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Sun
5
Oct '08

Touch pad woes

I think my computer has gone insane. It was scrolling to the bottom of every page in any program I opened in Windows, so I switched over to Linux (I have a dual boot right now) and rather than doing that, it is randomly opening tabs. I suspect that what’s actually happening is a potential short in the touch pad. Which sucks.

Mostly it is annoying because I want to listen to audio as I work.

4 Comments »

  • http://ecmyers.net Eugene

    That’s pretty easy to check and circumvent, maybe. Can you disable the touchpad in the control panel and use an external mouse?

    • http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com Mary Robinette Kowal

      Next time it does it, I’ll give that a try. Good call.

  • http://toddthorne.com Todd Thorne

    Giving this another shot…

    Does it happen all the time or only when you are actually using the pad?

    Did you perform the standard maneuver: shut down; pull the AC cord; yank out the battery. Reverse actions. Test again. ??

    Since Windows and Linux are both affected, doesn’t sound like drivers are the culprit. If you did happen to upgrade both recently, you might need to rollback.

    You might try cleaning, though it doesn’t sound like grime buildup is the cause. Anyway, use an air duster on the keyboard and seams. With the laptop shutdown, gently wipe off the pad with a damp cloth (water only).

    Otherwise, I’m with Eugene. You might see if there’s an external switch to disable the pad. Faster than using Control Panel and you aren’t forced to also mess with your Linux distro to disable the device. Barring that, you could see if the system ROM config allows you to disable the pad – a longshot. With the pad deactivated, go shopping for a travel mouse that suits your fancy.

    Or… holidays are approaching. New laptops are slick performers. Just a stray thought. ;-)

    • http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com Mary Robinette Kowal

      It’s fairly random, actually. It’ll be just fine for weeks or months and then suddenly start the scrolling thing. It’ll last ten minutes or two hours.

      I suspect that the Christmas option might be my best choice.

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