touchpad probelms

[drumpat01]

ok so i tried to give my touchpad on my 12'' ibook a good scubbing with a disenfectant wipe. i know your not suppose to use anything else but water, but i figured hey, its just a disenfectant wipe....what harm could that do? Well now I only get about 15% of it even registars a touch and when it does pick one up, it flys about all over the place and shakes. Any one help?

 

[CoMpX]

ok so i tried to give my touchpad on my 12'' ibook a good scubbing with a disenfectant wipe. i know your not suppose to use anything else but water, but i figured hey, its just a disenfectant wipe....what harm could that do? Well now I only get about 15% of it even registars a touch and when it does pick one up, it flys about all over the place and shakes. Any one help?

The disinfectant wipe might have killed it. I think you are only supposed to use water. Try wiping it down with a slightly dampened rag to remove the disinfectant residue, then let it dry for several hours or more. The trackpad is made of a somewhat porous material, and you should really let it dry all the way. It should be dry by morning, so tell us how it's working them. Good luck!

 

[matticus008]

After letting it dry, you can also try resetting the trackpad if it's not quite working. Place your palm over the whole surface and make contact for 4-5 seconds and see if the tracking behaviour remains erratic. This will work if a static discharge has confused the circuits or if it's just not picking up your finger properly.

 

[Shamus]

my ibook has gone weird b4 as well, but whenever it does, i just press 'esc' and it solves the problem....i dont think this is the same though.....i didnt use disenfectant or anything

 

[drumpat01]

Well I let it sit for a few hours, turned it back on and it was still messed up so I planned on taking it to the apple store when I woke up today. But to my surprise, my touch bad works perfectly now! I guess you guys were right and it just needed to dry out. Well, I guess I got lucky this time and now I know what NOT to try to clean it with.

 

[mad jew]

After letting it dry, you can also try resetting the trackpad if it's not quite working. Place your palm over the whole surface and make contact for 4-5 seconds and see if the tracking behaviour remains erratic. This will work if a static discharge has confused the circuits or if it's just not picking up your finger properly.

That's awesome. Thanks for that matticus008, I never realised it was that simple. I'd always done the full PMU reset, which has the same effect but is massive overkill in most cases.

 

[matticus008]

That's awesome. Thanks for that matticus008, I never realised it was that simple. I'd always done the full PMU reset, which has the same effect but is massive overkill in most cases.

Any time . I'm surprised it's not more widely known...I went through a 3-week period a while back where every time I reached for my Powerbook, I'd be zapped fiercely and then promptly ignored by the touchpad (and I never quite learned to touch something else first). Now it's mostly well-behaved.

 

[mad jew]

I've got the iBook so I've never had any static issues but my track pad plays up quite a bit. I have to admit, mashing my palm into it will be a lot more efficient (and therapeutic) than resetting the PMU all the time.