Trackpad not responding.

[ryannazaretian]

I searched and did not find any relevant threads on this issue, but I know others have had it. I just cannot find it.

Well basically, my Early 2008 model of the MBP has very erotic trackpad issues. Sometimes it will not work all and I have to wait 5 or 10 seconds for it to see my finger (keyboard works though). Scrolling many times does not work and two fingers spaced apart still act like one. Many times, the three finger swipe doesn't work. This only occurs in OSX though. In Windows Vista it all seems fine (minus the three finger swipe since it is not supported). I also notice that tap does not work many times. It's a really random issue, but it keeps on getting more and more noticeable. I just sent my laptop in because the hard drive failed and they replaced the keyboard, which I believe is connected to the trackpad as well. Anyway, I don't believe it's a hardware issue, I think it's software.

Today when I called, they instructed me to reset my SMC controller (and oddly enough, the guy called it the PMU which is the Powerbook or iBook equivalent.) I had to go because my class was starting, but tonight I called again and talked to a woman that instructed me to reinstall OSX. I started to but quickly canceled because I didn't have enough patience and I just installed OSX this past weekend. I'm lost at solutions. Nothing seems to help permanently. I have all the latest updates, and I want to say the problem got noticeably worse once I installed 10.5.5.

I am going to write an email to Steve about my issue and point to this thread so maybe he will be motivated to look into the issue more.

So please, if you have any suggestions or if you have this same issue, please post your problem.

 

[Markov]

If the problem eventually renders your trackpad dead- send it in before the one year warranty ends (assuming you don't have apple care). Even so, send it in and see if they will replace it anyway. I doubt it's software related if you already tried reinstalling OS X.

 

[ryannazaretian]

I mean... they just replaced it I think. And it works find under Windows and Bootcamp. I have a 3 year warranty so I'm good and will see how it all unfolds.

 

[ndstrenge]

okay, slow down.

You're going to email Steve about your trackpad? Really?

This is a driver/software/yada-yada issue that you haven't yet figured out. This is what every laptop owner goes through at some point. You're right, you're not the first, but we don't post threads about it. Or- we do, and then we figure it out, and the thread disappears.

Figure it out... and stop being impatient and stopping your reconfigurations... as you mentioned.

Sorry that I don't have your absolute answer. I do, however, notice that you lack any patience at learning HOW your laptop actually functions. God bless the youth in thinking that everything should forever work. (In all honestly, educators are VERY concerned about today's youth not knowing the ins-and-outs of technology. It's almost as if they expect everything to glow.)

Figure it out. It's just a fricking trackpad. It's not like somebody magically reconfigured your system beyond human recognition.

I understand that you consider this forum a tool... but chill out and stop being so impatient. When tech support tells you to do something- do it! They may be wrong... but... you actually have to follow that advice first to know.

 

[ryannazaretian]

okay, slow down.

You're going to email Steve about your trackpad? Really?

This is a driver/software/yada-yada issue that you haven't yet figured out. This is what every laptop owner goes through at some point. You're right, you're not the first, but we don't post threads about it. Or- we do, and then we figure it out, and the thread disappears.

Figure it out... and stop being impatient and stopping your reconfigurations... as you mentioned.

Sorry that I don't have your absolute answer. I do, however, notice that you lack any patience at learning HOW your laptop actually functions. God bless the youth in thinking that everything should forever work. (In all honestly, educators are VERY concerned about today's youth not knowing the ins-and-outs of technology. It's almost as if they expect everything to glow.)

Figure it out. It's just a fricking trackpad. It's not like somebody magically reconfigured your system beyond human recognition.

I understand that you consider this forum a tool... but chill out and stop being so impatient. When tech support tells you to do something- do it! They may be wrong... but... you actually have to follow that advice first to know.

I may or may not email him. I have spent a while trying to figure this out on my own and I'm very computer literate. I am, however, new to Macs. I spent $2800 on a laptop that is having issues with one of the most used components on it. It may be a logic board issue, I'm not sure, but I cannot afford not to have my laptop again. I do have a spare, but with only 20 minutes of battery life and miserable performance, I want to save that as a last resort. I'm in college and have to use a laptop every day in class, many of which do not have power receptacles available.

Reinstalling OSX is not going to do any good. I had this problem before my hard drive failed, after the hard drive failed and Apple installed OSX, and now after I installed OSX myself. It all seems like hardware, but that doesn't explain why it works in Windows (which normally doesn't work correctly) and does not work in OSX. I'm not sure if they slightly changed the hardware or something and the driver does not like it, or if it is because I have moist warm hands all the time, but for a $2800 top-of-the-line laptop, I expect everything to just work.

Saying that I have a lack of patience for an issue I've had over a month and called numerous times about for them to just tell me to do the same thing over and over again without any resolution is not the correct response. Also, I do not expect everything to forever work. That is why I keep a backup of all my data and why I carry around a tool box in the trunk of my car. I do expect that buying this laptop, especially with a AppleCare warranty for 3 years would justify a better course of action rather than just reading and rereading from a manual.

I do not expect my laptop to be perfect, but it better be pretty close. Not being able to use it normally is a defect in either hardware or software.

Basically, the point of this whole post is that I don't like to have fingers pointing at me for something that I did not do. I've read of this issue in many places, I've called Apple, and I still have a laptop with an annoying trackpad issue.

Also, your claim of not knowing how a laptop functions is way wrong. With my old Dell, I had to take the whole laptop apart for an issue Dell did not fix. To keep the warranty going, I had to call them up and they had to 'guide' me through. Apparently Dell did not put the CPU in correctly when they put in a new motherboard. It would sometimes come on and sometimes not. I knew exactly what the issue was before I called Dell and told them what was wrong and asked if I could take it all apart and replace it. However, Apple is not that forgiving. I would have much rather had just replaced the hard drive myself. The Genius at the Apple store couldn't figure out my issue and said it was a logic board failure without even opening up the case even though I explicitly told him that the hard drive made a weird sound when I turned it on and it did not boot up. I do agree that educators are concerned with the youth today, but I've had some very good compliments from my teachers in high school and some very nice and mature comments from engineers I worked with in my high school's robotics program. I was able to do anything that they threw at me.

I am new to Macs in general. I started using Macs last January in my graphic design class. That's when I fell in love. I went all out to buy this laptop that had a failed hard drive and now a failing trackpad. I do expect Apple to do something. I'm very certain it is software and I would love to talk to one of the software engineers at Apple about this issue.

 

[monkey86]

erotic trackpad issues

hahahahahahha...

 

[ndstrenge]

Okay... I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

Sorry I don't have your answer, however.

Stupid question #1: Have you tried adjusting the trackpad's sensitivity settings inside OSX?

Stupid question #2: Are you sure you have the right driver for OSX?

You said it hasn't affected windows, which leads me to believe you have the wrong trackpad driver installed for OSX 10.5.5.

(I talk windows... sorry. But none of the mac guys are helping you... as you pointed out.)

 

[philamac]

very erotic trackpad issues.

hahahahahahha...

hahahahahaha +1