Precision M6500 touchpad jumps left a few inches when moving finger right

Neither my original, nor my replacement computer have a fingerprint reader. So we can cross this one off as a possibility as well.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Today, I spoke with a few managers at Dell on this issue, and given that both my original computer and my replacement had the same issue, and that all of you are reporting the same problem, they are going to examine my original computer with their engineers to find a solution to the problem.

I sent out the computer for testing today. In the interim, they cited two potential causes, neither of which seem to be the cause on my machine: one is related to software settings (both I and others on this forum have tried changing all the settings like sensitivity, jog shuttle, etc.), and the other is related to BlueTooth interference. My computer does not have BlueTooth, so this does not appear to be the issue either.

I'm glad that they're going to investigate this problem further. I'd like to request all of your help in this issue. The tricky thing about it is that it is sporadic. I tried to identify what factors were causing the periods of unpredictable mouse behavior, but could not find a consistent cause.

Notes:

- The problem appears at irregular intervals, and is not triggered by any specific application or external device connection.

- The problem appears randomly in different manifestations: Sometimes, when moving the pointer in one direction, the cursor jumps in the opposite direction. Other times, it doesn't detect any input and the cursor remains stationary.

- I noticed a couple times that it seems to be the left side of the touchpad that is the least responsive when the problem occurs

- It is not fixed by exiting all applications

- It is not fixed by updating to the latest drivers

- It is not fixed by changing any of the touchpad software settings

- It is not fixed by cleaning the touchpad

- It is not fixed by plugging / unplugging an external mouse

- It is not caused by BlueTooth interference (my computer doesn't have BlueTooth)

- The problem occurs both on Windows 7 64-bit Professional and Windows XP 64-bit Professional

- I have not determined whether the problem disappears after a restart.

Can all of you help detail your cases? I'm sure the Dell engineering team can use whatever info they can get on this issue. Again, it's tricky because it appears to occur randomly.

I am making sure that Dell is aware of this thread, so your posts will not be a waste of time.

Thanks everybody.

OK, scratching the fingerprint reader, the graphics card, the operating system and Bluetooth off the suspicious list - the only other upgrades over standard that I have are:

1 a secondary SSD (the primary is a HDD)

2 LED WUXGA screen (1900 wide - not 1400)

3 Pre-installed Office 2007

4 Web cam in the screen bezel

5 8Gb RAM (2 x 4Gb slots)

Can anybody who has this problem but does not have any of the above let us know so that we can cross them off also.

And does anybody have this problem on a 32 bit OS? 

@DBONGARD:

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I DON'T have:

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- A secondary SSD

- Pre-installed Office 2007

- A webcam

- 8gb ram (I have 4gb)

- A 32 bit OS

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I DO have:

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- RGBLED WUXGA Screen

It's not high temperature related.

The second time I got the problem I was outside freezing my butt off.

They are all wide screens, but some are finer resolution than others.

I didn't realize the smart card reader wasn't standard, but I have that too.

I don't think I have ever NOT had the problem if I have depended on  the touchpad for any more than an hour worth of use.

This problem has mostly been described in terms of the jumping cursor issue and while I definitely get the jumping cursor once the touchpad goes into its defective state, the bigger issue I see is that a portion of the touchpad becomes unresponsive. I would like to ask if others see this problem.

On my machine, once the touchpad goes flaky, if I drag my finger slowly across the touchpad from right-to-left, there is a dead area directly above the gap between the left and center mouse buttons. The dead area is about 1/4" wide and runs the full height of the pad. As my finger moves across this area the cursor stops tracking, but once I get past this area the cursor tracks perfectly (I can also drag from left to right and see the same dead area). 

I use my machine about 12 hours a day, 7 days a week (for software development) and this behavior occurs between 1-2 times per day. I can work for many hours before the problem starts and have not noted any particular trigger that causes it to start. Once the problem begins the behavior is 100% predictable (in terms of the dead area). I get the jumping cursor when in this state which I think is directly related to movement near the dead area of the pad (I think when you touch the pad near boundary of the dead area the cursor can jump left). Rebooting the machine always corrects the problem completely, but then its just a matter of time until the problem occurs again.

This is my second palmrest/touchpad - the first was replaced 3 days into using the laptop due to this problem.

Can anyone else confirm that they have this dead area when your touchpad goes goofy?

Confirmed.  Exactly as you say above - except that I don't think that I have used it for any more than about an hour before it starts, and sometimes it starts almost immediately after reboot.

As seen previously I have the same issue. This is my system specifics for help in troubleshooting as supposedly someone is looking into the problem.

Dell Precision M6500 with:

Service tag <ADMIN NOTE:Service tag removed per privacy policy>

Windows 7 Professional 64 bit

Office 2007 (Upgraded to 2010, had problem with both)

Mirrored 320GB Drives

Intel Core i7-720QM Quad Core 1.60GHz 6MB

4.0GB, DDR3-1333 SDRAM, 2 DIMM

Internal Backlit English Keyboard

No Fingerprint Reader

17" UltraSharp WUXGA (1920x1200) RGB LED Display

Integrated megapixel VGA 3.2 webcam with single digital microphone

Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth 2.1

Happens both powered and battery

8X DVD+/-RW slot load

Palmrest without contact-less smart card reader

Dell WLAN 1510 (802.11a/b/g/n 2X3) 1/2 MiniCard

9-Cell/85-WHr Battery

Hope this helps

I've been able to duplicate the issue and found a resoultion you might find useful.

Open MSCONFIG, Disable the Dell Control Point Entries in the Startup group and the Services tab, save and reboot.

NOTE:  If you are using any of the Control point Security Manager functions (Fingerprint Reader, Preboot Manager etc) they may be effected

Disabling security functions to use your touch pad doesn't sound like a desirable solution for a top end corporate business machine.

I contacted Dell Pro-Support in Sydney Australia today by phone.

I was told that they had no record of this problem on their system.

I was also told that they had no record of any of the previous support claims that I had put in against my service tag via their 'support by email' either.  There must be something wrong with their support system - I wonder how many other support claims go missing.

A link to this thread has now been passed to their senior tech for review, and I was told they would get back to me.

After 3 days waiting I finally got this, nothing useful:

Thank you for performing the troubleshooting step requested. I understand that you are having erratic cursor movement even when the Jog Shuttle is disabled. This eliminates the Jog features as the cause of the problem. Next, try disabling the Joystick, to see if it is causing a positioning conflict with the touchpad. You will find the controls under the Mouse applet in the Control Panel. While you're there, try adjusting the sensitivity of the touchpad as well. If the gain is cranked up high, the pad can get false readings.

If you are still experiencing problems, please run the Dell 32 bit diagnostics on this unit:

Full instructions for running the dell diagnostics are available at the following website, I have also included a brief run-through of the instructions in the email for your convenience.

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/document?&docid=300428

To run the Dell Diagnostics on a portable system:
1) Shut the system down so that the power light is off it is not already off.
2) Hold the “Fn” key on the lower left hand corner of the keyboard while pressing and releasing the power button.
3) Continue to hold the “Fn” key until you see “Diagnostic Boot Selected” displayed on the screen, or hear a series of beeps approximately 10 seconds after pressing the power button.
4) Once in the Pre-boot System Assessment, follow the on screen prompts until you are asked to run the remaining memory tests. Select no and press any key to boot into the Utility Partition when prompted.
5) Select the option for "Test System"
6) Once in the GUI (Graphical User Interface) for the Dell Diagnostics, select the touch pad tests from the Custom Tests category.
7) Record any error codes, beep codes, or messages you get during this process, and please relay them to us.

...still waiting for a response from Dell Tech.

And for the record, disabling the joystick doesn't work either.  Tried that already.

As for running the inbuilt diagnostics...wouldn't the techs who replaced the touchpads and the whole machine in the other posts above have tried that before they broke out the tool box?

Hi there..

I had the same problem and it used to happen almost every day. Then out of desperation I installed a generic Synaptics device driver (http://www.synaptics.com/support/drivers) rather than the customised Dell Synaptics driver that was installed on the machine. The touchpad does not jump around any more.. (It's been over a week without the problem).  Of course this is not a solution.. but this narrows down the problem to the driver itself and not the hardware. 

Probably something that the Dell Techs can add to their investigation. 

Cheers

Reggie

I decided to better document the steps I've used on a couple systems:

I've had good success with these steps.  =)