Strange trackpad issues [Solved?]

[fenjen]

I was using my mouse for a while but then when I moved the cursor using the trackpad my mac was behaving very weird. I can't drag any icons. Things don't get highlighted when I move the cursor over using the trackpad (e.g. in mission control the programs should get a blue highlight, instead they don't and I can't click them, however when I move my mouse one pixel the highlight suddenly appears and I can click it again, no matter with which device) and when I try to move a program, the cursor will first move and then when I let go of the button the program will suddenly jump to that new location. Doing the same things with the usb mouse results in normal behavior. This was fixed when I restarted my Macbook but it came back again for some reason.

Also when I do a secondary click, the menu immediately disappears. If I clicked on a word, the word stays highlighted.

Anyone got some ideas on how to fix this?

 

[spyguy10709]

I was using my mouse for a while but then when I moved the cursor using the trackpad my mac was behaving very weird. I can't drag any icons. Things don't get highlighted when I move the cursor over using the trackpad and when I try to move a program, the cursor will first move and then when I let go of the button the program will suddenly jump to that new location. Doing the same things with the usb mouse results in normal behavior. This was fixed when I restarted my Macbook but it came back again for some reason.

Anyone got some ideas on how to fix this?

Try cleaning the trackpad with a damp (NOT WET) cloth. Then let it air-dry.

If that doesn't fix it, your trackpad is just busted. Try taking it into the apple store.

 

[fenjen]

Try cleaning the trackpad with a damp (NOT WET) cloth. Then let it air-dry.

If that doesn't fix it, your trackpad is just busted. Try taking it into the apple store.

I'm pretty sure its a software issue. Why else would it behave normally on startup? I was fooling around in Ableton both of the times it happened. Don't know if that has something to do with it.

 

[justperry]

Try cleaning the trackpad with a damp (NOT WET) cloth. Then let it air-dry.

If that doesn't fix it, your trackpad is just busted. Try taking it into the apple store.

Agree with you on cleaning the trackpad but it probably isn't going to work, if it is dirt/grease the pointer will jump and act weird but you can still click, I think it is your second guess, it is busted or the OS has issues.

The OP should make a new User Account , login into that account after a restart and look how it goes there, if it stays stable it's the normal User Account which has issues.

 

[fenjen]

Agree with you on cleaning the trackpad but it probably isn't going to work, if it is dirt/grease the pointer will jump and act weird but you can still click, I think it is your second guess, it is busted or the OS has issues.

The OP should make a new User Account , login into that account after a restart and look how it goes there, if it stays stable it's the normal User Account which has issues.

If I log out and in, the trackpad works again immediately. The computer doesn't even have to shut down. So it is definitely a software issue.

 

[fenjen]

Okay so it was fine for some time, then I started up ableton again, and it happened again. Not right away though strangely. So I guess ableton is the culprit somehow. Now how do I find out what part is misbehaving?

 

[fenjen]

Okay nobody seems to care but in case someone ever has this issue, it seems that it has something to do with the program Smoothmouse being enabled for a mouse while dragging things around in Ableton. If Ableton is off, this never seems to happens, but also if smoothmouse is disabled or uninstalled with Ableton on, it doesn't seem happen either. I've only tested for like an hour now or so, so I can't say I'm 100% sure, but is just seems like this is what's wrong.

 

[justperry]

Okay nobody seems to care but in case someone ever has this issue, it seems that it has something to do with the program Smoothmouse being enabled for a mouse while dragging things around in Ableton. If Ableton is off, this never seems to happens, but also if smoothmouse is disabled or uninstalled with Ableton on, it doesn't seem happen either. I've only tested for like an hour now or so, so I can't say I'm 100% sure, but is just seems like this is what's wrong.

I care but it was bedtime for Me.

It's always a good idea to try in a new User Account first, if all is OK there it is something inside the normal User Account, or as you found out a program acting up.