts? If you can, try a different USB mouse on the eMac to ccheck it's not the hardware.
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Trackpad draging and jumping around the screen

trackpad works for a while but then the trackpad begins to drag (when I move my finger around the trackpad, the curser either doesent move at all or moves very slowly) and the curser begins to jump around the screen when the trackpad and computer isent being touched. I tried to connect a wireless mouse and it too bagan with the same problems. if anyone has any ideas of how to fix it, im all ears.

Yes i've gotten this twice.
Once from not quite legitmate software.
Once from a sketch NSFK site.
Both times, it was easily resolved for me by shutting down.
Follow the procedure to reset SMC controller ( make sure you do this properly ) Guides are available on Apple's support page.
Immediatly after the SMC reset before any other reboot reset the PRAM several times.
then reboot as normal.
...I'm not sure what exactly is going on.. I think some setting is getting adjusted and set EFI that's why normal reboots, safe mode, nothing else solves it. One of the more eye opening aspect of it for me was when I rebooted my macbook into Windows7 via bootcamp and it still presisted. At that point it had NOTHING to do w/ OS software, plist, safe mode or myraid of other suggestions you'll encounter.

Cursor jumps around the screen

After upgrading to Lion, moving my mouse will intermitently jump the cursor from it position in the middle of the screen to one of the edges.
I will try to move the cursor an inch or so in the middle of the screen and find the cursor hitting one of the hot corners, which is really annoying when I go from clicking a toolbar item in the center of the screen to a sleeping display.
The mouse is a Magic Mouse, wtih a MacPro. It worked fine with 10.6, but is annoying enough under Lion to make me want to ditch the mouse and try a track pad.
Anyone else seen this one?
Thanks.

I have a 2011 MacBook Pro (bought it in August). I have it hooked up to a 21-inch monitor and a wired Mac extended keyboard. I have a wireless Magic Trackpad, a wireless Magic Mouse, an old wireless Mac Mouse, and an old WIRED Mac Mouse. (Note that I haven't been using them all at the same time, I turn each off if they are not in use).
My pointer jumps around when I use each one. Given that the same jumpiness is occurring when I use my wired mouse, this would indicate that it is not a Bluetooth issue a...although my old wireless Mac Mouse is by far the worst performing of the four.
I submitted my feedback to Apple in August, no replies. What a joke!

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The editor saved prefs often get corrupted. If resetting all tools doesn’t work you may need to rebuild the editor preferences to resolve any conflicts.
Hold down the Ctrl+Shift+Alt keys and simultaneously click on the Edit button on the welcome screen. Release the three keys and look behind the welcome screen by closing it. Or hold down the keys whilst double clicking on PhotoshopElementsEditor.exe
You should see a pop up box with the words: Delete Adobe Photoshop Elements Settings File?
Click on Yes
Close down Elements and re-open it in the normal way - then wait whilst it rebuilds the preferences.

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Hi all, I have recently lost control of my mouse. The pointer runs down the screen and I am unable to click accurately on
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mouse is not at fault. Any help will be gratefully received. RegT
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hello again RegT,
It is good to hear from you again!
Since your HP mouse is working on two other notebooks, I recommend contacting Dell Support for further assistance with device recognition and USB ports on the desktop.
I hiope this helps!
Best Regards
MechPilot
I work on behalf of HP
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Mouse pointer jumping around screen!

hey guys, iv had my iMac for around a year now and only recently iv noticed that the mouse pointer just jumps randomly across the screen when i move it, like ill be moving the mouse to the right and itll jump across half the screen to the left.
It happens at least once an hour or something like that and only seems to happen when im move the mouse quite quickly. im using a laser wired mighty mouse that come with my 20" iMac which is around a year old, thanks.

Hello again Beanie_,
Is yours, the iMac, the 2.4Ghz version? My own iMac does this " trick " every now and then. There are several threads about the issue here in Apple Discussions and a veritable mountain of information inside Google.
Regards once more and now, I trust, you will see why I asked my 1st question!
Ian.

Mouse pointer jumping around since 10.10.3

Dear all.
Since 10.10.3 upgrade my mouse pointer is jumping around all over the place.
First i thought it was maybe a bluetooth issue (i am using magic mouse) so i disabled that.
But.. without active magic mouse, the mouse pointer still keeps jumping.
So now my macbookpro has become almost unworkable.
Anyone ?

There are several possible causes for this issue. Please take each of the following steps that you haven't already tried until it's resolved. Some may not apply in your case.
1. Follow the instructions in this support article, and also this one, if applicable. A damaged or defective AC adapter could be the cause, even if it's the right kind.
2. Press down all four corners of the trackpad at once and release. If there's any effect, it's likely to be temporary, and in that case the unit must be serviced or replaced.
3. Open the Bluetooth pane in System Preferences and delete all pointing devices other than the trackpad, if applicable. Disconnect any USB pointing devices. By a "pointing device," I mean a peripheral that moves the cursor, such as a trackpad, mouse, trackball, or graphics tablet. A plain keyboard is not a pointing device.
4. If your model has an infrared receiver for use with an Apple Remote, disable it.
5. Start up in safe mode and test, preferably without launching any third-party applications. If you don't have the problem in safe mode, but it comes back when you restart as usual, stop here and post your results. Do the same if you can't start in safe mode. If there was no difference in safe mode, go on to the next step.
6. Reset the System Management Controller.
7. If you're using a Bluetooth trackpad or mouse, investigate potential sources of interference, including USB 3 devices.
8. A swollen battery in a portable computer can impinge on the trackpad from below and cause erratic behavior. If you have trouble clicking the trackpad, this is likely the reason. The battery must be replaced without delay.
9. A defective peripheral device or a damaged cable can cause the built-in trackpad of a MacBook to behave erratically. If you're using any wired peripherals, disconnect them one at a time and test.
10. There's also a report of erratic cursor movements caused by an external display that was connected but not turned on.
11. If none of the above applies, or if you have another reason to think that your computer is being remotely controlled, remove it from the network by turning off Wi-Fi (or your Wi-Fi access point), disconnecting from a Bluetooth network link, and unplugging the Ethernet cable or USB modem, whichever is applicable. If the cursor movements stop at once, you should suspect an intrusion.
12. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine and/or external trackpad tested.

My mouse pointer jumps to the top left corner every second

Hi
I recently bought a Mac Mini, hoping to get into iOS development, everything was fine, but recently the mouse pointer has started jumping to the top left corner of the screen, this happens every time I try to move it, within 1 second of my moving the mouse, it's jumped back.
It's made the system unusable.
I've searched online and found other people saying that their mouse pointers jump every two or three minutes, but mine jumps within a second of me moving it. I have two Dell monitors attched via apple HDMI to DVI and Displayport to DVI adaptors. I've tried different mice, it's still the same.
The problem is, even if there's a fix, I'm not sure that I could apply it, as I can't use the mouse at all.
Can any one help?

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually login automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

Messages window jumping around the screen

I just updated to OS X Yosemite, and I'm having a strange issue with the Messages application window.
Here's the scenario:
I have Messages and Safari open at the same time.
I click on Safari to bring it forward and work with a page.
I then click back on Messages after receiving a message.
The message input field does not automatically get focus, so I click on it to give it focus.
The Message window "jumps" down to the bottom of the screen, with the bottom of the window behind the dock.
I can actually type my message, but I have to drag the Message window back up from behind the dock.
Any way I can "pin down" a window so it doesn't jump like this?
Thanks in advance.
David Byrd
Mac mini (Mid 2010)
OS X 10.10 (Yosemite)

Hi All,
This is a bit of a known issue with no real fix yet.
It seems it is worse if the Messages window is grabbed right at the top edge when the change size icon then appears.
Of course you can "slide" a click as it were to that spot .
Some have said it effects trackpads more then mouse systems but I have seen no real proof of that.
I have seen it once in Terminal as well (a badly aimed click with a bit of drag that then dangled th Terminal window for a moment).
I have seen all Macs listed as suffering from this, Retina Displays, no Retina ones, Laptops and desktops and so on.
Longest thread
Messages window jumping all over the place in Yosemite?
Use Feedback http://www.apple.com/feedback/
It has also been brought to the attention of the Host (Moderators) as they can escalate some things direct to Engineers (there will be no feedback to Users of progress.)
Try this Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) - Apple Support
9:13 pm Thursday; November 6, 2014
 iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad

HTML website - jumping around the screen, haven't seen this before.

I have just uploaded a site.
www.surveyplan.com.au. It consists of basic tables which are jumping around when the links are clicked. I have set all the tables to be either 100% or by pixel dimension and either way it still doesn't fix the problem. Seems to be worse on a smaller screen...what a pain in the ***!
Any help appreciated.

There is indeed an issue with DW templates and IE, the whole page is redrawn resulting in some flickering (Firefox should not have this problem with your pages). There is a sort of solution for this. It is not a nice one but it may work for you.
You can add some metatags just below the other meta tag in the head:

<meta http-equiv="Page-Enter" content="blendTrans(Duration=0.01)">
<meta http-equiv="Page-Exit" content="blendTrans(Duration=0.01)">
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Grtz

Mouse pointer jumping around and dock icon graphics tops breaking up

i been noticing my mac acting funny, at 1st i dismissed it as no big deal but now it has become more frequent. instead of happening occasionally its happening constantly. my mac has been in the exact same location since i owned it and my mouse surface hasnt changed. theres no debris i can see in the mouses eye. its like the computer is freezing then releasing the pointer. i cant even guess about why the dock icon graphic tops are breaking up. i ran my permissions and all is fine there. anyone else know what it could be? thanks for any help.

sweet the dock icons are full again. so far so good about the mouse. i forgot a couple months back i deleted my system folder(duh) and never reinstalled the techtool. i guess i paniced thinking something malicious was attacking my comp. sorry for assuming the worst. thanks for setting me straight.

Messages window jumps around the screen

Not sure if anyone else has had this issue, cause I've been asking other people who work with me and are running Yosemite and they haven't had this issue...
I've been having this strange issue where I'm in another application and once I click on the Messages window and move my mouse away, it then jumps to where ever I moved my mouse. I'm not click and dragging the window, the window just jumps to where my mouse went like half a second later. Not sure if this is some sort of bug with Yosemite [10.10.1 on a 13" Macbook Pro Retina], cause I don't remember this happening with Mavericks.
Not even sure what I could possibly do to remedy this besides trying to reinstall the operating system which I would like to avoid, but maybe someone has seen this and knows how to correct it?
Any help is appreciated!

Hi,
Known Issue
Messages window jumping all over the place in Yosemite? (thousands of views and 59 posts).
It has been reported to Apple but feel free http://www.apple.com/feedback/ichat.html
There is no known fix.
At present the best advice is not to click in the top bar of Messages' main window - it seems it is only that top bar that makes it happen.
10:03 pm Saturday; January 24, 2015
 iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad

Mouse pointer jumping around the screen

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