elan touch pad on k55a jumpy/jittery

I have found references to this problem on here but have not found a soluttion. The touchpad is unusable. If I rest my finger on the pad - the pointer will jump and jutter around. (without moving my finger) Unuseable It jumps around over 1/2 inch from where it started.

I have tried a few things - installed the latest driver from asus. I then tried a random driver referenced on here ( 11.7.8.5 ) No help

So here is the kicker - when it is uplugged - it gets a lot beter but not totally gone.

any ideas?
sam

 

That's because it's not a software issue. As far as I understand, there's a sort of grounding problem with the trackpad/trackpad bezel. It has been a design flaw on many Asus ultrabooks too.

 

Is the ground/ground plane there and not hooked up - or gone all togather? Google is failing me..

sam

 

I'm not sure where the nuance is to be honest. Some have blamed contact with the casing but it's all hearsay.

 

It seems to mostly be related to ungrounded outlets... (we have an old house and it seems to work 'ok' when either unplugged - or plugged into a grounded outlet...

sam

 

Just wanted to share a possible solution from another thread that was hugely helpful:


I just wanted to share the below info - the palm tracking settings are hidden in some versions:

"This will allow you to see all the functions the smart-pad software can control, but for whatever reason ASUS or Elantech disabled

Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Elantech\SmartPadDisplay, and change all values to "1"
Go to the Elan Smart-Pad's properties by using the Mouse Properties dialog box
Now you'll see all the hidden options

Once all the options are enabled, you'll see "Palm Tracking" under Additional tab. Turn that up one notch, and it'll make the smart pad less sensitive, but it also makes accidental brushing less likely to register as a mouse movement.

Interesting note on this. Once you make changes to whatever formerly hidden options and click OK or Apply, the previously modified registry keys will revert back to the way "they want it". If you want to experiment, it's best to change all the values to 1's, export the registry key, and use that to change all the keys at once."
Alon's Rants (and useless thought): ASUS Zenbook Touchpad Hack
****************
I've had troubles others have described here.
Mostly with the base of my left thumb causing the cursor to move to the upper left of the screen while I'm typing (which puts the letters there that I then have to delete and go retype in the proper place. Very annoying because I am taking notes while my patients are talking to me and trying to remain present with them and minimize any intrusion by my computer).
I have also had a seemingly random swipe select text. This is a problem when I am in the midst of typing so that all of the selected text is replaced by the next letters I type. My charting software does not have Undo, so if that happens, I have to reproduce that from memory.

I have the Smart Detector enabled, but my touchpad is not disabled as I am using the keyboard. I am going to try the driver update action.

 

This is the SECOND one of this model computer I've had this problem on, as I had the first one replaced when the screen blanked out 3 days after purchase and it also had the trackpad problem. The trackpad/cursor on my second model still has the same two problems. 1) It jumps wildly - up to 3cm, but varies in its hopping distance. This only happens when power is attached. On battery it is not too bad, just problem number (2), see below.

I took it back to the vendor and to friend's house and it didn't happen. The shop told me it must be house power. Employed electrician ($100) to check house power - no issues there. The electrician and I worked out that when I tried it in different places, being a temporary position, I had to hold the computer in hands, thus earthing through the case. This must have been what was happening at shop and friend's house, too. Now I can stabilise the cursor by putting palm on casing. The more flesh in contact, the more stable and usable the trackpad/cursor. Pretty awkward and annoying - hardly a solution.

In addition, problem number (2), the trackpad is still barely usable for anything that requires accuracy, especially compared to my old Dell, which has gone from boat-anchor status to precious, in comparison to the new computer. Have spent $200 on computer technicians trying to solve this problem, so now a total of $300 with no improvement. It's becoming an expensive computer. Have tried updating the driver, but it says it has the latest installed. Neither the computer tech, nor my techy friend, have been able to find where in settings the sensitivity of the trackpad can be adjusted, only the response speed.

ASUS say they will give me a replacement, but seeing the first two had the same problem I don't feel too confident. Besides, my filing and emails are in a mess with all the shifting between computers. It is too costly in time and patience. Should I try a replacement?