I have a Toshiba Satellite Laptop running Windows 98SE. In every or almost every text based program the cursor has the annoying habit of spontaneously jumping from where I am typing text back to wherever the mouse pointer is. I then have to click the mouse back to the end of the text to continue typing. If anyone has any suggestions I can try before reinstalling the operating system from scratch (I already tried re-installing over top the current o/s without reformatting) I would really appreciate the help. Thanks

I would try booting up in safe mode and removing the mouse(s) in the Device Manager and rebooting. Also try another mouse.

I think you have a Fawlty Mouse. It clicks when it shouldn't. Get Logitech or Microsoft, other mouses are usually vermin. (Don't thank me for invoking reactions about this; my pleasure)

Before doing anything else (yes, you'll probably need a new mouse), go to Control Panel, Mouse, and be sure all your settings are as they should be.

Oh one more thing; there is this nifty little feature on you keyboard that works when typing all kinds of text and it's called 'End'. It takes you right to the end of the line your cursor is in, arrow down moves you further down to the end of text. Is a Lot easier than grabbing your Fawlty Mouse every time! (Also see: Lesson 2: "Home")

Thanks for the suggestions. Further investigation has helped to clarify the problem. The problem exists whether the external mouse or keyboard is attached or not; therefore the problem must be in the laptop mouse or keyboard, or in the software. More specifically I have noticed that it is not that the text cursor returns to the mouse pointer but rather that the text cursor disappears altogether; further typing disappears into the ether. Any further help would be appreciated.