I have a newer Dell computer that has been having jumpy curser problems. You drag the mouse, the curser follows, then stops, then jumps to the new location. Very annoying.
I tried a new USB mouse, plugged it in to a front panel USB port. The previous mouse had been plugged into a rear apron USB port next to the USB keyboard. Now the curser no longer jumps, but since I also did an update to XP, I cannot be sure what action was the magic bullet and I don’t have time to fool with it now to find out.
So, if you have a Dell, a jumpy curser, and a USB mouse, do one or all of those remedies listed above and let me know which one did the trick.