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See these arrows? ''''''''''''''''''''' This is what keeps populating any search or form I use.

My XP Home edition netbook has suddenly started populating things like Google search and email addresses and URLs and even the title of this post. I have to backspace and quickly type in something to stop it then delete the arrows.

The problem occurs in both Internet Explorer and Firefox, also in Word documents and in Microsoft Outlook. I thought it might be a keyboard problem so I plugged in an external one, but it still happened. I don't even have to touch the keyboard - as soon as the cursor is in position it fills up as much space as it can.

AVG antivirus says my system is clean as does the Microsoft malicious software cleaner.

Does anyone have any idea what this is and how to deal with it please?

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Do you have a screenshot? – digitxp Feb 6 '11 at 19:02
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Seems like a keyboard malfunction. – Mehper C. Palavuzlar Feb 6 '11 at 19:08
Does this only happen in your web browser? Try Opening wordpad or notepad and see if it happens there too. Do any of the keys feel like they might be stuck? – Chris Feb 6 '11 at 19:45
Which browser are you using? (Microsoft Internet Explorer?) Do you have any other browser installed, and if yes: does it happen in the other browser as well? Do you really see "arrows", or could it be "single quotes"? And am I right to understand that it did NOT occur in the field in which you typed the actual question text? (So maybe just in fields that allow single line input only?) As for email addresses: what program do you use, or are you using a browser for that too? – Arjan Feb 6 '11 at 19:48
(Does anyone think this could be some form auto-completion? The title here is <input id="title" name="title" type="text" ...>, but in Google search it is <input autocomplete="off" ... name="q" ...>.) – Arjan Feb 6 '11 at 19:52
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Try booting from a Linux Live CD. If the problem remains whilst in Linux your netbook's keyboard is likely damaged.

If you do not have, or do not know how use, a Linux Live CD try booting from the restore CD or restore partion (check your user guide) that came with you netbook (ensuring you have backed up all important files on your netbook just in case the restore CD/partition triggers a restore outside of your control).

Once you have booted to your restore CD/partition check to see if you have the same keyboard behaviour if there is a text field that you can test your keyboard in.

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Can you be more detailed? Given her profile, she doesn't know how to boot a Linux Live CD... – Tom Wijsman Feb 6 '11 at 19:42
Thanks for your replies. The problem occurs in both Internet Explorer and Firefox, also in Word documents and in Microsoft Outlook. I also thought it might be a keyboard problem so I plugged in an external one, but it still happened. I don't even have to touch the keyboard - as soon as the cursor is in position it fills up as much space as it can. It does rather look like some sort of auto-complete. The netbook doesn't have a CD drive but I will try system restore and see if that helps. – Shirls'''''''''''''''''''''''' Feb 7 '11 at 11:20
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