Touchpad problem with X60

I have a serious problem with my touchpad. The pointer seems to bahave crazy, jumping over the screen and clicking when I do not want to click.
To preclude misunderstandings:
- I did check the sensitivity settings, and all the advanced settings that Synaptics software allows to change
- I have been using synaptics touchpads on samsung laptops for more than 5 years on daily basis, so I am used to them
- It is not due to faulty hardware, since it worked fine until about a week ago, and occassionally it still works fine

The problem appears randomly -it seems!. Actually, I am not sure if it is true, but I feel like it appears after waking up the computer from standby or hibernation and connecting to network at the same time. Restart DOES NOT help though.

Any advice, anyone? Please?

 

I don't recognise this problem. Sometimes I see some cursor drift when I use my Logitech Bluetooth mouse, but the touch pad gives no problems. What happens if you plug in an external mouse and then disable the touchpad? If there is still a problem then this would suggest the cause is the driver. I'm using Synaptics driver version 8.3.4, which I think I got from Synaptics, not the X60 driver. If the problem goes away when you disable the touchpad then the suspicion must fall on the touchpad itself, but I would still reinstall / replace the driver before contacting Samsung.

Regarding the touchpad options, I've got my palm check set at maximum, and the sensitivity at 40%.

Hope this helps,

John

 

I have a similar problem (cursor jump) when I release the touchpad, hence I can't make a single precise positioning with it. This is however with the HP NC6000 my company gave me, and the problems is solvable 1. by restarting Windows, 2. by resetting the device in Synaptics.

Fortunately I did not experience this problem with my touchpad on my X60, although I rarely use the touchpad on it, for me the primary input device is the mouse.

 

Thanks for your feedback. Yes, when I connect my microsoft usb wireless mouse, everything is fine.
It indeed seems to have something to do with connecting to LAN.
When I restart the computer with LAN disconnected, and only connect after logging in, it's fine.
Restarting with the LAN cable = problems. I wonder whether it can be something about the latest security updates?
I just don't get it.

 

I know this thread is quite old, but I thought I'd share a similar problem.

Intermittent cursor jumping about behaviour when using the touchpad only
If I plug in a USB mouse, I get no problems
This is not something to do with accidentally brushing against the touchpad - e.g. when I am dragging an object (e.g. a file in explorer), the cursor will jump to a completely different screen location, and could do this several times in a few seconds, as well as performing clicks that were not requested.
Sometimes the cursor just freezes - no response from the touchpad at all.

The only thing I can think of at the moment is it happens when I am connected to my home LAN using wireless networking. I have decided to stop using the mouse here at work and see what happens when I use the touchpad...

...And FYI, I have already contacted Samsung warranty support and they are going to be collecting the X60 on Monday for a fix. They did ask if I'd re-installed Windows (i.e. everything!) before considering it a hardware fault. I had to re-install Windows when I bought the machine, and it happened soon after that, so I don't think it's a software problem.

 

A month later, and I'd love to be able to tell you about my laptop, but sadly it has been lost by DHL when trying to return it to me after it was (apparently) fixed.

The whole "fix under warranty" was a fiasco from start to finish - they (the warranty people, who aren't Samsung but a 3rd party company) originally claimed it would be done in 3 working days, so I (took a complete backup of the 100gb hard drive and) sent it away. The warranty company themselves lost it for a week or so, and finally said that they had got it got fixed, but then DHL failed to deliver it when they said they would and finally agreed that it was lost (maybe read "nicked").

So we are now trying to get a new laptop out of Samsung, which isn't a simple thing in its own right.

And I am super-annoyed, as it takes bloomin' ages to get a computer fully configured with all software, email, wireless-LAN etc.

My only consolation is that I might get a (slightly) better model - the X60+, but only so long as it's better spec'ed... I hear this model comes with 1GB RAM as standard, and my original X60 had 2GB...

 

Sorry to hear about your problems. You need to be demanding the T7400 model of the X60plus ( NP-X60TZ02/SUK) which has 2GB RAM.

Lesson 1 is try to backup your HDD either onto an external HDD or buy a bigger 2.5" HDD to drop in your computer and keep the old one in reserve for problem days.

Lesson 2 is to try to avoid sending the computer off. Unfortunately, touchpads are difficult for DIY replacement. In contrast, I am on the last leg of replacing my ODD. UPS have just delivered a new TS-L632M ODD to replace a temporary ODD which I got because of burning problems with the old TS-L632M. I have dealt directly with the Samsung ODD people.

Anyway, Samsung need to improve their UK technical backup and servicing. A few bad stories will outweigh lots of good service.

John

 

Thanks for the info (esp. the manufacturer's code). A few quick online store searches shows that the spec. is inconsistent - e.g. the screen resolution, the graphics chip (X1600 or X1700), the HDD size etc. In your favour, I suspect that the link to DigiUK has the correct details!! Before I accept any machine from Samsung, I will ask for a document with the exact specification to be sent to me first.

I have a 100GB external portable USB drive which I copied the entire HDD contents onto (using XCOPY), so I have a good backup. I also did a little housekeeping of the data on the HDD before I sent it away to ensure no sensitive info was there... which turns out to be a good thing!

I wasn't happy sending it away in the first place... but when they said 3 working days turnaround, I was convinced. It will take a lot more to convince me in future... It's a shame that on-site warranty was either not available or too expensive when my company bought the machine... I recall a Dell engineer coming to another colleague a few years back to replace a keyboard, and it was all complete in under 30 minutes! That was good service.

Absolutely. Can't agree more.

I'll keep this topic going when I have more information to share... in the meantime, thanks everyone for listening

 

DigiUK list the X1700 because they sold me my X60 plus and I told them what was in it (and listed on the box). Eventually Samsung agreed that they were shipping the X1700 but never agreed about the 120GB in the T7200 version of the X60 plus. Most retailers still list the spec as issued by Samsung.

That's a good start. You might want to invest in something such as Acronis True Image which will also let you clone the HDD.

I agree that Dell provide excellent on-site and return-to-base service. They get plenty of practice. However, on one occasion I had to send a machine in twice because they had failed to spot the cause of the fault. Perhaps the Samsung repair people don't get much practice due to generally good reliability.

John

 

Out of 4 X60s we have purchased in the last 6 months, 2 have had to go back for repair. Both of these have the weird trackpad/touchpad problem, and one's screen went dark. I think the one with the broken screen will only have that component fixed as the chap using it wasn't that fussed about the touchpad...

My previous laptop was a Samsung X10 which was very reliable, even after a drop of about 1m which caused damage to the plastic case but not to any of the internals - I was most worried about the screen, but there wasn't a blemish on it...! It's still working now over a year after the incident!

 

2 / 4 with the same problem is a bit disturbing. It is also puzzling that there are not more reports of similar problems.It's a bit late to ask, but I presume you are using the latest touchpad driver off the Synaptics web site?

John

 

I should maybe mention that my touchpad problem is solved. Unfortunatelly I am not able to say what was causing the problem.
I updated the drivers - didn't help. Then I turned on the automatic win updates, and de-installed counter strike:source which was causing a lot of trouble. I am also using wacom tablet, and I also updated the drivers for that one. The problem disappeared a few days after - so I concluded one of the automatic updatedes cured my computer.
I am sure it had to do something with the network...but that's all I can say. Real mystery.

 

I've just bought an X60 plus and I'm running vista. I couldn't work out for ages why some days the touchpad seemed fine, others not. Then I realised the pattern: with the power adaptor plugged in the touchpad is perfectly stable, with the adaptor unplugged on battery alone the touchpad goes nuts, jumping all over the place and clicking when I only draw my finger across it. Has anyone else noticed the link to external power???

Cheers
Dave

 

Mine just started going nuts, under both Linux and Windows. I'd rebooted several times to no avail.
Then I realised I was sitting next to the GF with her work laptop (which makes a worrying high-pitched squealing . Moving to another room cured it. There must be interference that only causes a problem when actually actively using the pad.

 

Just a thought, but does occur if you are using the computer in one building or in different buildings. If it is a problem at one location then I would be wondering if the electricity supply is floating and you are getting stray current going through the touchpad. The test would be to get a mains testing screwdriver (with the built-in neon light) and check if there is any voltage on the metal parts of your computer (eg edge of USB socket). Also check if both the live and neutral parts of the electric socket show up as live.

Interesting in this case that you have tracked down the cause. Would hers be a newish HP computer? There's plenty of discussion about the CPU whine in the HP forum.

And for any remaining unsolved X60 touchpad problems I have to wonder whether there is something deep in the BIOS which needs to be fixed. Some other Samsung notebooks have had recent BIOS updates relating to the touchpad causing the computer to temporarily freeze. Perhaps beserk touchpads are related to this.

John

 

found a solution - I uninstalled the vista drivers from the synaptics website and the touchpad works just fine now. They have updated the drivers but frankly it works fine so I'm not changing anything...

Cheers
Dave

 

Thanks for the update. Newer drivers normally fix problems, but sometimes they create new ones. This is undoubtably the case with Vista where driver support is still at an early stage.

John