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From: mjv@brownvm.brown.edu (Marshall Vale)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st.tech
Subject: Not the Phantom, but the Joker Typist!
Message-ID: <62522@brunix.UUCP>
Date: 25 Jan 91 17:01:51 GMT
Sender: news@brunix.UUCP
Organization: Language Resource Center
Lines: 31


 A friend's computer is having some very odd problems. She just had an
early model 520STfm upgraded to 2.5 megs with JRI's simm board and a
double sided drive.
 When she got it home, whatever she typed was  purely random. Nothing
would be consistant. [I checked a couple of disks for virus but didn't
find any btw] She took it back to the dealer (yeah, we have one! :-)
and had him check it out again. Of course it worked fine at the store.
She brought it back home and of course it acted up again.
 So I come over to calm her down and see what I can do. Through some
damn luck, I found that unplugging the Mouse Master would stop the
problem. Strange... So I took the computer and the MM back home to
try them with my computers. Of course, they have worked flawlessly.
 What I am suspecting is one of the joysticks which I know to be
sometimes very flaky with the ST. ( I don't have it with me to
test it ). What I am really wondering is why? How? 
 Could it be a flaky joystick that is sending in all these inputs and
confusing the keyboard processor? Might it be a cable under the keyboard
that gets pushed when we un/plug the MM? Or does it sound like a virus
people know about?

 I really appreciate all your help! Either e-mail or posting is fine.

 Marshall

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"He had found the perfect TV mix, on Marvin's Hour of Power.
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