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  • Laptop touchpad problems

    I'm not sure whether to blame recent Windows updates, but on my HP laptop I'm suddenly having serious problems with touchpad response. When it IS responsive, it's suddenly frequently throwing phantom right-clicks and it can be very difficult to get that menu to go away. It just started doing this in the last few days and the laptop just passed the one-year mark on 8 March.

    Rebooting does seem to briefly help, so I'm thinking a hardware issue can be ruled out. I've tried searching for updated drivers, with no luck.
    "Crazy may always be open for business, but on the full moon, it has buy one get one free specials." - WishfulSpirit

    "Sometimes customers remind me of zombies, but I'm pretty sure that zombies are smarter." - MelindaJoy77

  • #2
    Sounds like you may have a bad case of Warrantynus Expiredidimus.
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    • #3
      Most HP machines use Synaptics chips for the touchpad. You can download drivers from their website.
      There's no such thing as a stupid question... just stupid people.

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      • #4
        For hardware issues, a bit of double-check: Try a shutdown and let it "cool down" for a minute or three before restarting. If that gives noticeably longer relief than a quick reboot, then yeah, that's likely hardware.

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        • #5
          Touchpad, maybe not

          Don't assume it is your touchpad. I have a HP computer that work fine until I was vacationing in Cuba by the sea. The mouse pointer would move randomly or to the far bottom right hand corner, and I would get phantom mouse clicks all the time.

          Then I notice it would work fine in the morning in am air conditioned room, but fail in half an hour or so if I took it to the lobby where the WiFi was.

          After trying different things I disabled my touchscreen.

          Suddenly no problems!

          PS. I was using Haiku as my OS so I know it was not the Windows drivers.

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          • #6
            With laptops, my family has taken to using external wireless mice instead of using the blasted 'pad. Less glitchy, and you always know what you're touching/doing.

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            • #7
              DH did open up the machine and his opinion at this point is that a swelling battery was screwing up the buttons. We have a workaround in play, hopefully I'll be able to come up with the money for another battery soon.
              "Crazy may always be open for business, but on the full moon, it has buy one get one free specials." - WishfulSpirit

              "Sometimes customers remind me of zombies, but I'm pretty sure that zombies are smarter." - MelindaJoy77

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              • #8
                Battery

                Quoth Seanette View Post
                DH did open up the machine and his opinion at this point is that a swelling battery was screwing up the buttons. We have a workaround in play, hopefully I'll be able to come up with the money for another battery soon.
                Does your laptop work on the power supply if you remove the battery? I understand some computers will not work without one installed.

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                • #9
                  Wasn't tried. DH found evidence that the battery must remain present for CMOS info to stay put.
                  "Crazy may always be open for business, but on the full moon, it has buy one get one free specials." - WishfulSpirit

                  "Sometimes customers remind me of zombies, but I'm pretty sure that zombies are smarter." - MelindaJoy77

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                  • #10
                    Apparently, these type of batteries, with age, start to swell and bulge. I noticed this issue with cell phone batteries, years ago; the battery continues to perform just fine, up until it fails to fit in the space allocated for it.

                    That's what appears to be happening here. The battery still performs fine, but it is slightly swollen, and pressing on the bottom of the touchpad assembly.

                    The temporary solution, for now, was to put the case back together in a loose, sloppy manner, to take the pressure off of the battery/touchpad conflict. The only real fix will be to replace the battery.

                    As for running without the battery, we didn't really try it. After I briefly had the battery out, and then put it back in, I found it difficult to get the machine to power on,and when it did power on, I found that the CMOS/BIOS settings had apparently been wiped. Apparently, the battery needs to be in to maintain these.
                    I am not a number; I am a free man!

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                    • #11
                      What model do you have? It's possible that it has a different battery for the CMOS.

                      Use the laptop as little as possible. Unplug it and turn it off if it feels hot to the touch. Batteries that are swelling are a fire risk and if they do catch fire, you can't put the fire out. The best you can do is throw it out of the house and watch it burn.

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                      • #12
                        The fun with our lithium-based batteries is the bit when they start to swell. This is when the chemistry they normally operate on... starts to fail/break down. Lithium is HIGHLY reactive, which makes it a great power storage medium. When it starts to venture down pathways on its own, it's no longer a battery, but a looming firetrap.

                        See also: Mr. Grenade, after the pin has been pulled.

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                        • #13
                          New battery arrived today, and I installed it later.

                          I measured the new battery, and found that it is uniformly 0.19 to 0.20 of an inch thick. The old one, at some points, as as much as 0.38 of an inch thick—twice as thick as the new one. On putting Seanett 's computer back together, properly, with all the screws tightened down, it all fits properly, and the trackpad buttons both work properly.
                          I am not a number; I am a free man!

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                          • #14
                            Actually, dear, there are still two screws from the laptop that are in a little plastic canister on the end table, not in the computer.
                            "Crazy may always be open for business, but on the full moon, it has buy one get one free specials." - WishfulSpirit

                            "Sometimes customers remind me of zombies, but I'm pretty sure that zombies are smarter." - MelindaJoy77

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                            • #15
                              Quoth Seanette View Post
                              Actually, dear, there are still two screws from the laptop that are in a little plastic canister on the end table, not in the computer.
                              Murphy's Law of home repair strikes again!

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