Trackpad Issues!

Have you gone to 'system preferences' and tried the 'trackpad' setups?

You can get a new trackpad/keyboard assembly on ebay for $40. It is not hard to install.

Have you verified that it is not software? Try booting up as another User. Create a new User Account if need be, and see if the problem persists.

HI and Welcome to Apple Discussions...

Believe it or not, when a Trackpad has fingerprints and smudges... even something you can't see, it can cause problems.

Make sure the MacBook is shut down. Take a clean water dampened lint free cloth and wipe the Trackpad. See if that makes a difference.

This could be a power issue also. Try resetting the SMC. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1411





Carolyn 🙂

yes, ive had a very similar issue with my aluminum macbook's track pad. There is a horizontal strip in the middle of the trackpad that doesn't work, so only 2 thirds of the trackpad are working. Every so often it goes absolutely crazy and the mouse cursor flies in all random directions and performs right clicks and zooms in and out without anything touching the track pad and the computer crashes.

I have already tried the following:
reseting the computer
reseting the SMC (or whatever its called)
installing the trackpad firmware update 1.0
performing a diagnostics/hardware test
cleaning the trackpad
removing battery and putting it back in... thought it might help

any other suggestions?

Are you sure you did all the procedures you mentioned correctly?

The reason I ask is that I don't even know what you mean by "reseting the computer".

Resetting the SMC includes removing the battery so I don't know why you would also remove the battery as another procedure. Are you sure you reset the SMC correctly?

Did you reset the PRAM?

alexandra:

Welcome to Apple Discussions.

Take a look at the article The Curious Case of the Missing MacBook Pro Keyboard and Trackpad. This may not be what you are experiencing, but might be worth checking to see if it is.

😉 cornelius

I've solved this problem on my new Macbook 13" without the 'origami' method mentioned in other threads (folding bits of paper and placing them under the battery - this strikes me as a bit dangerous). Take off the battery cover and take the battery out. You should be able to easily spot the back of the trackpad. There's a single screw with a 3-point head (a symmetrical Y shape) towards to base of the trackpad. you'll need to tighten this slightly. Simple as that!

Mine was fairly loose but only needed one full turn to completely fix the problem, so be careful. Any more than that and the trackpad wouldn't click at all.

Hope this helps!

Jamiepost, I have a white MacBook which seems to be displaying the same problems discussed in this thread, but I can't seem to find the Y-shaped screw you're referring to. Could you provide an image?

I'm confident this won't be resolved by the origami method as my MacBook's trackpad button has a circular rubber pad underneath that's not in the images displayed by the sites discussing it.

I have a 2007 MacBook , 10.5.8. Within the past couple of weeks, the trackpad became too sensitive during typing, so I clicked on"Ignore trackpad when mouse is present" in the Trackpad prefpane. That solved random cursor jumps, blocks, and text deletions.

However, since then I have had some instances where the built-in keyboard just quits responding. Restarting and repairing permissions don't help. The Trackpad prefpane simply disappears. I've been making due with a Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard I bought for my Palm TX, until the MacBook decides the keyboard is there.

There is a forum thread dedicated to this Trackpad/No Keyboard problem ( http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1293529), but it has been archived and cannot be responded to. It gives a suggestion to regain functionality but notes that the "missing" keyboard recurs at random anyway.

Has anyone found an answer to this?

Scratch what I said in my post. A Genius Bar visit determined that my problem was the result of a swollen battery.