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Last Post
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Aug 11, 2008 10:00 AM
by: alaube
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Posts:
20
Registered:
Oct 25, 2004
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Jerky Trackpad
Posted:
Dec 19, 2007 1:34 AM
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I think I know the answer to this question, but I'm hoping there's a solution that doesn't require me sending the machine in for repair.
My trackpad is extremely jumpy. An example would be, taking my finger and slowly sliding from one corner to another, the trackpad will track fine sometimes, and other times will jump erratically.
I don't have sweaty hands, I've made sure only one contact from my hand is being made, I don't have anything conflicting with the operation of the trackpad (stickers, etc.).
I've played with the various options and nothing seems to work. I've used Powerbooks since the Powerbook Duo days so I'm very comfortable with these trackpads and this is the first time this has happened.
Any thoughts, tips, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Mac Book Pro
Mac OS X (10.4.10)
2.0 GHz, 250GB HD, 2GB RAM
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Posts:
3
From:
San Francisco
Registered:
Dec 26, 2007
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Re: Jerky Trackpad
Posted:
Dec 25, 2007 10:24 PM
in response to: Clarence
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I don't know about you, but I am going a bit crazy. Sometimes the trackpad highlights random things, picks them up, opens or worse discards items when if you go over them. It's getting worse too. I have tried different settings in systems preferences, I "hope"...okay know I don't have sweaty hands, don't have a trackpad protector and have tried taking the battery out.
It *****!!!
MacBook Pro
Mac OS X (10.5.1)
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Posts:
1,407
Registered:
Sep 6, 2001
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Re: Jerky Trackpad
Posted:
Dec 28, 2007 6:46 AM
in response to: Clarence
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restart the computer and see if it improves.
some people are reporting this issue after the computer wakes from sleep.
hopefully 10.5.2 will resolve it.
Quicksilver G4 733MHz | MBP 2.4 15" | G5 2.0 DP | 1st gen MB 2.0
Mac OS X (10.5.1)
10 GB iPod | 4 GB Mini | 4 GB Nano
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Posts:
6
From:
Boston
Registered:
Jan 6, 2008
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Re: Jerky Trackpad
Posted:
Jan 25, 2008 10:06 AM
in response to: R. Berardi
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I have an erratic trackpad, too. Even before reading Article 17228, I had ascertained that I was in fact seeing frequent, unexpected "leaps" of the cursor even when I was not touching the trackpad. (It usually disappears suddenly to the far left or far right edge of the display.) Reading the article, I was also able to rule out moisture/lotion/jewelry, as well as a third-party power adapter (mine is an Apple adapter); rebooting doesn't help.
So what do I try next to fix this very-annoying problem? It would be helpful to be directed to firmware issues, if any; absent that, what are the next steps a user should try (e.g., call Apple)?
(Worth noting[?]: I have the trackpad "gestures" configured to enable two-finger scrolling and horizontal scrolling, as well as two-finger secondary clicks but not zoom or click-tapping. I have MS, and doing without those gestures is not an option for me unless I simply start using a mouse instead of the trackpad -- which I'd greatly prefer not to do.)
MacBook Pro
Mac OS X (10.5.1)
Model Identifier: MacBookPro3,1
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Posts:
1
From:
pennsylvania
Registered:
Aug 8, 2007
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Re: Jerky Trackpad
Posted:
Feb 28, 2008 7:36 AM
in response to: Clarence
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Obviously by now you have restarted your computer, but that worked for me. I hope you get it work!
MacBook Pro
Mac OS X (10.4.10)
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Posts:
6
From:
Boston
Registered:
Jan 6, 2008
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Re: Jerky Trackpad
Posted:
Feb 28, 2008 7:58 AM
in response to: Clarence
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Apple has released "Firmware Update 1.0" for MacBooks and MacBook Pros, which they say fixes a problem where the first key press is sometimes ignored when the Mac has been idle. (Apple says that this update also addresses other unspecified issues.) The firmware update requires that you have already updated to Mac OS X 10.5.2, and it only applies to certain MacBook and MacBook Pro models. It's available via Software Update and as an 876K standalone download (see http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=307355 ).
NOTE: I downloaded the update -- but the installation hung my system without completing, so I would say caveat emptor: Use This At Your Own Risk.
MacBook Pro
Mac OS X (10.5.2)
Keyboard firmware update
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Posts:
6
From:
Boston
Registered:
Jan 6, 2008
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Posts:
7
From:
Switzerland
Registered:
Mar 18, 2008
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Re: Jerky Trackpad
Posted:
Mar 18, 2008 12:34 AM
in response to: Clarence
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I am seeing the same problem with the jumpy cursor and erratic trackpad on my brand new MacBook Pro: machine running fine for a while, then at random, the trackpad goes crazy, the pointer jumps around the screen and clicks randomly. This happens sometimes even when I am not touching the trackpad. The other day the problem continued even after a restart.
Using an external mouse solved the problem for the moment. But I haven't worked for a long time in a row with the external mouse - so I can't definitively say, that it solves the problem completely.
Talking to Apple Support on the phone brought no solution. Concerning this problem they can only refer to http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=17228-en. But all causes listed here are not applicable in my case.
Bringing the device in for repair today.
MBP 15.4''
Mac OS X (10.5.2)
2.6GHz with 250GB HDD
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Posts:
7
From:
Switzerland
Registered:
Mar 18, 2008
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Re: Jerky Trackpad - problem identified, solution found?
Posted:
Mar 25, 2008 11:07 PM
in response to: gutzi
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Update: I called the repair center yesterday to get a status on the repair. The lady said, they found that the topcase was defective and the cause of the problem. They have ordered a new one which will arrive by the end of the week.
MBP 15.4''
Mac OS X (10.5.2)
2.6GHz with 250GB HDD
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Posts:
7
From:
Switzerland
Registered:
Mar 18, 2008
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Re: Jerky Trackpad
Posted:
Apr 3, 2008 5:57 AM
in response to: gutzi
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Still no information from apple about expected arrival of replacment-topcase. I was informed that a request to speed up the case can be placed as soon as the case has been in apples database at least for 10 days. If by then the repair seems to still take very long, a request to replace the whole notebook can be deposited.
Any experience with this matter?
MBP 15.4''
Mac OS X (10.5.2)
2.6GHz with 250GB HDD
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Posts:
17
Registered:
Mar 2, 2006
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Re: Jerky Trackpad
Posted:
Apr 5, 2008 8:46 AM
in response to: Clarence
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I have all the same symptoms - seems to be related to airport, happens after an arbitrary wake-up and then persists until restart, drives me batty, etc. etc.
I noticed something exceedingly peculiar today, and I would love for someone else with jerky cursor to confirm it. The erratic behavior goes away (completely) if software update is the foregrounded application. It also goes away completely while I scroll through the list of os's in this input form - returns in full force once I settle on an OS. Is that odd? Is that only me? What's going on with our trackpad controllers?
MacBookPro 17
Mac OS X (10.5.2)
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Posts:
7
From:
Switzerland
Registered:
Mar 18, 2008
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Re: Jerky Trackpad
Posted:
Apr 18, 2008 11:38 AM
in response to: Clarence
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My MacBook Pro is back from repair fitted with a new topcase.
I have been using it for a week now only with the trackpad and it works just fine. There was no other occurence this erratic mouse mouvement any more.
MBP 15.4''
Mac OS X (10.5.2)
2.6GHz with 250GB HDD
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Posts:
1
From:
Boston
Registered:
May 9, 2008
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Re: Jerky Trackpad
Posted:
May 9, 2008 6:57 PM
in response to: Juneappal
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I have sporadically dealt the jerky cursor problem for months, and your Software Update comment seems to be spot on -- the cursor behaves normally when Software Update is active, but goes back to being sluggish as soon as I move it to the background.
I only have the problem on battery when I wake from sleep, but plugging it in later doesn't solve it. All I can do is reboot. It hadn't happened for a few weeks, but has recurred several times this week. Even so, it happens less than 20% of the time under those conditions.
MacBook Pro
Mac OS X (10.5.2)
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Posts:
29
From:
London, UK
Registered:
Mar 29, 2001
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Re: Jerky Trackpad
Posted:
May 14, 2008 2:38 PM
in response to: Juneappal
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I can confirm this as well: I had my Macbook Pro shut, and when opening it on battery just now it took a long time for the screen to come on, and when it did the trackpad movements were jerky, i.e. not smooth across the screen: more like small jumps from point to point.
Opening up Software Update and having it in the foreground the movements went back to normal, but closing it brought back the behaviour again. I can only assume this is software-related as otherwise opening a certain application wouldn't help, would it?
Macbook Pro 2.4ghz
Mac OS X (10.5.2)
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Posts:
7,731
From:
Hurstbridge, Australia
Registered:
Oct 8, 2000
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Re: Jerky Trackpad
Posted:
May 14, 2008 3:13 PM
in response to: Andrew Ballem
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I think this is probably one of those problems with a variety of causes - just as a sneeze can be due to a cold, the flu, hayfever or even just a blast of cold air!
So a few possibilities:
1: Rather than Software Update, start up Activity Monitor and see what is consuming CPU percentage at the time. During start-up and wake from sleep times a fair amount of background activity will be going on. It is possible that something is hogging processor or HD time, leaving the the trackpad software a long way down the queue. (Virus checkers and the like are probably prime suspects, but there is a host of other contenders. Using Activity Monitor when the problem ocurrs should help to track such things down)THe fact that a restart fixes the problem for some people also suggest the possibility that some background software may be taking more than its share of resources in at least some cases. Perhaps, too , some people may be trying to do much with too little RAM.
2: Given that some people are finding that having software update open overcomes the problem you also might want to consider the possibility of network issues. When re-awakening or just after starting up the computer will be looking for network connections etc. Perhaps SU , which will be seeking to actually use the network, somehow stabilizes this process? Just a hunch, but might be worth investigating if this is the case for you. It may be worth turning off airport and bluetooth, for example, or checking your network settings generally, to make sure there aren't an problems there.
3: In some cases, or course, it will probably be a hardware issue.
4: The fact that some people seem to relate it to power issues suggests that an SMC reset may be helpful in some cases. If your own issue seems to implicate power issues then you might also want to think about any peripherals etc that are attached. Bus powered drives - anything bus powered, in fact, might be worth disconnecting.
5: Local environmental intereference could be an issue, I guess. Mobile or wireless phones right next to the computer etc, or possibly, given the fact that some people experience it only when the powere supply is attached , some sort of problem with other devices on the same power circuit, or the power supply itself, might be possibilities for some.
Cheers
Rod
5:
MBP15"2.2, iMacG520"RevB , MB2CD, MBCD, ,PB12"867, iMacDV+,PM5400/180 & earlier
Mac OS X (10.5.2)
5 chooks, 2 dogs, 2 daughters, 1 pear tree, 0 partridges, itinerant bats, magpie
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