Hanging mouse pointer etc: Java problem?

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An Intel driver update web page in Mozilla Firefox requested that I install Java to display everything on the page. I did, and it came with Java FX as indicated later when I went to do a system restore. After the installation, I had problems with the mouse pointer “hanging” in the same place though I was moving the mouse, repeatedly and frequently, or disappearing, and with flashing menus in Firefox (Now you see it, momentarily — now you don’t!). A few times, the keyboard and mouse both became disabled (num lock key on the keyboard went out, mouse laser sometimes went out) and I was able to make them work again only by unplugging them and plugging them into other USB ports or restarting the computer. And also, the computer was repeatedly indicating with a Windows sound (the downward pizzicato musical fifth, “da-dum”) that devices were being disconnected, several, one after another, but neither the Windows Explorer, the Storage dialog box nor the Device Manager showed any as missing. These problems occurred even when I had no applications open.

I have now run a system restore to before the Java installation and the computer appears to be running normally again.

Have other people seen this rather vexing problem? Assuming that the problem is with Java, is there a way I can have Java functionality without the problem? I do recall earlier having had the flashing menus in Firefox, before a system reinstall, though not the keyboard and mouse problems.

Computer: Powerspec G160 tower, specs are here: http://powerspec.com/systems/system_specs.phtml?selection=G160. The computer has a couple of add-ins: a Blu-Ray drive, an additional hard drive; the two stock hard drives are de-raided, running independently; and I have four external drives connected by USB.

Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium with Service Pack 1

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You don’t mention how you installed Java? Did you click a link on a page which redirected you to another site, or did you go to Java.com and install it from there?

The latter is preferable, but if you’re an e-business user, then Oracle has advised users who have installed Java 7 to revert to the previous version since EBS hasn’t been certified to work with the new version.

You’ll find more info together with instructions on the Oracle site here: All E-Business Suite End-Users Must Manually Apply JRE 6 Updates

If you’re not an e-business user, then go to http://www.java.com/en/ and get the latest version from there.

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I just checked 6 Intel download center pages and none prompted me to install Java. I would uninstall Java unless you know you have a real need for it. Use http://downloadcenter.intel.com/ to check for Intel driver updates.

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Very evidently by now it is a motherboard problem. It is heat-related: when the computer has been allowed to cool, mouse lag takes a half-hour or so to appear, then become permanent mouse freeze. Then if the computer is restarted right away, the freeze occurs much sooner, sometimes within a few seconds. This happens even with Windows in safe mode; my installing a fan to cool the graphics card has made no difference.

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There should be absolutely no interaction between a mouse driver and the Java Runtime Environment, as evidenced by the fact that the latter is needed only for a very few programs (pleasingly), and thus is not usually installed.

BATcher

Plethora means a lot to me.

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I was on this page.

http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect

This took me to the page

http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect?iid=dc_iduu

and I clicked on the link for the latest version of Java in Mozilla, which took me to the installer.

Whatever Java should or shouldn’t be doing to the mouse, keyboard and display in Firefox, rolling back the system to just before the Java installation — the only installation since the restore point — cured the problems that were making the computer unusable. This suggests strongly that Java is doing something that it shouldn’t be doing. I am not using E-business software.

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It’s when you try to run the driver update checker that Java is required then – I’d still not install it. Do you not know your motherboard or computer hardware details to install any Intel updates cleanly?

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The message to update the USB driver popped up from the Windows taskbar and sent me to the Intel site, but the preferred hardware updates are all available on the Powerspec (Micro Center house brand) site as .zip files, which expand and install cleanly. After a Windows reinstall, I clearly had to install one driver, for the Realtek audio, and disable the default Windows driver. When both were up, I got a blue screen, I suspect because they fought each other. No blue screen since I disabled the Windows driver. I haven’t yet updated everything else but USB is working OK. I’ll update when I have time in case I need to roll back. I thought “well, I’ll install Java, it could be useful,” but quite the contrary!

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The problem of flashing menus in Firefox is not unknown — there’s a thread about it on the Mozilla site. It always seems to have to do with plugins, though sometimes different ones.

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Well, the keyboard and mouse disconnect happened again, following the rollback. Next thing I try is to update the chipset driver.

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I hope this is the final post in this thread! The problem was apparently either the chipset driver or the USB driver. After installing the drivers from the manufacturer’s Web site, http://powerspec.com/systems/system_specs.phtml?selection=G160, the computer is stable. Apparently the tech who worked on the computer only installed Windows without installing the proprietary drivers, and for some reason (likely timing issues), the default drivers were unreliable. I identified the problem because the Realtek audio chip also was running on default drivers, and many of its features were unavailable.

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Happened again, and yet again after I updated the chipset and USB dirvers and the BIOS — The keyboard and mouse freeze. Usually this happens when special demands are palced on the display — mouse pointer moves into a lcickable area, new window is opened. I suspect a bad graphics adapter.

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