Mid 2010 MBP 15 inch trackpad sunk in on the middle

[CheeseBread365]

So I noticed my mid 2010 MBP the trackpad seems to be bent in a way were it slopes in the middle. Is there any way to fix this without a new trackpad? as the laptop is very old so I don't want to put any unnecessary money into it, as I have already fixed the GPU kernel panics which was very difficult so I don't really feel like doing any more work on it. I have made extensive efforts to keep this laptop in mint condition since I got it, and have fixed any dents it got. even the smallest ones. So this trackpad issue is really bugging me. I have a late 2008 Macbook, and I thought about taking the trackpad from that, but when I went to do it I remembered that laptop has a EXTREMELY sunken in trackpad. so if anyone has any advice on this it would be appreciated, as I have already tried tightening the screws in the trackpad and that only seems to fix the bottom of the trackpad.

 

[farahhhhhhmd]

I would be precautious as I had the same thing suddenly happen to me, and it turned out that the battery had swelled up. So I wouldn't put any pressure on it incase it bursts, and go for a checkup as I'm sure it is a swollen battery issue. I had to purchase a new battery, and the the trackpad went back to its normal state. How did you end up fixing the gnu kernel panics?

 

[CheeseBread365]

I would be precautious as I had the same thing suddenly happen to me, and it turned out that the battery had swelled up. So I wouldn't put any pressure on it incase it bursts, and go for a checkup as I'm sure it is a swollen battery issue. I had to purchase a new battery, and the the trackpad went back to its normal state. How did you end up fixing the gnu kernel panics?

I don't think it's the screws since I have had the laptop open to check the screws on the trackpad, and it looked fine. Also I fixed the gpu kernel panics by replacing the capacitor that caused the issues. It only cost me 10 dollars for the chip and I had to buy a heat gun to remove the old one since I didn't have one.

 

[Fishrrman]

I believe the trackpad on that model is replaceable, a relatively easy process.
Go to ifixit.com to see what's involved.

While you're inside, I'd check the battery, too.

And... if the internal drive is still the original HDD, I'd think about replacing it with an SSD as well.
Cheap and easy to do.

 

[MacNut]

It's time to take that computer out to pasture. I will be brining mine out back in a week or two.

 

[puma1552]

It's time to take that computer out to pasture. I will be brining mine out back in a week or two.

I just sold mine to Mac of All Trades for $260, received payment yesterday; pretty dang happy with that price for an 8 year old machine and no Craigslist hassles.

 

[CheeseBread365]

It's time to take that computer out to pasture. I will be brining mine out back in a week or two.

Never
[doublepost=1544899786][/doublepost]

I believe the trackpad on that model is replaceable, a relatively easy process.
Go to ifixit.com to see what's involved.

While you're inside, I'd check the battery, too.

And... if the internal drive is still the original HDD, I'd think about replacing it with an SSD as well.
Cheap and easy to do.

I don't have the money for an ssd. Also I replaced the battery a few months back. And I am aware the trackpad is replaceable, but I don't really want to do that if there's a way I can fix the current one.
[doublepost=1544899883][/doublepost]

It's time to take that computer out to pasture. I will be brining mine out back in a week or two.

I have had that laptop for a long time and It still works fine for me. I will probably keep it for another 2 or 3 years. Probably once high Sierra starts to lose application support

 

[smirking]

I don't have the money for an ssd.

How big of a drive do you need? You can get a decent 240GB SSD for $40 or less off eBay. You can get a 120GB for under $30. It'll totally change the complexion of your 2010. I have a 2009 with an SSD that I use as a backup machine. It's quite capable.

But also heed @farahhhhhhmd commend about the battery. Did you check to make sure the battery is intact? I also have a 2012 that appeared to have a collapsed trackpad. Upon further inspection, it wasn't collapsed at all, but stuck because the battery was swollen and needed to be replaced.

 

[MacNut]

Never
[doublepost=1544899786][/doublepost]
I don't have the money for an ssd. Also I replaced the battery a few months back. And I am aware the trackpad is replaceable, but I don't really want to do that if there's a way I can fix the current one.
[doublepost=1544899883][/doublepost]
I have had that laptop for a long time and It still works fine for me. I will probably keep it for another 2 or 3 years. Probably once high Sierra starts to lose application support

Mine is hitting the end of the line. Well it happened last year but I limped it to the finish. It’s at the point where the software I want to use won’t run on it comfortable and it’s served its purpose. Do I wish I could run it another 10 years, yes. Unfortunately technology doesn’t work that way.

 

[CheeseBread365]

How big of a drive do you need? You can get a decent 240GB SSD for $40 or less off eBay. You can get a 120GB for under $30. It'll totally change the complexion of your 2010. I have a 2009 with an SSD that I use as a backup machine. It's quite capable.

But also heed @farahhhhhhmd commend about the battery. Did you check to make sure the battery is intact? I also have a 2012 that appeared to have a collapsed trackpad. Upon further inspection, it wasn't collapsed at all, but stuck because the battery was swollen and needed to be replaced.

• Well, the current hard drive is the 180 gig drive from my mid 2008 macbook unibody that I put in there when I got the machine. So I could probably get by with a 160 or 180 gig ssd, since I really only use the laptop for web browsing and discord at this point.
• Also I know its not the battery because it still sinks in even when I have the battery out of the machine. In fact I put the trackpad in an empty top case I had lying around, and it still sinks in.