OK, now this is just weird...

Jeffsounds · 03-08-2015, 10:59 PM

I'm working in Reaper tonight, trying to get some 64-bit plugs added and all of the sudden I can't type anything into the filter. NOTHING! So I click on Notepad to see if I can type anything there and NOTHING! So I reboot. Same thing. I do a system restore. Same thing. Just for the hell of it, I hit F2 on startup and it works! It takes me into the BIOS but once there, I can't move around at all! The up/down/left/right arrows don't work either.

Then, after about 10 minutes of dicking around trying to find out what went wonky, my mouse starts to act up!

I click an icon on my desktop and it opens. I click on something ELSE on my desktop and the icon I clicked previously opens. I have to go back to THAT icon and click on it again, as if I'm unselecting it, THEN I can click on something else.

But wait, there's more...

I try to drag an icon to a different spot on the desktop and it creates 2 other copies of the icon while dragging.

I clicked on Solitaire to play a game while thinking about this freaking problem that popped up and I can't MOVE any of the cards! I can click on them, but I can't drag or move them at all! I can click on the deal deck and it deals fine but I can't move any of the cards!!!!

I know I didn't change any mouse or keyboard modifyer's in Reaper so what could possibly have caused this?????? The keyboard is only a couple of weeks old and the mouse is a month or so.

Did I cross over into the Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits without knowing?

nicholas · 03-08-2015, 11:17 PM

I'm sorry I can't offer you much help other than to say that it seems to me your problems almost certainly aren't specifically related to REAPER.

Not saying of course that you shouldn't be asking here, just suggesting that it might help also to cast your net a bit wider ....

pryere · 03-09-2015, 12:05 AM

Have you replaced the batteries?

RobertP · 03-09-2015, 02:17 AM

^^ definately worth checking with unused batteries.
I have had this before and the only other solution was to make sure the wireless keyboard/mouse is in line of sight for the little usb thingie. So if your desktop is under the desk with all sorts of things in the way, put in a usb extension lead and hang it on the wall.

Might be worth checking with a different usb socket too.

Good luck

nicholas · 03-09-2015, 02:34 AM

Does the OP actually say he is using a wireless keyboard? If he is, just try using USB keyboard and mouse instead, see if that cures it. Most people have old keyboards hanging around somewhere, I think.

Irvin · 03-09-2015, 04:37 AM

All I can say is your computer may be possessed. Have you watched "The Exorcist" recently?

Retro Audio Enthusiast · 03-09-2015, 05:09 AM

If you're using wireless mouse and keyboard keep cellphones and other wireless tech AWAY from your desk. Signals can interfere.

jiff 41 · 03-09-2015, 05:56 AM

If all else fails maybe worth a question here Jeff

=

http://www.sevenforums.com/

karbomusic · 03-09-2015, 05:58 AM

Sounds like bad batteries and/or a possible a stuck key (such as CTRL) on the keyboard.

serr · 03-09-2015, 07:21 AM

A shorted/stuck key can do that. If so, the keystrokes that aren't working would be because, for example when you pressed the arrow key, what the computer saw was ctrl-arrow (using Karbo's example).

Or you get this kind of scenario:
Shift key gets shorted on. Start up computer. "Why is this starting in safe mode?!"

karbomusic · 03-09-2015, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by serr

A shorted/stuck key can do that. If so, the keystrokes that aren't working would be because, for example when you pressed the arrow key, what the computer saw was ctrl-arrow (using Karbo's example).

And in windows, CTRL+Drag = make a copy of the file.

serr · 03-09-2015, 07:28 AM

Yeah, a flaky keyboard can take you on a pretty wild ride!

hopi · 03-09-2015, 08:48 AM

not to mention the 'coin' type of battery that is in the computer itself...

since as I recall Jeff is dealing with an older, used Dell here... that could also be going bad and giving flakey operation of the BIOS itself.

flakey should be a brand name, eh?

Jeffsounds · 03-09-2015, 02:35 PM

Well, this morning I gave it a shot and it was working normally again.... UNTIL the CTRL key was pressed. Then back to the old shenanigans. So, off I went to get a new keyboard and have not had a problem with it since.

Problem is, that keyboard that went wonky is only a couple of weeks old!

Email-with-attitude sent to Logitech...

Thanks, everyone! Appreciate the pointers! At 3 in the morning I was just too tired to get my mind to troubleshoot. So I shot me instead...

karbomusic · 03-09-2015, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Email-with-attitude sent to Logitech...

Just to be thorough... Every time this has happened to me, it was because there was some small foreign object that had fallen in. Sometimes food, sometimes drink, sometimes just about anything seems to find it's way into the nooks and crannies of a keyboard.

Unleash some canned air on it and/or turn it upside down and beat on it some to see if that helps.

Jeffsounds · 03-09-2015, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karbomusic

Just to be thorough... Every time this has happened to me, it was because there was some small foreign object that had fallen in. Sometimes food, sometimes drink, sometimes just about anything seems to find it's way into the nooks and crannies of a keyboard.

With me it is probably ashes... man, I gotta quit smoking...

Quote:

Originally Posted by karbomusic

Unleash some canned air on it and/or turn it upside down and beat on it some to see if that helps.

I figger if bouncing it off the wall didn't jar it loose, nothing will...

Thanks, Karb!

karbomusic · 03-09-2015, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffsounds

With me it is probably ashes... man, I gotta quit smoking...

Dude! You are right, they turn into glue. I'm serious because I tossed multiple keyboards due to that. I quit a couple years ago, now for first time in a few decades my keyboard keeps working.

chas51 · 03-09-2015, 02:56 PM

love the bouncing it off the wall comment.
reminds me of a scene from a film that I have not seen in 30 years, that I have thought of countless times.
just found it on youtube.
the dude pulls out a hammer and says that he can fix the boat engine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-bw_1n5tJA

Normie · 03-09-2015, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffsounds

With me it is probably ashes... man, I gotta quit smoking...

I figger if bouncing it off the wall didn't jar it loose, nothing will...

Thanks, Karb!

Oh just wait till you get the Windows 7 loss of focus problem so you can do the three finger salute and then cancel just to get your mouse buttons working again after a couple min of inactivity.

Lots of reports of that on the net but no one seems to be able to sus it out that I can find or even nail the absolute cause beyond some 'services' thing. I have a Logitech trackball and keyboard, both wireless, but they arent the issue. This one is ALL Windows baby!

Jeffsounds · 03-10-2015, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karbomusic

Dude! You are right, they turn into glue. I'm serious because I tossed multiple keyboards due to that. I quit a couple years ago, now for first time in a few decades my keyboard keeps working.

I seriously need to quit... but I'm married... I have kids...

I really do though, man, coughing all the time, clearing my throat... I made a living with my voice and if I don't quit, I'm afraid it will be gone and I'll be using one of those little microphone things to communicate... my wife would probably love it though...

Quote:

Originally Posted by chas51

love the bouncing it off the wall comment.
reminds me of a scene from a film that I have not seen in 30 years, that I have thought of countless times.
just found it on youtube.
the dude pulls out a hammer and says that he can fix the boat engine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-bw_1n5tJA

FUNNY! That was a good movie! Of course, most anything Tom Hanks does is going to be good. Forrest Gump is one of my favorite's!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Normie

Oh just wait till you get the Windows 7 loss of focus problem so you can do the three finger salute and then cancel just to get your mouse buttons working again after a couple min of inactivity.

Lots of reports of that on the net but no one seems to be able to sus it out that I can find or even nail the absolute cause beyond some 'services' thing. I have a Logitech trackball and keyboard, both wireless, but they arent the issue. This one is ALL Windows baby!

NOOOOO! No problems with Win7! I can't take anymore!!!!!!!

Normie · 03-10-2015, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffsounds

NOOOOO! No problems with Win7! I can't take anymore!!!!!!!

Overall, Win7 has been the most stable/good/prob-free (nearly) OS since Amiga Workbench on my old A-1200. I love it. But suddenly this popped up. Not sure but I THINK it was introduced in one of the auto updates a couple months back.

I have fought with it, a relative of mine that's a hardcore IT type fought with it, there are a number of blogs/forums with lots of questions and few answers... some people get hit with it, some don't. It is wholly maddening. I'd follow your suggestion about the wall / keyboard relationship experience but the comp is bolted into my rack and by the time I got it out to wall it, my mad-on would be gone

chas51 · 03-10-2015, 12:57 PM

Normie, funny post. like your poetic use of words.

Jeff, quit brother. PM me if you want me to tell you a strategy I made up, that might help you quit. it makes sense to me.

major Hanks fan. he is an amazing dude.
I must have thought of that scene a million times in the last 30 years.
and it has been that long since I saw it.
funny the things that stay with you.

as for Windows 7, had plenty of problems years ago.
that said, I also think that Windows 7 is very cool.
on the whole, in general, I think its pretty good (accent on the word "good").

ivansc · 03-10-2015, 01:33 PM

Jeff - ex-60 to 80 a day man.

I quit after hypnosis failed and many other things that I tried.
Just after we moved to the USA I was driving to work one morning in my big ol` gas guzzling Chevy Impala and reached into the door pocket for my cigarettes....
Pulled the packet out, looked at it, then rolled down the window and threw the packet away.
Havent smoked since although I DID have a pulmonary embolism about 6 months later that helped me stay on the straight and narrow!

Not recommended therapy, but what the heck.
I think the truth is that you have to finally make up your mind that you ARE an ex-smoker, not someone who is "trying to quit"

Jeffsounds · 03-10-2015, 01:52 PM

When I got out of the service many years ago, I came back to Michigan (I'm still asking myself why I left Hawaii for Michigan) and I decided I was going to quit smoking. So when I got to the last cigarette in the pack, I dumped the ashtray, smoked the final cigarette and put the butt in the ashtray and left it there. It would remind me that it was my LAST. It was about 2am.

At the time I was working for an alarm company (ADT in it's infancy) and I was working the evening shift. The next night, I stopped at the local Stop And Rob to get a Co-Cola (another addiction I had). When I got home I took the pop out of the bag and there was a pack of smokes. I didn't even remember buying them! So I realized not only did I have to quit smoking, I had to quit BUYING them!

So that evening I did the same thing. Finished the last cigarette and left the butt in the ashtray as a reminder. I quit for 4 years... I don't really remember why I started to smoke again. But it's funny that the same year I started smoking again was also the same year I got married...

Go figger...

You're right, Ivansc and everyone else. I have REALLY got to make up my mind and put them away... for GOOD!