Z Trackpad Going Crazy

So, my trackpad started to act nuts. The pointer has started to jump around, and sometimes, as I move the mouse, it won't move or will be very sluggish. This *just* started. I actually had to reboot it because, at one point, it wouldn't move vertically.

I've checked for viruses in MalwareBytes and Microsoft SE, and got nowhere. I'm running SpyBot now, to see if anything comes up. But, assuming it doesn't, what are some other potential reasons I should investigate?

I use the laptop a lot, but I've never dropped it, never spilled anything on i, and take care of it quite a bit. It worked just fine on the startup screen, and until I got online...which is why I'm thinking there's some odd spyware that made its way onto the machine. Are there drivers I can update to?

Thanks for your help.

 

Upgrade drivers? Downgrade drivers? uhh maybe when you put your finger on the buttons you accidentally touch the touchpad? Uhh... maybe use task manager and see what is running while that happens?

Drivers can be found on Synaptic's site. I'm sure if MSE and Malwarebytes (<-- I also use that combination too ) turned up blank, then there's no spyware/malware on your laptop unless it's a Day 0 virus... in which case... run the scans again and it should catch it now.

Have u recently downloaded/installed any programs? etc?

 

Sometimes when my finger tip is wet or sweaty the trackpad doesn't work as well.

What were you doing online that made your fingers sweaty?

 

Do you have this problem with a USB or wireless mouse? If you don't know, maybe try that out and see if they also have the same issue.

 

The problem seems to have resolved itself. Honestly, I'm not sure what caused this earlier, but I'm showing no effects of this afternoon. I'm going to continue to monitor the situation, though. Thank you all for your assistance.

 

What the hell jcomey please keep me updated on this situation.
this just happened to me this afternoon 4/28/2011 6:00 pm !!!!

it won't move horizontally right now. and there is a trackpad message popup that keeps saying 'lift finger'....

 

i had to disable the synaptics and then enable a wireless mouse, just so i could get to the 'pressure graph' and mood pad. what i noticed was that there is constant pressure on the pad. i think somehow it's being squeezed? everytime i touch it it would keep the graph constant and sometimes it will zero out to no pressure. so it's sticking somehow.

anybody know if its easy to open this thing up and fix that?


please help! this is a very pressing issue. no pun intended.

 

Alas, it's not a pressure sensitive pad, it's a (much cheaper) capacitance measuring pad. This is why it won't work if your fingers are extremely dry, callused or cold. And why you can't use your fingernail for precision, like you can on pressure sensitive pads.
And why you get "false positives" without even touching the pad if your hands are both warm and not dry, and too close to the surface of the pad.

If it always shows contact, it's likely unfixable without replacing the touchpad.

 

Hey,

Mine was temporary. It was odd...but it didn't last. I don't know what caused it, nor why it dissipated. But it didn't last.

I hope you're able to get yours figured out quickly.

 

oh. but for some reason its actually exhibiting pressure randomly, and sometimes stopping. the pressure graph tool only scrolls when there is pressure for a second. so it is stopping and going on its own. i think something is physically loose just under this piece of plastic causing it to register whatever tactility method is uses ..

coming to think of it. i think quite a few times i've encountered problems with my z doing wierd stuff, but now as i think of it, it could be the trackpad that was acting up all the time. making fonts smaller , minimizing windows and all that.

 

Did you try gently cleaning the touchpad surface?

 

i randomly 'drum tap' on it (lightly) and watched the graph. and yeah i cleaned it like 10 times. now it works..... but there is definately a problem lingering there. sometimes the graph dont go to low

 

I dunno... are capacitive pads cheaper? They seem to require better tech no?

Back on topic, XTACTIC you should call Sony tell them your touchpad is failing. Nothing is being sqeezed since it's a capacitive pad (measures the electricity of your finger => you cant use your nails, etc same tech as most touchscreen phones)

 

the problem looks like it sorted out itself.
that was wierd though? never had my HP DV6000 ever do that in 3 years.

i'm getting it to work flawless now again though:

 

same thing is happening to me, bought a new dell xps 15, from day one on starting the computer, sometimes pointer either stops moving vertically or mves very sluggishly, or automatically starts zooming in & out on touching the touchpad. On disabling touchpad and re enabling sometimes problem just disappears and sometimes continues. On re starting computer problem goes away temporarily. Pressure graph during these episodes shows a constant pressure till pointer is responding erratically. Could this be a drver problem or should i ask dell to replace my laptop.

 

Maybe you should try the Dell forums? you're in the Sony forum atm. Different hardware etc. And maybe it's a common bug with the Dells that require a simple fix, but you'd get much better response in the Dell forums.