# Is my new Acer netbook broke? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 7, 2010, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770 "2010-11-07T05:15:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/1 "2010-11-07T05:15:44Z")
More likely, I am just a klutz, as I have no experience with touchpads. Anyway, weird stuff keeps happening: things popping up or closing without any input from me, windows being dragged around when I attempt to move the cursor, arrow keys not working, context menus popping up at random, etc. My best guess is that I’m getting phantom mouse clicks. The beast in question is an Acer Aspire One (AOD255). So, help a brother out? (Especially if you have the same netbook or similar.) ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/2 "2010-11-07T05:55:05Z")
I have an entirely different one, but the problem is in your touchpad driver (probably). Mine can take finger “gestures” on the touchpad and convert them into various mouse actions. Most of the ones on my machine suck and do screwy things. It took me a while to figure out the problem. If you go to your control panel and hunt down something that says touchpad, or similar, you will probably find a control for the “gestures”. Turn off the ones that look stupid (probably most of them) and only leave on the ones that make sense. Hope that helps. If not, you will have to wait for someone with the same brand to help. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/3 "2010-11-07T07:22:08Z")
Mine’s not a netbook (an Aspire 5534), but I had several of the same issues because I can’t seem to lighten up my touch enough. Here’s how I solved it:[ul] [li]Control Panel[/li][li]Mouse[/li][li]Device Settings[/li][li]Settings…[/li][li]Tapping[/li][li]Uncheck Enable Tapping[/li][/ul]There’s no guarantee that you have the same touchpad driver (Synaptic TouchPad), but if you hunt around you should find something similar. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/4 "2010-11-07T07:51:17Z")
I’d start with what **Cheshire Human** and **OttoDaFe** have suggested; but if none of their suggestions work, I’d check if one of the Ctrl/Alt/Shift keys is “stuck” (causing, e.g., every click - drag - release sequence to be modified to “SHIFT-click - drag - release”) Also, if you just bought a new computer, most likely you’re the one who’s “broke,” not it… 😃 (yeah, I’m nitpicking “broke” instead of “broken,” but only because I can get a snappy one-liner out of it :)) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/5 "2010-11-07T16:58:08Z")
Sounds more like (unfortunately) a hardware failure related to the touchpad input than anything else. If a nuke then OS re-install won’t solve the issue I’d get to service while it’s still in waranty. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/6 "2010-11-07T19:42:48Z")
Can’t hellp you but lending moral support. I’ve got an Aspire “Blue” Aspire 7540, bought just a few months ago. My Gawd, if I didn’t need it so bad right now, I’d send it back. Some of the same problems you describe plus more. Volume icon pops up for no reason and sound goes to max. If my thumb brushes the touchpad while browsing it’s like hitting the back button. I have to mash some of the keys to type. I miss my Acer 5000, which was great. What happened Acer? P.S. for the Arrow keys try turning off and on the Num Lock( even if you had it off already), sometimes that works. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/7 "2010-11-07T19:47:00Z")
> [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](#): > > Can’t hellp you but lending moral support. I’ve got an Aspire “Blue” Aspire 7540, bought just a few months ago. My Gawd, if I didn’t need it so bad right now, I’d send it back. Some of the same problems you describe plus more. Volume icon pops up for no reason and sound goes to max. If my thumb brushes the touchpad while browsing it’s like hitting the back button. I have to mash some of the keys to type. I miss my Acer 5000, which was great. What happened Acer? > > P.S. for the Arrow keys try turning off and on the Num Lock( even if you had it off already), sometimes that works. Acer has had some serious track-pad reliability issues across their line, but no real smoking guns as to the cause. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/8 "2010-11-07T19:48:16Z")
Yeah, I’ve noted the issue with the volume control on Acer forums lately also with other users. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/9 "2010-11-07T20:56:05Z")
Odd. I have an Acer Aspire One. For about 1.5 years. It has been wonderful. Fantastic little machine. Perhaps I got lucky. I did have one problem with it though. It would not boot. No way now how, no power or blue sceen. Nothing. The Acer has a Multi-Media port on the lower right of the machine. There is a blank in there. Push, click in click out. When mine would not boot, I was looking at everything, and removed and replaced the multi-media blank. Fired right up. It has been great ever since. Worth a shot I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/10 "2010-11-07T21:28:56Z")
You could search for updated mouse/touchpad drivers. I had to do that for a new (Dell) laptop. Do you have a USB mouse, or are you only using the built-in touchpad? If you’re using a USB mouse, make sure the touchpad is disabled (that’s why I needed to get updated drivers, myself). If you’re using the touchpad, can you see if a USB mouse has the same problems? ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/11 "2010-11-07T21:53:35Z")
> [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](#): > > Yeah, I’ve noted the issue with the volume control on Acer forums lately also with other users. Got link? I couldn’t find forums on the Acer site. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/12 "2010-11-07T23:17:54Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > Got link? I couldn’t find forums on the Acer site. I think they were non-official sites, actually. Sorry, should have specfied. Been a while since I looked, and I don’t remember any real solutions, but a quick check just now yielded (not an Acer site) : [http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/laptop-support/480771-acer-aspire-7540-1317-volume-control.html](http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/laptop-support/480771-acer-aspire-7540-1317-volume-control.html) I am trying the solution on the page now,although the OP there says it didn’t work: Originally Posted by… Hi, I had the same on mine. Right click on the speaker icon, click playback devices, click communications, set option to “do nothing” ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/13 "2010-12-09T08:19:29Z")
The most recent Acer suggestion is that I somehow, in just a few weeks of ownerage, picked up a virus. I’m supposed to do a wipe and reinstall. I don’t get the phantom clicks if I turn off “taps”. Is this a hardware issue I should bitch about until I get some attention? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/14 "2010-12-09T12:27:31Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > I don’t get the phantom clicks if I turn off “taps”. Is this a hardware issue I should bitch about until I get some attention? Doesn’t sound like a hardware issue, sounds like you found the issue. “Tap to click” sensitivities vary wildly between manufacturers and models, so while you may think you’re doing a very light touch to just move the cursor, the trackpad sees “strong tap must click here!” ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/15 "2010-12-09T14:07:52Z")
I’ve had much the same problem with my Dell (mostly cursor jumping randomly, which can get _really_ old). [TouchFreeze](http://lifehacker.com/5412986/touchfreeze-disables-your-touchpad-as-soon-as-you-start-typing) did help somewhat. It’s worth a shot. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/16 "2010-12-09T16:12:06Z")
If your netbook has Win 7, and if you are using a wireless mouse, try switching to a USB mouse that plugs into the netbook. I have an Acer laptop that had similar problems until I switched the mouse. Let us know if that works. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/17 "2010-12-10T02:05:10Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Doesn’t sound like a hardware issue, sounds like you found the issue. “Tap to click” sensitivities vary wildly between manufacturers and models, so while you may think you’re doing a very light touch to just move the cursor, the trackpad sees “strong tap must click here!” And this is why I always turn off tap-to-click. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/18 "2010-12-10T02:17:26Z")
It’s Winter so I’m going with a static field buildup. wipe your hand over it flat a couple of times. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/19 "2010-12-11T03:08:18Z")
> [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](#): > > If your netbook has Win 7, and if you are using a wireless mouse, try switching to a USB mouse that plugs into the netbook. I have an Acer laptop that had similar problems until I switched the mouse. > > Let us know if that works. I haven’t used a mouse with it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770/20 "2010-12-11T13:18:07Z")
After rereading your opening thread it sounds like you have a stuck key. Try vacuuming it out well and shaking it upside down. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-new-acer-netbook-broke/559770.md?page=2)