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From: ska_ter77 on 4 Feb 2005 08:10
I'm having some trouble with the touchpad on my Dell Latitude C610 and
I don't know how much more I can take. I've done a little research and
found that this is a problem a number of Dell customers are having but
I haven't really made progress towards finding a solution.

Basically the touchpad seems to take on a life of its own. At what seem
to be random times the pointer will just move on its own toward corners
of the screen (usually it either moves to the top right or bottom left
corner). I patiently (at first) try to reposition the pointer by
running my finger accross the surface of the touchpad in an effort to
drag the pointer out of the corner but it almost always is dragged back
like there's something pulling at it.

I'm not very learned in the area of computers so I'm not really sure
how to go about dealing with the problem. Does anyone have suggestions
on what I can do? A friend of mine who has a Toshiba says he can turn
the tochpad off, is there a way I can do that with Dell laptops? Any
help is greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Jon

From: Jerry Park on 4 Feb 2005 09:24
ska_ter77(a)hotmail.com wrote:

>I'm having some trouble with the touchpad on my Dell Latitude C610 and
>I don't know how much more I can take. I've done a little research and
>found that this is a problem a number of Dell customers are having but
>I haven't really made progress towards finding a solution.
>
>Basically the touchpad seems to take on a life of its own. At what seem
>to be random times the pointer will just move on its own toward corners
>of the screen (usually it either moves to the top right or bottom left
>corner). I patiently (at first) try to reposition the pointer by
>running my finger accross the surface of the touchpad in an effort to
>drag the pointer out of the corner but it almost always is dragged back
>like there's something pulling at it.
>
>I'm not very learned in the area of computers so I'm not really sure
>how to go about dealing with the problem. Does anyone have suggestions
>on what I can do? A friend of mine who has a Toshiba says he can turn
>the tochpad off, is there a way I can do that with Dell laptops? Any
>help is greatly appreciated.
>
>Cheers,
>Jon
>
>
>
Doesn't the Latitude have the IBM type eraser pointer? My Inspiron has
that too. The problem is with the eraser pointer. It 'recalibrates'
itself on occasion. If you don't use it, I suppose you could turn it
off. Since I use it almost exclusively, I just live with it. Hint --
when it 'recalibrates', trying to move it makes the process longer. Just
stop using the mouse pointer for a few moments and it will finish moving
itself.

This problem with the 'eraser' type pointer seems to be universal with
that type pointer (i.e.: It doesn't just happen with Dell computers).
From: ska_ter77 on 4 Feb 2005 14:52
Your thoughts prompted me to investigate the eraser pointer, something
I hadn't really (I don't know why) considered as part of the problem.
Anyhow, I believe I've found a solution, a very half fast, makeshift
soultuion, but a solution nonetheless.

First, prior to posting the thread, I downloaded the latest version of
the Synaptic (maker of the touchpad?) drivers. The program has a number
of useful features, one being the ability to disable pointer devices.
However, only today did I discover that for the Synaptic program to
register the touchpad and eraser pointer one has to unplug any external
mouse being used. After unplugging my external mouse I was able to
disable the eraser pointer. The trick is that in using an external
mouse - whenever you reset the system (put it on stand-by, turn it off,
or restart it) WITH an external mouse plugged into the PS/2 port in the
back, the Synaptic program re-enables the eraser pointer and thus (I
believe) problems with a drifting pointer will reoccur. Basically I
have to start the system with my external mouse unplugged. Still hoping
for a more solid solution, but for now this is certainly preferable to
my complete inability to control the pointer. Cheers for your help,

Jon

From: Martin Slaney on 4 Feb 2005 15:05
ska_ter77(a)hotmail.com wrote:

> have to start the system with my external mouse unplugged. Still hoping
> for a more solid solution, but for now this is certainly preferable to
> my complete inability to control the pointer. Cheers for your help,

Do you mean you are plugging the PS/2 mouse in after the machine is
started ? If so - this is a very bad idea. It is _possible_ to destroy
the PS/2 i/f on the motherboard doing this.


--
...

I am not a marketing target ... I am a free man.
From: ska_ter77 on 4 Feb 2005 18:19
Yes, plugging the mouse in after the machine started was part of the
solution. I suppose if I don't want to destroy my motherboard I can
either chose between using an external mouse and having the pointer go
crazy or just using the touchpad. Thanks a lot for the advice.

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