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Inspiron 7548 trackpad critical failure
I love the new Inspiron 7548, except for the trackpad. The trackpad just doesn't work, since day 1. Half the time, it skips, clicks in the wrong places, and there is no configuration app (Alps configuration manager??) to manage the sensitivity or other settings of the trackpad. I am fairly savvy managing driver etc issues, but there are no drivers posted for trackpad in 7548 support page. What am I missing??
My trackpad absolutely refuses to work sometimes, and even the touchscreen becomes unresponsive during those times. I did a diagonstic on the Dell website http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/product-support/servicetag/7FCQJ42/diagnose and came up with "Critical hardware error" . I personally don't think its a hardware problem as everything appears fine, maybe there are no drivers because the laptop just released a month ago? I really need help with this, please.
Philip_Yip
7 Technologist
7 Technologist
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16K Posts
0
June 18th, 2015 12:00
I also experienced issues with my Inspiron 7347 with Windows 8.1 it ran slightly better on Windows 10 9926. In the past I noticed that disabling the touchscreen would stop most of the touchpad issues.
I reverted back to Windows 8.1 (after some issues with Windows 10 10122) and needed to do this to update the BIOS and Touchpad Firmware.
The touchpad still had issues. In my case the touchpad would hard freeze. The rest of the system worked okay however Windows 8.1 would not shut down correctly. I dismantled my system and I reseated the touchpad, importantly I made sure it was screwed down tight and the connections were good. It has now worked for about a month without issues.
rook1985
5 Posts
0
June 21st, 2015 13:00
Same problem for me since i bought this thing in Feb. Latest BIOS didnt help either.
RobertMountain
4 Posts
0
June 21st, 2015 17:00
Well, it has been 3 days since Dell sent a technician out to my home to replace the touch-pad.
The technician doubted that is would solve the problem, but I am pleased to say, "I have not experienced a single episode of erratic or unresponsive touch-pad issues since". Yes, no locked cursor or having to restart my computer.
As 3 days is not a lot of time, I will let everyone know if problem resumes. Presently, I am a happy camper.
ibarroci
27 Posts
0
June 22nd, 2015 11:00
I had mine replaced as well and the issues were still there. Hope yours is fixed though.
burgesszachary1
35 Posts
0
August 11th, 2015 13:00
I experienced the same thing with my 7548. Edited this see below
RobertMountain
4 Posts
0
August 12th, 2015 11:00
What installed 3rd party drivers did you uninstall?
Thank You
burgesszachary1
35 Posts
1
August 14th, 2015 19:00
I think that both Windows and Dell's trackpad drivers are trying to handle the trackpad device at the same time.
I uninstalled the ETDWare driver thinking that would be best and yes it does temporarily fix the issue by having just one driver handle the trackpad.The windows 10 driver.
But if you're computer is factory image then you'll have Dell Updates. Dell Updates will then see that ETDWare is not installed and it will download and install it again. Making the whole problem start over again.
What I personally did was manually go into the trackpad settings and disable the Windows 10 Device Driver.
Then Dell Updates reinstalled the proprietary ETDWare trackpad driver. So now that is the one that is active and it works way better than the Windows 10 default driver. Much more accurate.
I have detailed instructions on how to do this procedure here
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19648030
burgesszachary1
35 Posts
1
August 14th, 2015 19:00
Here is my possible solution to fix this if you haven't already
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19648030
burgesszachary1
35 Posts
1
August 14th, 2015 20:00
See post here
en.community.dell.com/.../19648030
burgesszachary1
35 Posts
0
August 16th, 2015 21:00
Please note-
I now think this may not be a driver problem but possibly a windows 10 bug. It seems random. I've been experiencing random unresponsiveness with the touchpad. I've now disabled the Etdware driver for smartpad and have windows 10 default driver enabled.
holden_caulfiel
6 Posts
0
September 15th, 2015 00:00
Any updates on this issue?
holden_caulfiel
6 Posts
0
September 15th, 2015 01:00
any updates on this issue?
astalavista84
4 Posts
0
September 17th, 2015 15:00
Guys here is a major update after I first posted the issue here. (Does not have any solution, just a series of events involving Dell)
Machine: Inspiron 15 - 7548 (256 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM)
Did not install WIndows 10, have pre-installed McAfee, Firefox, Adobe PDF Reader (No other software)
I contacted Dell Middle East (My purchase was from Dubai) and after a month long struggle with their horrendous lack of communication and my issue being handled by multiple people, I first got a suggestion from Dell that a technician would visit me with 3 parts (Trackpad, Fan and Screen) and replace them and see if the problem gets solved. I literally fought with them to explain the fact that this will only waste everyone's time and the issue is not with the hardware and these solutions have been tried by many people (some people from this thread have also tried to replace trackpad and even the whole laptop) but failed.
They finally gave me a Document which I could take to the re-seller from where I purchased the laptop and get a replacement. And after all this long drama which took nearly 2 months and hours of phone calls, the retailer now says this model has been discontinued and you cannot get a replacement. I did a Live Chat with Dell US and they said this model has been replaced with 7558.
The occurrence of this issue has significantly, drastically and rather magically reduced somehow in the last two months but I see no scientific logic to it.
Should I update to Windows 10? Does it really solve this?
My laptop does heat up really bad in the left side (around the area where SHIFT and CAPS LOCK keys are located after 15 to 20 minutes of use. Is this normal?
Can anyone please confirm if this model is really discontinued?
Thanks.
P.S.: Dell ***!
hannahf
2 Posts
0
September 17th, 2015 15:00
I updated to windows 10, thought it had fixed the problem but then it happened again about a month later. Seemed to happen a few times in a row then nothing again, no idea what sets it off, timings are so random. I do feel it's better with windows 10 though, but might just be my imagination. Be aware this laptop has issues updating to windows 10 though (yet another problem!). I updated soon after it came out so they may have fixed it, but basically the laptop went into a restart loop and took me about 5 hours just to get it to start in safe mode so that I could fix it. It was an issue with graphics card drivers - I found a solution online. Oh, and once I fixed that the start menu wouldn't appear either so had to search for a fix for that too! Anyway, I digress, but yeah, if you do update to windows 10 back everything up first and prepare for problems, but I do think it's better than windows 8 so worth it in my opinion. Also my laptop heats up too, but I expected that as my last dell was even worse for it. I just bought myself a £10 cooling pad with fans, it's pretty effective. So many issues with this laptop! Not happy dell.
holden_caulfiel
6 Posts
0
September 18th, 2015 12:00
can you please post a direct link where can i download the said "etdwareusb**** cant find it it dell's download page. thanks