Cursor only working in safe made

[KAZZBAR]

Greetings all (again)

Can anyone advise me as to why my cursor will only work properly in safe mode please ?

Initially I thought this was caused by a dodgey e card which froze during playback (it tried to install an exe) the cursor at this point would not shut the the card down and I tried to use the task manager, which would only start with Ctrl-alt-del (I had no right click either)... Task manager started with multipull entries and would not respond,I had no option but to hit the power button and close the system down.

I went and found the offending file and deleted it off the computer (in safe mode)

Now, If I boot up the computer everything seems to load up ok but the cursor does not hi light anything if hovering above any buttons and I have no left or right click (in other words, I can't start or stop anything (and task manager when started with the Ctrl-alt-del again shows multipull entries of it's self)

I can however use the cursor in any of the safe modes (as I am doing now) with limited options)

My computer is a Vaio PCG FX701 ... all up to date, has Avast anti virus, Kerio firewall and all the usual spyware tools installed (none of which find any thing)

Any help you guys or gals could offer would be most appreciated (you helped me out superbly last time I had and issue)

Many thanks for your time,

Kind regards,

Andy.

[rich912]

Hi KAZZBAR,

Although this is reported as working I would first try removing this device via Device Manager and then re-boot and let windows re-install the driver. Chances are that this will have no effect but will hopefully eliminate a driver glitch as the problem.

As you report that the touchpad works correctly in Safe Mode the most likely cause of malfunction is a conflicting driver or service that is loading at start-up.

Try disabling all but the most necessary start-up programs (via msconfig startup tab) and re-boot. If this solves the problem you will then need to re-enable each program, one by one, followed by a re-boot until the culprit is identified.

Repeat this for the Services tab if necessary but hide all Microsoft Services first.

[KAZZBAR]

Hi Rich,
Still no luck Im afraid, and I found it frustrating after making the changes you suggested,as when I let windows boot up normally I could not click on the box that opened telling me about the changes and did I want to continue (or words to that effect...I can't remember the exact words now....well it is late)!!

I have found one thing that I find suspect though ... A reference to guix_dat.exe that has located itself in C:\Windows\system32 and another file located in C:\Windows\prefetch .
Both seem to have been created on the day everything went wrong.

I can't find anything about this with a web search, any ideas ?

[Thalamus.]

Hi Kazzbarr,

have you tried a system restore to date before the touchpad problem began.?

[rich912]

Hi KAZZBAR,

No I can’t find anything on guix_dat.exe either.

Have you tried a system restore back to a date prior to the date this file appeared?

Also scan for malware if you have not already done so…

EDIT: You beat me to it Thalamus

[KAZZBAR]

Hi Rich and Thalamus,

I switched off system restore to save space(the 701 only has a 20 gig hard drive, I heard it wasted a lot of space) and only use it if I am going to be installing new programs and think I might need it.
Much to my annoyance, it can't be turned on in safe mode, only when the system is fully booted up ... then of course.... I can't turn it on as I can't use the cursor GRRRRRRR !!!

Yes, I have scanned for spyware/malware with Spybot, Ad Aware, Windows Defender, Trojan Hunter and run a scan with Highjack This (no reference to guix_dat.exe is seen in the log file)

Until I have more idea what these files are, I'm not sure if I should mess with them.
I do have a gut feeling that they have something to do with all this though !

And of course .. run Avast Anti Virus

[rich912]

Hi KAZZBAR,

You could backup these files and then delete, or rename to guix_dat.old. That way if you find that they are legit and needed you can always reinstate.

Otherwise it is beginning to look as though a system recovery is on the cards

Have you tried attaching a USB mouse?

[KAZZBAR]

Hi Guys,

OMG !!!

What a scary night I have just had !!

A friend told me about a guy who is pretty hot with computers, so I arranged to go and see him with the offending laptop,

Jeeeezus, he went at it like a made man, running all sorts of special software, deleting and uninstalling stuff left right and centre ..... 4 hrs later !!!!

boot up ...... gasp !!!...... WORKING !!!! .....15 minutes later .....FAILIURE, back to square one with exactly the same scenario. (DAM IT)

Looks like whatever is causing it has put back just about everything we got rid of.

I'm at my wits end now !!

[KAZZBAR]

Hi Rich and Thalamus,

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you quicker.

Just to let you know that I ended up having to reinstall windows at the end of the day.

The guy who was giving me a hand could not work out what was going on either, took the hard drive out and scanned in on the desk (found some nasties) but could not recover the system.

What ever this was, it certainly did it's job !! (scumbags)

But I would like to take the opportunity to thank you both for your input and wish you both a happy Christmas.

Hopefully next time I visit these boards it will not be in such desperate circumstances !

Kind regards,

Andy.

[Thalamus.]

Glad your problems sorted Andy and happy Christmas to you too.

[rich912]

What ever this was, it certainly did it's job !! (scumbags)

Scumbags indeed!!

Pleased to hear that you now have a function machine again Andy.

Have a good one!