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drewgolden · Feb 26, 2006, 08:20 AM

So I have noticed on my MacBook Pro that the track pad sometimes is slow / does not respond.

And I had seen a few others here griping about it.

Actually, I was getting really mad about. Until I think i figured out what was happening.

In the default setting, if you are for example using your index finger on the trackpad and another finger tip touches or rests on the trackpad - your track pad will stop responding normally.

Under the settings, there are "enable two finger scrolling" and "ignore bad input" settings that seem to greatly impact this.

As the trackpad is sooo big, I frequently find another finger resting on the pad.

Hope that helps!

drew

CyberPet · Feb 26, 2006, 12:53 PM

Yep, you need to learn to control the trackpad... my mom hates the trackpad on her iBook, she refuses to use it because she always dip an extra finger down that will make the mouse run irratic on the screen. I use my longfinger and always rest my thumb on the mouse button, and it seems to work fine. Can't wait to try out the scrolling part on the track pad... only wish that Apple would make a second ctrl-key and option-key on the right side of the keyboard though, since I'm lefthanded and control my trackpad with my left hand and those important keys are also on the lefthand side.

Barefoot Matt · Feb 26, 2006, 01:41 PM

I hate trackpads. I find that when I'm typing, my wrists hit the trackpad and click on a different part of the screen, so I have to stop typing and move the cursor back. I don't have a laptop myself (hoping for an MBP soon), but on my mom's old laptop I much prefer the trackpoint (that red nub in the middle of the keyboard that seems to have all but disappeared). I'm hoping I can get used to the trackpad when I get an MBP, because otherwise it'll drive me nuts.

stupidusername · Mar 2, 2006, 11:48 AM

I just received my MPB on Feb 28th, and noticed the same thing. I've been very careful to only put one finger on the trackpad, but sometimes, it doesn't respond. If I let it sit for a few seconds, everything works fine for a while.. then again with the unresponsiveness or sluggish behavior.

I've tried every combination in the trackpad settings... even turned off 2-finger scrolling, and it still has issues... I'm hoping it's not a hardware issue. It almost seems TOO sensitive... (with scrolling on, it will scroll with only one finger on the trackpad).

any thoughts? I'm about to call apple about this.

hakstooy · Mar 2, 2006, 05:21 PM

I too have noticed that with the wider trackpad, I often have my ring finger over near the edge causing it to "freeze", but what is also happening to me is that my cursor is frequently (few times a day) is completely disappearing for a few seconds.

It happens with the trackpad and an external mouse. I don't know what is causing it, but it happens under practically no load and when rendering, so I have no idea what is doing it. I hope it something in the drivers that can be corrected.

jimbosyn · Mar 2, 2006, 08:56 PM

I noticed the same thing. The trackpad on my powerbook was much smoother than my macbook pro. Then today I realized the trackpad on my MBP seemed smoother than it did the day I got it. I appears that the trackpad is a little rough at first, but just needs to be broken in. Now it is physically smoother, and scrolling/mousing seems much more responsive.

note: I use my laptop at least 10 hours a day for my job, so it took around 5 days @ 10 hours a day to start feeling smoother to the touch. Thats about 50 hours of usage.

Has anyone else noticed the "break in" period for the trackpad?