Troubleshooting Touchpad - Dell Latitude 5424 Rugged Owner's Manual

NOTE: Do not leave any liquid on the screen.
5 Remove all excess moisture as it may damage your screen.
6 Let the display dry thoroughly before you turn it on.
7 For stains that are hard to remove, repeat this procedure till the display is clean.

Troubleshooting Touchpad

Most touch pad issues are erratic movement or no movement at all. Since erratic movement is the more common problem, it is covered
first.
Erratic Pointer Movement
Here are some easy steps to take to determine the problem with a touch pad demonstrating erratic pointer movement:
1 Get the latest driver from Dell support site - Most problems can be corrected with a simple driver download. This should always be
one of the first steps when diagnosing any touch pad problem.
2 Check for hand and finger placement - The most common cause of random pointer movement is that the touch pad senses a finger
or part of the hand near the surface of the device.
• Have the customer attempt to use the touch pad normally but to pay attention to the location of his or her hands and fingers. Are
any straying too close to the touch pad?
• Adjust the Touch Sensitivity and Touch and check settings in the Touch Pad Settings section of the Dell Touchpad Properties.
3 Try an external mouse - Does this problem happen with an external mouse attached?
• The Device Select section of the Dell Touchpad Properties has options to enable or disable the touch pad or external mouse. Try
several combinations of these settings.
• If the problems only occur when the touch pad is enabled and do not occur any time a mouse or other external device is used,
then the issue is related to the touch pad.
4 Check for mechanical problems - If the problem cannot be corrected by adjusting the settings mentioned above and only occurs with
the touch pad enabled and then this could indicate a mechanical problem.
• Press down on the palm rest on first the left side of the touch pad and then the right. See if the cursor starts moving on its own.
• Run ePSA Diagnostics and try to recreate the problems there. If either of these situations occurs, replace the palm rest.
No Pointer Movement
No pointer movement from the touch pad (or track stick, if available) usually is the result of one of two things: The touch pad has been
disabled in the driver interface, or the touch pad cable is damaged or disconnected. Follow the steps below to determine the problem.
1 Connect an external mouse - In either situation, an external mouse should still function. If it does not, try booting into Safe Mode and
testing both devices again.
2 Enable the touch pad in the driver settings - Using the external mouse (or key strokes if no mouse is available), go into the Dell
Touchpad Properties. Go to the Device Select section and enable the touch pad. If already enabled, get the latest driver from Dell
support site.
3 Test the device in Dell ePSA Diagnostics - To eliminate a potential software problem, run the Dell ePSA Diagnostics and test the
device here.
4 Check for mechanical problems - As a last resort, press down on the palm rest where the touch pad connector is located on the
system board. If the pointer reacts in some way, then the cable may just need to be reseated. Otherwise, replace the palm rest.
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