Keyboards & Touchpads

[jim]

Well, I've acknowledged that we've been able to reproduce the problem and reported that work toward resolution is underway. This thread is evidence that we're open to any and all problem reports being publicly aired. 

The NB205 is extremely popular and selling very well so, without diminishing any frustration or dissatisfaction of those experiencing the problem at all, the issue would appear to be limited in scope.  How limited or widespread is impossible to say at this point.

It may be difficult to find users in a support forum who are having no problems, since they would then have no reason to visit here.  Of course, I'm hoping to be able to report the resolution sooner rather than later.

Jim

[Commuter]

Not that this stream needs to be added to.  But I want to make it clear that my problem has been with typing on  the keyboard, not using the trackpad (I haven't used the track pad enough to notice).  And it happens probably at least once on average about every 3 or 4 lines of typing.  But again, I'm sure I am not touching the track pad when the cursor jumps up or down (usually) a few lines.  And at times the cursor just stops (and disappears).

So my question is, does the problem that Toshiba is working on also to correct a my problem with the cursor jumping while typing (or should I go ahead and contact Tech Support) 

[writecath]

Hoping that this does not jinx me but I'm no longer having any problems with the mouse jumping around or stuttering when I use it.  I'm followed the directions listed earlier in this thread for "mouse jumps around" and no longer have that issue. ( under control panel, mouse, advanced settings--then made the touchpad LESS sensitive and turned off tapping).

My only issue at the moment is that I do have a little trouble with webpages and the mouse taking me back a couple of pages (which can be a bit irritating). Someone suggested using the up/down arrows to go up and down a webpage and that has helped somewhat.  But I'm getting ready to try the fix someone suggested about loading an earlier version of the alps driver (6.0.302.3) and then deleting the newer version - using the add/remove programs function.  As far as scrolling, I am careful to keep my finger in the  center of the touchpad (away from the edges) and everything works much better! 

Part of some people's issues truly may come from inadvertently touch the touchpad when they type.  (a learning curve type of problem).  I keep the heels of my thumbs and my wrists OFF the keyboard to minimize unwanted touches on the touchpad.

Overall, I am extremely satisfied with this netbook and do not regret my purchase.

[ginsengjin]

I would like to say that I have returned my toshiba nb205 for the asus 1005ha. I thought I can live with this little glitch but after some more thought, I decided that a device which I use a good chunk of everyday shouldn't have this annoyance. Especially when the asus 1005ha has 1.3mp camera, wifi N, and other features for the same price, I decided it was worth the trouble of shipping it back (newegg gave me a free shipping back). I'm not hating on toshiba, but I just found the usability slightly poorer than my expectations for something worth 300+ dollars.

[gups]

Thanks for the note, Jim. I appreciate that you are working towards a resolution and keeping us informed of the progress.

However, I differ with your analysis that the issue is limited in scope. If you search the entire forum for "nb205" this thread is at the top of the list, both in terms of views and posts. The fact that there are 54+ posts on this topic and more than 2000 views in a relatively short period of time is testament that this is indeed a common affliction. Amazon and other e-tailers also have reviewers who have complained of similar symptoms. The bottomline is that there is a trackpad/cursor issue with this model which greatly impedes the basic function of any notebook, viz., smooth text input. If I can't comfortably navigate webpages or type e-mails, a notebook, no matter how state-of-the-art, is practically useless to me.

I will wait till my 30-day return policy for this model is valid, and in the absence of a workable solution, will exchange it for the Asus 1000HE.

[writecath]

"My only issue at the moment is that I do have a little trouble with webpages and the mouse taking me back a couple of pages (which can be a bit irritating). "

Had a breakthrough this afternoon.  Realized that if you touch the top of the touchpad and move your finger to the left--you go back a webpage!   So when I've been getting thrown back webpages when using the scroll bar on the right of the page, I must have been touching the touchpad and not realizing it.  Am going with that anyway.

Am grateful that I'm not having any problems with my Office 2007 word processing program.  I downloaded the trial version and then used my regular activation key  before I deleted the one that came preloaded.  I don't know if having added the extra gig helps keep the cursor from jumping around (once I did the simple adjustments on the touchpad through the control panel).

Sometimes when a program is running in the background (like my virus program updating itself) the mouse will be a little slow to respond--but I have a similar issue with that on my full-size laptop from a different manufacturer.

[jim]

If you're absolutely sure that you're not contacting the touchpad while typing then that's unrelated to the stuttering touchpad symptom and a call to tech support would be in order.

Jim

[Bob4H]

I just bought this netbook for my daughter and she's had limited problems with the touchpad so far.  I reduced the hot areas around the outsides and told her to move the cursor from the middle of the pad and this seemed to help.  She likes the netbook and puts up with it more than I would, but then she also seems to use the mouse a bit too.

When we were looking at the netbook at Best Buy, we noticed the store model had a terrible problem with the touchpad.  From the store we searched the web and reviewed this forum and had concerns about making the purchase.  We decided that we had 14 days to return it.

The store model's problem was that you would move you finger across the touchpad and the cursor would hang about 20% of the time.  Sometimes this would happen twice in a row; other times you could go 6-8 moves without a problem.  When it occured, you would have to wait 5-10 seconds before it would recover and you could move the cursor again.

Anyone else experiencing this, or what specific problem are you seeing?  Has anyone had any luck with a Synaptics driver on this netbook?

Cheers.

[mbannerman]

I notice that when I am viewing web pages and moving the cursor across the page in  L to R or R to L direction horizontally then the web pages can go backwards and forwards. Is  the horizontal scroll bar causing this?

[Defender]

Commuter--your statement on mouse cursor jumping...did you try this guidance to resolve?[previously posted]===

Jumping mouse around error.

Mouse pointer jumps around as you type