Mouse drift on D600?

Jcregan,

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The Latitude C600 has been in service since October of 2000.  Updates have been given since this date to correct certain oversights with the product.  It is likely that this issue has been resolved.  As further assistance, there is a Dell nowledge base article that covers this:

Why does my cursor jump around the page while typing.

My D600 suffers from occasional mouse drift.
Not as bad or often as my C600 though.

My D600 gets a little "mouse drift" on occassion.. but it's not a pain.  I think that it has to do with the touch pad because generally my hands will be resting against the tpad and then the drift starts and the touchpad is unresponsive.. for about 10 - 15 seconds.  I've taken to turning off the touchpad, since I hate it anyway.. and I haven't noticed the drift with touchpad off.  Either way, I'm a big fan of this D600.  I haven't had the severe heat problems that other people have mentioned.  (The area above the hdd gets very hot for some people.)

There is no fix for the floating mouse problem on the C600 other than to have the keyboard replaced.  All hardware problems come through me for final approval at my company, and I can tell you that nothing else works.  I will say that this problem did not rear its head until 6-8 months ago, so I chalk it up to aging components more than bad design. 

Keep in mind here that DELL is in the business of keeping themselves in business.  So, obviously it wouldn't do for them to make a laptop that would last you 10 years.  It's better to have one that lasts 2 or 3, then falls apart, and you can go right to them, and buy another, that's why the prices are so low.

Message Edited by hellpdesk on 01-16-2004 08:57 AM

Message Edited by hellpdesk on 01-16-2004 08:58 AM

I've got a brand new D800 and the mouse pointer drifts a lot, just like my Toshiba before that and the Dell before that.  I was hoping there was a solution by now.

vkj

I haven't had any calls on the D600's drifting yet.  We have been deploying them since October.  I wouldn't rule the problem out yet though.

Fixing the drifting mouse on the C series.  (I have fixed a ton of these.)

1.  Most likely it's the keyboard.  Replacing it will fix that.

2.  If you can tap on the sides of the palmrest assembly (just beside the touchpad, both sides) and it starts to drift you will need to replace the palmrest assembly.

3.  Clipping the thinner cable underneath the keyboard that goes to the touchstick will fix the problem regardless of whether it's the keyboard or the palmrest assembly.  Don't ask me why but that works.  Of course only do that if you do not ever use the touchstick.  The touchpad will still work ok.

4.  I have never had to go any further than replacing the keyboard or the palmrest.

I have 5 C610's and over the past 2 years I have had all the keyboards and palm rests replaced more than once, and some several times. I finally got fed up and called and asked to speak to a supervisor at customer support, and they said the only thing that could be done is for them to replace the keyboard and palm rest again. When I asked for a more permanent solution or some type of compensation I was not offered any. Any other company I have dealt with would have offered a replacement or would have recalled this product. This is a defective product and it is not wear and tear. I have had the mouse drift an hour after the keyboard and palm rest has been replaced.

NOT ACCEPTABLE

Lex

I have a brand new D600. Very nice machine, but I still get the ubiquitous mouse drift with the eraser tipped pointer. I don't think this is related to the touchpad. What gives? How can I fix this problem?

Thanks.

The mouse drift problem is caused by the eraser stick pointing device. If you install the Synaptic's Touchpad software, you can disable the eraser stick and the problem goes away. We have several C600, C640, and D600 that all suffer from the same problem. It's gotten to the point that I disable the stick before I ever issue the laptop.

I have taken my DELLs out of service as the service manager told me that it is a design flaw that they cannot fix this was not aceptable to me so I went to IBM and they gave me a good price because I was switching from DELL. Never again for me.

Lex