Why does my cursor freeze up?

Is there a common reason why my screen/cursor sometimes freeze up and then free up after a few minutes?

• I have a three year old Medion laptop with XP and only 512 RAM and it has done it from day one.

• Answer:

  hi taf this type of problem is the most common experienced with windows and is normally because of a software issue i notice you only have 512mb of ram on your laptop which in itself should be more than enough to run windows xp however the programs now appearing that are xp and vista compatible are now regulary demanding more and more memory than before and its now become the norm for applications to require 1gb(and more) as a minimum requirment depending on the memory your laptop uses will allow you to upgrade your current 512mb to either 1gb or even 2gb,however before that you should go to http://www.crucial.com/ and run the online memory tool,after agreeing to a "active x ie add-on" the crucial memory tool will scan your laptop and report to you the recommended memory for your specific laptop using this information you can then purchase the appropriate memory for your laptop,however dont worry,most laptops use "so-dimm" memory and a example of this like the 1GB PC2-5300 SO-DIMM(http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory/Laptop/Arianet+1GB+PC2-5300+SO-DIMM+?productId=26817)is just £11.69 inc. VAT however depending on the maximum amount of memory your laptop can use you could allways go even higher and purchase something like a OCZ 4GB PC2-5400 DDR2 SO-DIMM (2x2GB) from http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory/Laptop/OCZ+4GB+PC2-5400+DDR2+SO-DIMM+%282x2GB%29+?productId=31340,for just £52.82 inc. VAT this is awesome value and with ocz memory you knwo you have quality 4gb is all you will ever need,and ocz memory uses low latency(CL 5-5-5-15)and comes with a lifetime warranty thats the memory issues out the way,now another problem that laptops suffer from is inadequate cooling and this is one of the single most common reasons for crashes and freezes using a can of "air duster" from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Data-Accessories-Corporation-cc18-Duster/dp/B000A6ZC8E,using short blasts clean the vents around the laptop,these allways get blocked with dirt and dust and if not cleaned can cause the laptop to overheat and thus cause it to freeze and then maybe crash also while cleaning the vents use the air duster to celan the keyboard and any other accesible part of the laptop then you need to check the laptops battery,three years is a long time in the life of a laptop,and theres a good chance the laptops battery is coming to the end of its recommended lifespan one common symptom of a failing battery is hardware problems(unable to connect wirelessly using the w.l.a.n) and also freezes try using the laptop with the power adapter plugged in,and then count the amounts of freezes you experience,then after the laptop has charged fully use it for the same time period and note down the amount of freezes during the same time period(lets try 1 hour so not to push it too hard) theres a good chance that the laptop will suffer more freezes while totally mobile than plugged into the mains...solution : replace your current laptop battery ! for a good priced replacement medion laptop battery go to http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/Medion-laptop_batteries-b.htm,the "laptop shop" have a excellent selection of replacement laptop batterys at competetive prices also try http://www.computerbatteries.co.uk/gb3/m/medion/index.html,and http://www.laptopbatterypack.co.uk/more-laptop-battery.php/MEDION finally and probally the most obvious reason is your actual pointing device(mouse),a similar problem occured on my wifes acer t671,and the cursor would jump from one side of the screen to the other,to cut a long story short it was the actual mouse all it needed was to a)swap the mouse for a reasonably priced optical mouse and b)replace your mouse mat and keep the mat clean and free from dirt,i found that all it takes is a tiny bit of dust to affect the laser in the mouse,infact depending on your computer desk surface its sometimes best not to use a mousemat at all as optical mice will work on any surface(except for glass,mirror) hope this helps,however any problems let me know good luck taf !