So we have a pointer stick that has a flawed connection that give bogus inputs so we have to disable it in the driver. And now we have a design defect in the installation of the touchpad that allows the pad to become damaged during normal use.
Now we are starting to get new Dell leptops with similar assemblies installed. I guess before I even set the new laptop up, I should return at and get a something from a different manufacturer. The silence from Dell tech support is not encouraging.
Company policy or not...get on the horn to Michael Dell. If there is a problem and a solution is being worked on let us know. If you don't give a rip then that's fine too. There are plenty of other manufacturers out there. Just give us a straight answer not a pile of stop gap fixes that we have stumbled upon on our own.
I was able to cure the problem on a couple of systems by doing the following:
(only attempt this if you are a DCSE or are confident you can follow the Service Manual)
Remove palmrest assembly Remove metal shield from back of touchpad Cut a small piece of mylar (from antistaic bag) to cover the touchpad circuitry Reinstall metal shield Reinstall palmrest assembly
On the system I have, I have replaced the touchpad at least 3 times. I decided there had to be some simple fix as the problem will always reoccur. It seems that pushing on certain parts of the palmrest will cause a short circuit that causes the floating or "fighting cursor".
I have have found out that my issue is the stick, not the touch pad. I would like to only disable the stick. I have downloaded the latest Synaptics driver from support.dell.com but I can't figure out how to disable it. Any help appreciated.
To disable the pointing stick, go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, then double click the Mouse Icon. Or, double click the Synaptics touchpad icon in your system tray.
Once the Mouse Properties window is open, locate the folder tab called TOUCH, and click on it.
There will be a drop down menu there, the Pointing Stick on PS/2 should be there first. Locate the Disable this Device check box in the lower left corner of the window, and check it, then hit Apply or OK.
If the Pointing Stick on PS/2 is not present in the drop down list, then the hardware has failed, and is not being detected by Windows. In this case, you should contact DELL for repair.
If you have installed the latest driver, then the Mouse Properties window has changed slightly. The device selection will be the first screen that you see when you open the window.
I had the exact same problem. Disabled the pointing stick (had to update Synaptics driver to be able to do this separately from touchpad). No problems since then.
I too had this problem with a c400 running XP Pro and once I disabled the pointing stick the other mice are fine. But my staff like to use the pointing stick. Can Dell fix this problem if I send the laptop back to them or am I wasting my time and should I just try what Garrettf suggested above?
Dell technician replaced the touchpad\keyboard assembly Monday. It has been working fine so far. The part was back ordered for a couple weeks, but hopefully they bought a boat load for all you guys choosing to replace.
Check the pointer stick and possible contact with the screen when closed or docked. Disabling it with latest driver (thanks for the link!) worked for me.
I noticed after replacing the LCD panel recently for an unrelated reason, a mark on the screen indicated the stick's eraser like cover was making contact with it when closed. I suspect the earlier post re: automatic recalibration occurring when it's offcenter combined with the closed LCD panel while the power was on was the cause in my case. I had this problem with and without external mice (try more than one) and now it's gone.
For those needing the stick, I'd check for marks from the stick on the LCD panel. Make sure the pad inserts at the top inside of the lid maintaining separation between the LCD panel and keyboard when closed are not missing or worn down. Shave the pointer stick down a little with a razor as a last resort.
The pointing stick is bad. Have the keyboard replaced and it will go away. There's something wrong with a bunch of the pointing sticks. Seems to affect C610 series (we have about 60 of them) the most of all the C600 series latitudes.
ddykema
6 Posts
0
November 12th, 2003 13:00
Now we are starting to get new Dell leptops with similar assemblies installed. I guess before I even set the new laptop up, I should return at and get a something from a different manufacturer. The silence from Dell tech support is not encouraging.
Company policy or not...get on the horn to Michael Dell. If there is a problem and a solution is being worked on let us know. If you don't give a rip then that's fine too. There are plenty of other manufacturers out there. Just give us a straight answer not a pile of stop gap fixes that we have stumbled upon on our own.
garrettf
1 Message
0
November 13th, 2003 17:00
I was able to cure the problem on a couple of systems by doing the following:
(only attempt this if you are a DCSE or are confident you can follow the Service Manual)
Remove palmrest assembly
Remove metal shield from back of touchpad
Cut a small piece of mylar (from antistaic bag) to cover the touchpad circuitry
Reinstall metal shield
Reinstall palmrest assembly
On the system I have, I have replaced the touchpad at least 3 times. I decided there had to be some simple fix as the problem will always reoccur. It seems that pushing on certain parts of the palmrest will cause a short circuit that causes the floating or "fighting cursor".
Actarus
1 Message
0
November 13th, 2003 17:00
I have have found out that my issue is the stick, not the touch pad. I would like to only disable the stick. I have downloaded the latest Synaptics driver from support.dell.com but I can't figure out how to disable it. Any help appreciated.
hellpdesk
11 Posts
0
November 13th, 2003 17:00
To disable the pointing stick, go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, then double click the Mouse Icon. Or, double click the Synaptics touchpad icon in your system tray.
Once the Mouse Properties window is open, locate the folder tab called TOUCH, and click on it.
There will be a drop down menu there, the Pointing Stick on PS/2 should be there first. Locate the Disable this Device check box in the lower left corner of the window, and check it, then hit Apply or OK.
If the Pointing Stick on PS/2 is not present in the drop down list, then the hardware has failed, and is not being detected by Windows. In this case, you should contact DELL for repair.
If you have installed the latest driver, then the Mouse Properties window has changed slightly. The device selection will be the first screen that you see when you open the window.
paulykang
1 Message
0
November 16th, 2003 05:00
SiobhanJ
5 Posts
0
November 19th, 2003 10:00
jimneedhelp
3 Posts
0
November 20th, 2003 12:00
SiobhanJ
5 Posts
0
November 20th, 2003 13:00
Thanks Jim, let us know how it goes!
-S
CPUHakker
1 Message
0
November 21st, 2003 13:00
I noticed after replacing the LCD panel recently for an unrelated reason, a mark on the screen indicated the stick's eraser like cover was making contact with it when closed. I suspect the earlier post re: automatic recalibration occurring when it's offcenter combined with the closed LCD panel while the power was on was the cause in my case. I had this problem with and without external mice (try more than one) and now it's gone.
For those needing the stick, I'd check for marks from the stick on the LCD panel. Make sure the pad inserts at the top inside of the lid maintaining separation between the LCD panel and keyboard when closed are not missing or worn down. Shave the pointer stick down a little with a razor as a last resort.
markwms
12 Posts
0
November 25th, 2003 18:00