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Trackpad usually works, but sometimes stops responding for around 5 seconds and then suddenly starts working again. Seems to happen when I switch between typing and moving + button-clicking and also when I do a lot of double-clicking. Tried turning off the "Ignore accidental trackpad input". Apple replaced the keyboard/mouse under warranty. Problem remains. Any ideas?

White non-unibody Late-2008 13" MacBook - fully up-to-date OS. Doesn't seem to matter if it is plugged in or not. Updated to Snow Leopard - seems to have made it worse.

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  • When they replaced it, did they actually say something was broken?
    – Arjan
    Sep 22, 2009 at 19:30
  • And anything plugged in to the USB ports? The trackpad is said to be connected to one of those, according to "The MacBook. All USB Ports Are Not Equal" at wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/05/the-macbook-all
    – Arjan
    Sep 22, 2009 at 19:32
  • @Arjan, they didn't say either way. I think they just blindly replaced it. Nothing plugged in to the other USB ports. Thx.
    – Hafthor
    Sep 22, 2009 at 20:46
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    Given this was a bounty question has has been accepted it might be worth creating a new question with the new problem. Reference this one and explain why it's not a duplicate.
    – ChrisF
    Feb 5, 2010 at 9:25
  • Does the problem occur no matter what application you use? How did you install Snow Leopard? I assume you just upgraded (which, I guess, could leave troublesome software in place) or did you happen to use "Erase and Install" (as described at support.apple.com/kb/HT3910)? (As an aside: from what I've heard, re-installing 10.6 is always a "Archive and Install" now.)
    – Arjan
    Feb 5, 2010 at 10:28

5 Answers 5

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+50

If you have a unibody Macbook, Apple released a firmware upgrade for the trackpad a while ago that is supposed to fix this issue. It is available via Software Update.

If you aren't using a unibody Macbook, you can try putting the palm of your hand over the trackpad for 5 seconds to restart it.

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    @John T: Do you have a link to an Apple doc describing that trackpad reset procedure? I've heard of it before, but never run across any official docs on it.
    – arathorn
    Aug 27, 2009 at 4:33
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    It's been around since the good old powerbooks. Can't find much documentation but it's suggested here in step 3: support.apple.com/kb/TA22966
    – user1931
    Aug 27, 2009 at 4:39
  • @John T: Tried that reset procedure, no help. But thx for trying.
    – Hafthor
    Aug 27, 2009 at 7:03
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You may be running into the "Ignore Accidental Input" feature of the trackpad. It is an option in the Trackpad preferences. It tends to ignore all but the center of the trackpad shortly after you start typing.

Here is an apple article on it (screen shot is out of date, I believe):

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2302?viewlocale=en_US

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    Thx. As mentioned in the question, I've tried disabling this to no effect.
    – Hafthor
    Sep 23, 2009 at 0:29
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Not much chance of this being your problem, but there have been some reports of the battery swelling and exerting pressure on the trackpad from below and causing problems. If you have a swollen or deformed battery, get a replacement.

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Maybe try Resetting the System Management Controller.

The System Management Controller is an integrated circuit (computer chip) that is on the logic board of the computer. As the name implies, it is responsible for power management of the computer. It controls backlighting, hard disk spin down, sleep and wake, some charging aspects, trackpad control, and some input/output as it relates to the computer sleeping.

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  • thx, but no effect.
    – Hafthor
    Sep 20, 2009 at 9:19
  • Yeah I tried it once and it made the problem worse >.< (the problem I had was machine wouldn't charge or get power from the magsafe. turned out to be a loose connection). Sep 21, 2009 at 2:32
  • @Nippysaurus, you tried it once and it made the problem worse, and then you advised someone to try the same...? ;-)
    – Arjan
    Sep 23, 2009 at 8:29
  • @Arjan van Bentem, yep. In my case nothing could help, the hardware had taken some damage and needed repairs. There is no way that doing this will damage an undamaged machine. Sep 24, 2009 at 12:47
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Applying even a little pressure to the left palm rest creates this condition. Apple replaced the top case again and this time it seems to have corrected the problem, although, it looks like they may have added a spacer on the left palm rest to "fix" it.

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