On 05/09/2022 09:44, Bev Nicolson wrote:

Erratic mouse behaviour is, I understand, usually a graphics card issue. How do I determine that?

Er...  I haven't heard that.

Symptoms: neither mouse (wired) or the mouse pad (Dell latitude e5530 - so not in the first flush) behave entirely as they should.

I can try clicking on a link or icon and it won't recognise that I have done so till say the third click.

If this just happens on the mouse, I'd suspect the switch is worn out.  If it just happens on the trackpad, then I'd suspect the switch is worn out.  If it happens on both, then either 2 switches are worn out, or something weird is happening.

It will highlight whole paragraphs of text if I click on a space to add a letter and delete them without my pressing the backspace key. But not always.

If the trackpad is just under the keyboard, then I've had things like this.  It's often accidental activation of the trackpad by your palm or the base of your hand.  If text is selected and you press a key (e.g. space), the selected text is replaced by the text you type in, so your text will be replaced by a space, in effect deleting without pressing the del or backspace key.

There are usually settings for the trackpad.  Try reducing the sensitivity, or look for a setting like "Disable while typing", or just turn the whole thing off and see if the normal mouse starts working.  With a mouse and a trackpad, either can move the cursor. If the trackpad is picking up unintentional signals (e.g. from your palm), that could make the mouse cursor jerk when you're moving the normal mouse.

Mint 19.1 all updates.

Bev.

P.S. The usb slot for the wired mouse is not as snug as it could be. Is that a factor?

Unlikely - it would say you're plugging in and unplugging a device. Do you have another mouse you can try to test?

Steve