Missing cursor in Home Page (XP SP1 Home)

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I’m not sure where I should post this, in the IE forum or here, but since it probably has to do with the registry the XP forum is my first choice.
I use Google as my home page. Whenever I need to enter a query I open IE and start typing, sometimes without even looking at the screen because normally the cursor is blinking in the Google search box.
Yesterday I run Registry Healer (which I’ve been using for several months without any problems) and deleted a lot of invalid paths. Now when I open Google the cursor is missing although the title bar of Google shows it is the active page. The cursor appears when I click in the search box and everything else functions normally. If I call other search engines the cursor behaviour stays the same, i.e. it is still missing.
It’s very annoying to type a query (like I got used to do), press and afterwards look at an empty screen, because I keep forgetting to click in the search box.
If everything else fails I will have to restore the system to the time before I run Registry Healer so it’s not a serious problem, but does perchance anyone know if there is a registry entry relating to this ?

Thanks in advance,
Oana

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Have you looked under Control Panel|Mouse|Pointer Options to see whether anything has inadvertently been changed – for example “Hide pointer while typing”? HTH

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It din’t occur to me to look there, because IE is the only application where this happens. Word, Excel, Notepad etc. all display a blinking cursor when opened.

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Given that this is only happening in Internet Explorer, I would rather doubt that this is a direct Registry Setting. If it is, then it would almost certainly have to be somewhere under HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftInternet Explorer – or conceivably somewhere under HKLMSoftwareMicrosoftInternet Explorer. I take it that you have already looked there. If System Restore does cure your problem, then I suspect that it will have been due to the digital cocktail that the Registry fast becomes.

Regardless of System Restore, you may wish to consider the following workaround. As a user of TweakUI, presumably you have either read – or already use WyllyWylly‘s Star Post tip about using TweakUI to cut down your search time. To cut down your own Search time, have you considered putting the Address Toolbar in your Taskbar – see the graphic at the bottom of this post – and then typing your Google search query from there? It will open IE for you automatically, and carry out the Search – saving you time if you Search frequently.

HTH

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Thank you, I’m tempted to say something boastful about great minds meeting in great forums but I won’t. Just before reading your post I put Mark’s solution (Address Bar in Taskbar) into use – as a workaround.
But the cursor not coming up automatically in Google still annoys me. I’d really like to know what setting controls it.

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Let’s just think about two minds going Bezirk!

You can see some views (including mine) on Registry cleaning tools in this thread, but it may not be a Registry setting at all. It seems it could be an issue as to what has focus when you start IE. Try using the Tab function to see. (F6 will take you to/from the Address Bar.)

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Or, better yet, going Heuriger. Well, hello neighbor !

I reread the thread you recommended. You and Mark are right, of course, with respect to leaving the Registry alone. On the other side, many uninstalls do nothing else than deleting icons and some files. I looked at Reg. Healer and it seemed to be OK, since it lists the invalid paths and leaves to you the decision of changing, deleting or leaving them in place. Practically, it’s the same thing as doing the whole cleaning manually, only faster. But perhaps I’ll better dust from now on the bookshelves when I’m seized by the irresistible compulsion to clean my house.

When I start IE, it has the focus. F6 takes me to the address bar and back to nowhere.

Thank you for the munka,
Oana

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>back to nowhere
You should be able, by pressing Tab, to cycle through all the links, radio button options and the dialog box.

>many uninstalls do nothing else than deleting icons and some files
One of the most notorious being MS Office. Part of my decision cycle was that I ended up spending more time evaluating whether or not to delete than I would probably save were everything ideally correct.

Alternative uses for that compulsion are: structuring of your data and reference files (or bookmarks) in simple to find folders and deletion of excess temp & mscreate.dir files.

HTH

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When cycling with Tab it takes 8 clicks to reach the search box.

If you’re not bored yet with the subject: I do a lot of data structuring and deleting of obsolete files and dirs. What about the evergrowing number of registry entries pointing at nonexistent targets ? Does the Registry drag them on without loss of functionality or performance ?

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>When cycling with Tab it takes 8 clicks to reach the search box.
How many does it take with Shift-Tab; which cycles backwards?

Turning to jscher2000‘s comment about default behaviour, you will find that if you go to MSKB, you will find that your cursor is not placed in a text box. I don’t know whether this is important enough to you to consider attempting some repairs to your IE installation.

Depending of course on the amount of uninstalls you do, there is a potential performance hit from orphaned keys. If, however, you are running WinXP, this is only likely to be a serious issue if you are attempting to run on 128Mb RAM. If that is not the case, periodic running of SCANREG /OPT – as suggested by WyllyWyllly – is probably your best bet.

If you are constantly trying out new downloads, you might like to consider installing a test boot on your machine. Provided you have backed up your wpa.dbl file, you should not have to go through the exercise of reactivating your installation. On most newer machines, Hard Disk size can easily accommodate 2 boots.

You may also wish to consider boosting your RAM, if that is relevant.

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[indent]

---

How many does it take with Shift-Tab; which cycles backwards?

---

[/indent] 15, but as I told jscher in the post above, it was just a glitch in the Security Settings. For the rest of this day I will pour ashes on my head.

On the other side, I’d like to go more deeply into your suggestions about a test boot and scanreg /opt – instead of which, if I understood WyllyWylly correctly, I could use ntregopt on my system. However, before starting another thread on this matter which has nothing to do with missing cursors I’ll re-search Google and the Lounge and read the relevant discussions.

Thank you for bearing with me so patiently,
Oana

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> For the rest of this day I will pour ashes on my head.

I’m not familiar with this tradition. Might I suggest something stronger.

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Pouring good tequila on my head would be more wasteful than the squandering of your time (and besides it would sting my eyes).
I’ll better use it internally.
Have a nice weekend,
Oana

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> For the rest of this day I will pour ashes on my head.

I’m not familiar with this tradition. Might I suggest something stronger.

Reply | Quote

[indent]

---

How many does it take with Shift-Tab; which cycles backwards?

---

[/indent] 15, but as I told jscher in the post above, it was just a glitch in the Security Settings. For the rest of this day I will pour ashes on my head.

On the other side, I’d like to go more deeply into your suggestions about a test boot and scanreg /opt – instead of which, if I understood WyllyWylly correctly, I could use ntregopt on my system. However, before starting another thread on this matter which has nothing to do with missing cursors I’ll re-search Google and the Lounge and read the relevant discussions.

Thank you for bearing with me so patiently,
Oana

Reply | Quote

>When cycling with Tab it takes 8 clicks to reach the search box.
How many does it take with Shift-Tab; which cycles backwards?

Turning to jscher2000‘s comment about default behaviour, you will find that if you go to MSKB, you will find that your cursor is not placed in a text box. I don’t know whether this is important enough to you to consider attempting some repairs to your IE installation.

Depending of course on the amount of uninstalls you do, there is a potential performance hit from orphaned keys. If, however, you are running WinXP, this is only likely to be a serious issue if you are attempting to run on 128Mb RAM. If that is not the case, periodic running of SCANREG /OPT – as suggested by WyllyWyllly – is probably your best bet.

If you are constantly trying out new downloads, you might like to consider installing a test boot on your machine. Provided you have backed up your wpa.dbl file, you should not have to go through the exercise of reactivating your installation. On most newer machines, Hard Disk size can easily accommodate 2 boots.

You may also wish to consider boosting your RAM, if that is relevant.

Reply | Quote

When cycling with Tab it takes 8 clicks to reach the search box.

If you’re not bored yet with the subject: I do a lot of data structuring and deleting of obsolete files and dirs. What about the evergrowing number of registry entries pointing at nonexistent targets ? Does the Registry drag them on without loss of functionality or performance ?

Reply | Quote

>back to nowhere
You should be able, by pressing Tab, to cycle through all the links, radio button options and the dialog box.

>many uninstalls do nothing else than deleting icons and some files
One of the most notorious being MS Office. Part of my decision cycle was that I ended up spending more time evaluating whether or not to delete than I would probably save were everything ideally correct.

Alternative uses for that compulsion are: structuring of your data and reference files (or bookmarks) in simple to find folders and deletion of excess temp & mscreate.dir files.

HTH

Reply | Quote

Or, better yet, going Heuriger. Well, hello neighbor !

I reread the thread you recommended. You and Mark are right, of course, with respect to leaving the Registry alone. On the other side, many uninstalls do nothing else than deleting icons and some files. I looked at Reg. Healer and it seemed to be OK, since it lists the invalid paths and leaves to you the decision of changing, deleting or leaving them in place. Practically, it’s the same thing as doing the whole cleaning manually, only faster. But perhaps I’ll better dust from now on the bookshelves when I’m seized by the irresistible compulsion to clean my house.

When I start IE, it has the focus. F6 takes me to the address bar and back to nowhere.

Thank you for the munka,
Oana

Reply | Quote

Let’s just think about two minds going Bezirk!

You can see some views (including mine) on Registry cleaning tools in this thread, but it may not be a Registry setting at all. It seems it could be an issue as to what has focus when you start IE. Try using the Tab function to see. (F6 will take you to/from the Address Bar.)

Reply | Quote

Thank you, I’m tempted to say something boastful about great minds meeting in great forums but I won’t. Just before reading your post I put Mark’s solution (Address Bar in Taskbar) into use – as a workaround.
But the cursor not coming up automatically in Google still annoys me. I’d really like to know what setting controls it.

Reply | Quote

Given that this is only happening in Internet Explorer, I would rather doubt that this is a direct Registry Setting. If it is, then it would almost certainly have to be somewhere under HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftInternet Explorer – or conceivably somewhere under HKLMSoftwareMicrosoftInternet Explorer. I take it that you have already looked there. If System Restore does cure your problem, then I suspect that it will have been due to the digital cocktail that the Registry fast becomes.

Regardless of System Restore, you may wish to consider the following workaround. As a user of TweakUI, presumably you have either read – or already use WyllyWylly‘s Star Post tip about using TweakUI to cut down your search time. To cut down your own Search time, have you considered putting the Address Toolbar in your Taskbar – see the graphic at the bottom of this post – and then typing your Google search query from there? It will open IE for you automatically, and carry out the Search – saving you time if you Search frequently.

HTH

Reply | Quote

It din’t occur to me to look there, because IE is the only application where this happens. Word, Excel, Notepad etc. all display a blinking cursor when opened.

Reply | Quote

Have you looked under Control Panel|Mouse|Pointer Options to see whether anything has inadvertently been changed – for example “Hide pointer while typing”? HTH

Reply | Quote

As far as I know, it is not Internet Explorer’s default behavior to place the insertion point in the first textbox on a page. Try this and see:

Not there, is it?

Pages like the Google home page use JavaScript to position the insertion point. Note the tag:

and the JavaScript function sf is defined as follows:

function sf(){document.f.q.focus();}

which sets focus on the control named q in the form named f (the search box).

So, you either are not running this script or something has gone wrong with the load timing or something is moving the insertion point after JavaScript positions it. I realize that doesn’t isolate the cause of the misbehavior, but it’s something to ponder.

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You are right, of course, and I started my pondering by rechecking the Custom Security Settings. It was as banal as Active Scripting being enabled or disabled (enabled > blinking cursor in search box, disabled > no cursor). Usually it is disabled, but probably I forgot to check after installing the last updates.
Thank you for pointing me, again, in the right direction,
Oana

Reply | Quote

You are right, of course, and I started my pondering by rechecking the Custom Security Settings. It was as banal as Active Scripting being enabled or disabled (enabled > blinking cursor in search box, disabled > no cursor). Usually it is disabled, but probably I forgot to check after installing the last updates.
Thank you for pointing me, again, in the right direction,
Oana

Reply | Quote

As far as I know, it is not Internet Explorer’s default behavior to place the insertion point in the first textbox on a page. Try this and see:

Not there, is it?

Pages like the Google home page use JavaScript to position the insertion point. Note the tag:

and the JavaScript function sf is defined as follows:

function sf(){document.f.q.focus();}

which sets focus on the control named q in the form named f (the search box).

So, you either are not running this script or something has gone wrong with the load timing or something is moving the insertion point after JavaScript positions it. I realize that doesn’t isolate the cause of the misbehavior, but it’s something to ponder.

Reply | Quote