Gen. Noosance

Q: Trackpad malfunctioning

Yesterday my cursor became very erratic, jumping around on the screen, not responding properly to the trackpad, zooming and shifting pages all the time. I was using Safari at the time.

 

Today I have read earlier queries here, and followed what advice was in them - The one attempted fix which seemed briefly to do some good was resetting the PRAM. But as soon as I opened Safari the cursor again became as erratic as before.

 

I've changed the battery (had a new battery on hand for this model MacBookPro 7.1, 2010) and removed and thoroughly cleaned the trackpad.  After reassembly the cursor seemed to behave much better; but then I opened Safari, and again the problem reoccurred.

 

At the moment I'm using a mouse to control the cursor.

 

So I am wondering if this problem may be related to Safari, and what else I can try?

 

 

OSX Version 10.9.5, Safari 7.0.6  - We have 8 Apple laptops in our home, but this is the old one I use...

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Sep 16, 2015 9:10 AM

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Q: Trackpad malfunctioning

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  • by dominic23,

    dominic23 dominic23 Sep 16, 2015 9:58 AM in response to Gen. Noosance
    Level 8 (41,671 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 16, 2015 9:58 AM in response to Gen. Noosance

      1. Is there any Bluetooth device nearby with failing batteries? If so, replace the batteries.

     

     

       2. Reset SMC.  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

     

         Choose the method for: “On Mac notebooks with non-removable battery”

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Sep 16, 2015 11:05 AM in response to Gen. Noosance
    Level 5 (7,552 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 16, 2015 11:05 AM in response to Gen. Noosance

    You may have read the suggestions about expanding batteries?

    Remove the battery & retest when on AC power, if it is OK it could be that the battery is pressing on the trackpad & causing issues. Does the battery seem tight?

     

    Test in another browser or app to see if it is only in Safari.

    Disable all Safari extensions to see if that is causing it (this seems unlikely). Try other pages to see if it is only on certain sites.

     

    Close all tabs too & load one page to see if it gets worse as Safari is made to do more work.

  • by Gen. Noosance,

    Gen. Noosance Gen. Noosance Sep 17, 2015 6:46 AM in response to dominic23
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Sep 17, 2015 6:46 AM in response to dominic23

    Thanks for the reply Dominic! 

     

    The bluetooth on this machine hasn't been on, for months. Reset of the SMC was among the other things I did, without sign of improvement.

     

    Strangely, right now a day later the problem seems to be gone. Yesterday I could watch the cursor creeping 'by itself' across the page, even while using the mouse.

  • by Gen. Noosance,

    Gen. Noosance Gen. Noosance Sep 17, 2015 6:56 AM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Sep 17, 2015 6:56 AM in response to Drew Reece

    Thanks for your reply, Drew.

     

    I changed the old battery for a new one yesterday, and then it didn't seem to make any difference. I've got no extensions in Safari, and as mentioned above today the problem seems to have gone away, without my having a clue as to why.

     

    Yesterday it seemed that the cursor gradually became a little more controllable in the evening, and now next afternoon it is functioning 100% normally.

    Go figure! 

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Sep 17, 2015 7:45 AM in response to Gen. Noosance
    Level 9 (52,353 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 17, 2015 7:45 AM in response to Gen. Noosance

    Have you looked at thie Apple support article?

     

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203171

     

    If no success, I suggest an appointment at an Apple store genius bar for a FREE evaluation.

     

    Ciao.

  • by Gen. Noosance,

    Gen. Noosance Gen. Noosance Sep 17, 2015 11:44 AM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Sep 17, 2015 11:44 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

    Thanks for your reply, Ogelthorpe.  

     

    Yes, I had read that article, and eliminated those things as the cause. 

     

    As I mentioned above, the cursor and trackpad is functioning perfectly today so far.  Looks like it may remain a mystery why it was malfunctioning.

     

    One thing I wondered about, was if the trackpad had picked up some kind of oil/lotion. On an different occasion a couple of years ago we had a trackpad malfunction when some body lotion got on the trackpad, and after a couple of days the malfunction seemed to wear off and things were normal again.  This time   however there wasn't oil or lotion near the trackpad, I don't think.

     

    ...

     

    Another thing I did, while the the malfunction was at its worst, is that I disabled most of the trackpad features in 'system preferences' - that allowed me to use the mouse without so much crazy interference, whatever was causing it. 

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Sep 17, 2015 3:24 PM in response to Gen. Noosance
    Level 9 (52,353 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 17, 2015 3:24 PM in response to Gen. Noosance

    Gen. Noosance wrote:

     

    One thing I wondered about, was if the trackpad had picked up some kind of oil/lotion. On an different occasion a couple of years ago we had a trackpad malfunction when some body lotion got on the trackpad, and after a couple of days the malfunction seemed to wear off and things were normal again.

    It is not that uncommon that a thorough cleaning of the trackpad will restore functionality.  That usually is a last resort step. 

     

    Ciao.

  • by Gen. Noosance,

    Gen. Noosance Gen. Noosance Sep 17, 2015 11:46 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Sep 17, 2015 11:46 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    ^^

    OGELTHORPE wrote:

    ...

    It is not that uncommon that a thorough cleaning of the trackpad will restore functionality.  That usually is a last resort step. 

     

    Ciao.

    lol. 

     

    Thorough cleaning was done first, later the trackpad was removed so that it and the shell area around it could be entirely cleaned. Also I carefully applied a slick of window cleaner on the trackpad surface and let it dry, several times,  but all that did not make any difference so I think something else was going on. 

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Sep 18, 2015 4:55 AM in response to Gen. Noosance
    Level 5 (7,552 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 18, 2015 4:55 AM in response to Gen. Noosance

    Window cleaner is not something I would use on a trackpad and a 'slick' that is left to dry is not good for the electronics IMO. Maybe it was not as bad as it sounds to me.

    Cleaning your Apple products - Apple Support

     

    Since you have taken the laptop apart I'd suggest hunting down a replacement part.

  • by Gen. Noosance,

    Gen. Noosance Gen. Noosance Sep 18, 2015 6:58 AM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Sep 18, 2015 6:58 AM in response to Drew Reece

    Normal household ammonia-based 'windex'-style cleaner is OK for the shell, I've read. The 'slick' I applied didn't go near any electronics, but by leaving it on the surface I hoped to faster break up any type of 'oils' which might be there.