E7440 usage of pointing stick leads to cursor drifting

Hi zwqing,

Thanks for the post! Does the point stick react the same way if tested in your systems BIOS menu? If the same problem occurs here the issue is likely with the point stick hardware itself, in which case a keyboard replacement should resolve.

If the problem is not present in the BIOS there are a few driver updates that can be installed that should have an effect on this. I would suggest first updating your systems touchpad drivers, along with chipset and BIOS if updates are available. The Dell Command | Update application can install and update required drivers on your system automatically.

For more extensive troubleshooting advice check out our guide Here.

Thanks,     

This is a common issue to pointing-stick devices of all brands and I don't think you'll have much luck with a replacement unless the problem is really severe and is actually because of defective hardware.

Basically it's part of the way they work. There is there's no clear and well-defined "center point" for the stick when you're not touching it, because the sensor readings the software for the "center" get can actually change depending on a variety of things like temperature and humidity. If that were allowed to happen, then as the conditions change, the mouse cursor would always be randomly drifting around the screen. Like, *always always* not just for a few seconds after you've been moving it around.

So to prevent this constant drifting, the software has to constantly keep adjusting where it thinks the center is by guessing when you've removed your finger from it and then it assumes it's now sitting at the center, and it knows to stop the cursor at that point now. It guesses this based on when the stick stays firmly planted in one specific spot for a certain length of time. The downfall to this method is that if you hold the pointing stick in one consistent spot while moving the cursor for too long, the software can get confused and think you've released the stick, the cursor stops, so you instinctively push a little harder in the same direction to keep it moving, and when you finally release the stick, it goes back to the real center point, which is waaaaay past where the software now thinks the "center" is since it's been gradually following your movements! It takes awhile for the software to correct itself and realize its mistake and that it now really IS at center, in the meantime it drifts way across your screen and if you try to stop it by pushing the stick around, you'll only prolong the problem.

Sorry for the wordy explanation, hope it wasn't too technical, but it's to explain why there is no perfect fix. However I can offer a few suggestions to help.

The main workaround for this takes a little practice. Basically what you have to do is make sure you're never holding the stick in the same spot for any significant length of time. The easiest way to avoid this is to wobble, zig-zag, accelerate, decelerate. You can either aggressively drive the pointing stick, or meander the cursor towards its destination, as long as you're a little erratic with the stick, it's usually enough to convince the software that "yup, that's a human finger" so it knows not to reset the center accidentally. The other thing that helps is to realize that if it *does* happen, and  the best thing you can do is just wait patiently for it to reset itself -- it will, it just needs a little time. Don't fight with it or try to stop it, you'll only make it worse and make it take longer to reset.

Good luck, hope you find a way to enjoy your pointing stick!