No drag & drop with MacOS High Sierra

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Level 1

9 points

No drag & drop with MacOS High Sierra

Hey Guys! first post here.

I need a little help with something, i've been searching for a few hours on the web for the answer with no luck, currently running High Sierra10.13.6. First of all it's a new computer for me (used to have a 2009 unibody macbook with El Capitan), it's an early 2011 MacBook Pro, so i erased everything, and installed OS from zero, went trough all the updates.

In the beginning i wasn't able to use the tap function, as i wasn't able to set it from the System Preferences, i found a way to activate it trough the Terminal, then i realized after enabling tap function that drag & drop (with tap) wasn't working, so i went through the System Preferences and there is no way to enable it.

During my few hours of web search i found there are 2 ways to modify the trackpad settings, through the "Trackpad" at the icon list in the system preferences, and through Accessibility, but none of which is useful for me.. i'll put some screenshots so you can see what i'm talking about.

I hope you guys can help me with this, because is something very useful at least for me, if there is a command line i can use with the terminal, it would do just fine.

Thanks in advance.

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.13

Posted on Nov 25, 2019 8:17 AM

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Answer 1

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jorge269 Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 4, 2019 9:26 AM in response to BDAqua

It is finally working!!!

Something very weird happen.. as i have just installed a generic new battery for the mac (it didn't have a battery previously). Just after installing the new battery i went into the settings for the trackpad and the accessibility menu, and i can modify that now!!!

I don't know what exactly happened, but there was no need to reinstall the OS again, also.. computer works so much faster now, its weird 🤔

these are the new screenshots:

Thanks for all your help @BDAqua 😁

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

250,253 points

Nov 25, 2019 1:33 PM in response to jorge269

OK, I know it gets power from the USB bus as I believe all BT does, but that's interesting.

To find out if it's system wide or user specific, try this...

Open System Preferences>Users & Groups, unlock the lock, click on the little plus icon, make a new admin account, log out & into the new account.

Does it work in the new account?

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Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

250,253 points

Nov 25, 2019 9:40 AM in response to jorge269

Welcome aboard Jorge! :)

You may have to Re-install the OS, but try this...

PRAM reset, CMD+Option+p+r...

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

In fact, do 3 in a row, takes a bit of time.

Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)...

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

How to Reset Your Mac's Bluetooth Module to Fix Connection Issues...

https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/reset-mac-bluetooth-module/

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Answer 4

BDAqua

Level 10

250,253 points

Nov 25, 2019 6:01 PM in response to jorge269

Time Machine is no good unless you already have a Time Machine Backup.

Without TM already you can only go back to 10.12 by erasing everything, I'd try re-installing 10.13

1. Start up from macOS Recovery

To start up from macOS Recovery, turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold one of the following combinations on your keyboard. Command-R is generally recommended, especially if you never installed macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later...

Command (⌘)-R

Install the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac.

Option-⌘-R

Upgrade to the latest macOS compatible with your Mac.

Shift-Option-⌘-R

Install the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.

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Answer 5

jorge269 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 25, 2019 4:09 PM in response to jorge269

i think i found the answer in another thread.. apparently the solution is to downgrade to 10.12.. if anyone has another way to solve it, please let me know 🤠

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8106762

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Answer 6

BDAqua

Level 10

250,253 points

Nov 26, 2019 4:25 PM in response to jorge269

I don't have a trackpad to test with, but I think there'd be millions of complaints if it was universally true about High Sierra.

I'd Backup using TM then try reinstalling 10.13.6

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Answer 7

jorge269 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 25, 2019 9:54 AM in response to BDAqua

Thanks BDAqua!

I've already tried the PRAM reset and SMC reset with no luck.. i'm not using any bluetooth device, and that's one of the main things i noticed looking around in the web:

In my System Preferences under the Trackpad icon, it only shows the options to connect a bluetooth trackpad (screenshot #2 in main post), and not the options of my built in trackpad.. as it used to do on my old MacBook with El Capitan.

Another thing, is that in the Accessibility menu, under the Mouse & Trackpad tab, my button says "Mouse Options" (screenshot #3 in main post) and not trackpad options as many screen shots i've seen on the web.

And last thing i've noticed is that after pressing the Mouse Options in the Accessibility menu, it only shows the "Scrolling speed" setting, and i've seen screenshots of other macs showing 2 more settings under the Scrolling Speed thing.

Any other suggestions?? i don't have anything to back up my mac (no external HDD or Time Machine).. so it's not so easy for me to reinstall the OS.

And Thanks again for your answer!!

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Answer 8

jorge269 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 25, 2019 2:14 PM in response to BDAqua

Thanks again for your quick response.

I've done the new admin profile, setup the mac and everything, but it's still the same, this time i have the pics i took with my phone, since i completely deleted the new profile.

Maybe i can borrow a time machine, so i can completely start from zero again, do you think it might work if i restore from the time machine? or it has to be a fresh start?

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Answer 9

jorge269 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 26, 2019 9:10 AM in response to BDAqua

hehe yep! that's what i meant, to use the Time Machine for the backup part.

First back everything up and then reinstall OS from zero, but the thing that i said in the previous comment link is that apparently it doesn't work anyways.. The only way for it to work on my mac (according to that post) is if i downgrade to mac OS Sierra... But i'd like to keep high sierra, i really like it!

So i wonder if there's other options for it?

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