Windows 7 Desktop Issues with immediate unselecting

[Jericoice]

It seems whenever I am on my desktop it unselects whatever icon I have selected making renaming folders a drag. Whenever I go to select an icon or edit the name of one it unselects the icon immediately canceling my rename action.

It appears to me almost as if a constant clicking is taking place; if I have a minimized window open and unselected while working on my desktop it selects it and unselects it over and over again making the window flash.

Ive checked all of my mouse settings and even changed my mouse in a vain attempt to stop this problem, so far no dice.

I may be asking an already answered question for which I apologize and kindly ask you to point me to the right thread.

Any help with solving this problem would be appreciated.

 

[Saltgrass]

You may have a "SnapTo" option enabled in your mouse setup that changes the focus in some circumstances.

Does the window flashing happen if you are not doing anything on the system? Does it make any difference as to what window/programs are running?

If this is a USB mouse, does unplugging it make any difference?

I remember different types of questions about strange mouse/window behavior, but not exactly your situation.

 

[Jericoice]

I do not think there is a "SnapTo" option enabled, in my mouse settings it is not.

It makes no difference what programs are running and the flashing happens regardless to what I am doing on the desktop even when I am idling.

But it really isn't a whole screen flash it only flashes because it appears that the minimized window I have open when working on the desktop is being selected and unselected repetitively.

Also it is important to note this phenomenon only occurs on the desktop. When working in a full screen program the program seems to work just fine. It does not seem to select and unselect itself and does not flash at all. Which leads me to believe it may not be a mouse issue.

However it is a USB mouse, a wireless one at that, and I have tried unplugging it and using different mice, however the other mice I use are also wireless USB mice. I could try a wired non-USB one if that may be the problem.

Thanks for your help

 

[cybercore]

In Control Panel -> Mouse -> Pointer Options tab -> Automatically move pointer to the default button in a dialog box - is this option on or off? (With this on, I used to have a similar problem as you report.)

Also, what Saltgrass says, it could be a setting in your mouse driver that causes such behavior.

 

[Saltgrass]

When you say minimized, I assume you mean an open window you can work in but not full screen?

If the focus is changing, can you see where else it is going?

If you have two open windows side by side, do they blink active at the same time or in sequence?

Has this always been the case or something recent?

It appears something is changing the focus on your system. Why it does not happen in full screen, I do not know. Just for the heck of it, you might open task manager to see if some utility/service is popping up everytime the focus is changed. There may be a virus involved, but hopefully not.

I have noticed a thread that mentions flash drives or something similar. Perhaps if you have such a device plugged in, you might try unplugging it.

 

[Jericoice]

Oh wow I feel like an imbecile thank you so much Saltgrass!

It turned out to be a U3 Flash Drive in the back of the computer that was causing the problem. By simply removing it and restarting the computer the problem was solved.

 

[Saltgrass]

Glad you found the problem. This was not a logical solution to your problem, and the answer was found because someone accidentally discovered it. Which is the way many problems are actually solved.