Wandering Synaptics Cursor Redux
I get googled fairly regularly on the topic of the Dell Inspiron Wandering Touchpad Cursor, which I wrote about last spring, so I thought I’d add an update. This seems to be something that happens fairly regularly with this model of laptop - the cursor starts migrating across the screen by itself, and often heads off into a corner and you can’t coax it back.
Turns out this is a hardware flaw and is fixed by having a circuit board replaced under the wrist rests. Dell support will have you reinstall drivers and do all kinds of software calisthenics, but in the end you need a visit from a tech.
I bring this up because I just had to have mine replaced again. I had it fixed in the spring and it was fine for a few months, but the little bugger started its peregrinations again in September. I only have 40 or so days left on my 3-year warranty (ALWAYS purchase these warranties from Dell. I’ve had this cursor thing fixed twice, and had my screen replaced once, too). I’m not really that rough on my laptop, but I do carry it with me everywhere, and I guess that’s just a hazard of laptop ownership.
