User profile for user: seamonkey420
seamonkey420 Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Magic Trackpad and Windows Support for non-Mac hardware?

will apple be creating standalone windows compatible drivers for the magic trackpad? currently the only support thats offered is for Mac hardware running Boot Camp and Windows. I've tried hacking the drivers and boot camp to work on a non mac based windows install and had no luck.

thoughts, ideas?

i can get to the point where boot camp is installed, updated to the latest and laso updated w/the trackpad update. however i only get basic mouse movement and left click when paired via bluetooth. it almost seems like its related to the bluetooth stack itself that allows features.

MBP13, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Jul 28, 2010 8:35 PM

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33 replies
User profile for user: seamonkey420
seamonkey420 Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Jul 29, 2010 10:01 AM in response to John566

same here. I have a MBP13 (early 2010) with bootcamp and win7 x64 and it works perfectly.

i plan to try the following tonight to see if i can get it work or not.

1. uninstall my current bluetooth device driver (it uses the same exact chipset/broadcom stack that my MBP13 uses)

2. install boot camp on my desktop (again, not a mac based windows install so you have to run the bootcampx64.msi in the BootCamp\Apple folder on the first OSX intall disc)

3. run Apple Software Update and then update bootcamp to 3.1

4. install the bootcamp update for windows for the magic trackpad (using 64bit drivers since i run 64bit win7).

5. plug in my bluetooth device; hopefully i will be able to use the Apple Boot Camp based drivers for it

6. reboot and hope it may show up 🙂

i have been able to get the gestures / trackpad options to show up in the Boot Camp Control Panel but when i get that to work; the trackpad itself no longer functions (i basically go into Device Manager and then update the HID Bluetooth Mouse driver for it to the Magic Trackpad Enabler. Again, i then do lose use basic use of the trackpad.

i'll be posting results of my testing here tonight for others. i really hope apple releases standalone drivers or someone can hack the drivers to work or else i will be returning my magic trackpad for a bamboo tablet or similar device.
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User profile for user: hforo
hforo
User level: Level 1
0 points

Jul 29, 2010 3:47 PM in response to seamonkey420

I'm also trying to get this working... So far I have Bootcamp 3.0, then 3.1, then the magic trackpad update.

The trackpad now works, but I can't enable tap to touch, which is driving me crazy. How did you get the control panel to open, that is my only problem. It's checking for the EFI based Mac startup partition and failing out before it even launches.
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User profile for user: seamonkey420
seamonkey420 Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Jul 29, 2010 9:56 PM in response to hforo

Ok, here's my latest update, sadly full of all fail.. or mostly of fail.

i own a Macbook Pro 13, early 2010 model and in turn have legit Boot Camp drivers on the OS X Snow Leopard restore discs. I copied the whole Boot Camp folder to my pc (window 7 ultimate 64bt edition, non mac hardware). Previously i was able to get boot camp installed and updated to the latest 3.1.35 but was never able to get full multitouch gestures to work, just the basic maouse functions mentioned previously. At the same time, the boot camp drivers messed up my desktops audio (it also has a realtek based codec and my bluetooth, similar broadcom chipset).

I have restored to a previous point and am back to normal working.

This evening I thought I'd attempt to break out my app dev/deployment kung fu and use some msi modifying/repackaging tools to get it working.

I've been able to craft my own msi 64bit installer that incorporates boot camp v3.0 + msp update to 3.1 + update to 3.1.35 w/magic trackpad drivers. i basically stripped all packages of references to all drivers except the multitouch touchpad, trackpad.

thus far, i get Boot Camp installed and on v3.1.35 but do not get any magic trackpad or touchpad options in the boot camp control panel, only brightness and power. however, i am able to get the trackpad options to show but in turn it breaks my trackpads basic functions.

here's what happens. i pair my magic touchpad to my desktop pc's bluetooth. it shows up as a basic bluetooth HID mouse device. i pair it and it lets me move and click to left-click with it; no gestures at all or even right click. after it was paired, i went to my device manager and manually updated the hid bluetooth mouse driver to the Apple > Multitouchpad Enabler. Once i do this, i can see the extended gestures features in the Boot Camp control panel but also lose all functionality of the trackpad (ie no movement or clicking).

i'm using this info to plant the seed to the community and see if we can figure out a way to get it working on a non mac based system. this baby could be amazing for HTPC use or even just desktop/work use.

peace
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User profile for user: hforo
hforo
User level: Level 1
0 points

Jul 30, 2010 7:58 AM in response to seamonkey420

Hey again 🙂

It sounds like you and I are pretty much in the same boat. I have a 13" unibody aluminum macbook (2009) with Snow Leopard & boot camp. I'm trying to get the magic trackpad on my desktop (Asus MB, etc). How are you getting the control panel open? When I try to open the boot camp control panel, it complains about the Mac startup disk not being accessible (which makes sense, it isn't a mac).

If you can tell me how to open up the control panel I'd be very happy!

Thanks!
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User profile for user: Doesn't own a Mac
Doesn't own a Mac
User level: Level 1
0 points

Jul 30, 2010 5:37 PM in response to seamonkey420

I'm really interested in the Magic Trackpad to use with my non-mac, Windows laptop. I've searched high and low for a driver that someone extracted from the original and I came to this site http://superuser.com/questions/170044/how-can-i-install-an-apple-magic-trackpad- on-a-pc-without-boot-camp

At the bottom of the site 2 files were posted that claimed to be drivers for Magic Trackpad. I installed the 32-bit version and it installed without a hitch and shows up in my program list as a Windows driver package.

Could someone who owns the Magic Trackpad try out these files for me and see if you have any luck with them? BTW, I scanned them beforehand and they were virus free.

If you don't have any luck with those files, what do you think of the first procedure posted on that same site. Would that work?
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User profile for user: guiambros
guiambros
User level: Level 1
5 points

Aug 1, 2010 10:34 AM in response to Doesn't own a Mac

Hey seamonkey420, thanks for the link! Great finding!

I was also trying to get my trackpad to work with my non-apple Win7 and the drivers linked on SuperUser site worked perfectly!

http://superuser.com/questions/170044/how-can-i-install-an-apple-magic-trackpad- on-a-pc-without-boot-camp

At least now it was tap to click and double finger scroll. Now trying to get used to it...
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User profile for user: Doesn't own a Mac
Doesn't own a Mac
User level: Level 1
0 points

Aug 1, 2010 2:59 PM in response to guiambros

I'm not seamonkey420 btw . . . but you're welcome.

I get mine on Wednesday so I'm glad that someone was able to retrofit the drivers for use with non-Mac hardware. I know it only adds tap-to-click and 2-finger scrolling, but that's all a mac with Boot Camp can do in Windows as well. Maybe someone will expand the usability of the driver eventually, but I'm sure that'll take quite a while since it would require some real work, not just workarounds.

I really wish Apple would have included pinch-to-zoom as one of the features on their Windows drivers considering that most Windows laptop trackpads come with this feature standard.

Here's the direct links for those interested:
64-bit: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9PG0SLU3
32-bit: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EVISIOGI
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User profile for user: Doesn't own a Mac
Doesn't own a Mac
User level: Level 1
0 points

Aug 1, 2010 5:30 PM in response to Presonian

I haven't had a hands on with the touchpad and improvised driver, so I don't know if there is a way to disable it at the moment. For my Windows XP machine that I'm on right now I have to got to control panel->mouse->device settings tab->highlight device->settings. But this is XP, Windows 7 is probably a bit different. And for all I know the ability to customize settings might not be included in this driver.

However, if the tap-to-click is really bothering you, you could simply uninstall the driver for the time being and use it as a simple bluetooth device. This will restrict it to physical left clicks only; no right clicks or scrolling.

Personally, I love tap-to-click because I want to use this from a distance on my couch (no hard surface to click the feet of the trackpad on). That's the main reason I tracked down the drivers.

Btw, how is the responsiveness and ease of use so far (aside from tap-to-click)? Does the two-finger scrolling and right clicks work as they should?
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User profile for user: Doesn't own a Mac
Doesn't own a Mac
User level: Level 1
0 points

Aug 1, 2010 7:24 PM in response to theadlee

Thanks for the referral to Trackpad++. I sent the guys at Trackpad++ an email asking them if they would be able adapt their driver to the Magic Trackpad. I assume it would be quite a simple adaptation considering how similar the Magic Trackpad is the the Macbooks' built in trackpads.

If you would also like to request this feature send them an email at support@powerplan7.com
I offered to donate if they would make an effort at creating a more polished driver for the Magic Trackpad, and would encourage you all to do the same (it'll give them some incentive even if they never plan on owning a Magic Trackpad themselves).

If anyone already has their Magic Trackpad, could you do me a favor and see if Trackpad++ already has some level of compatibility? I have no idea if the driver will be able to identify the Magic Trackpad since it is using bluetooth and a slightly different hardware configuration, but it is worth a shot. The downloads for Trackpad++ are here: http://trackpad.powerplan7.com/downloads.htm
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