G53SX touchpad problems

[thedogy]

Hi guys, the main problem with my G53sx is the touchpad. the cursor hops around all the time. sometimes its really bad, sometimes not so bad. its unresponsive as well. ive tried diferent drivers, synaptics etc, and that, fixes it, but then starts going weird again.

is there a fix for this ? anyone had the same problems, and how did you overcome it ??

its really annoying me. Ive tried reinstalling windows, updating bios. hasnt helped.

[Zygomorphic]

Not to be insenstive, but why are you using the touchpad? As this is a gaming machine, I would assume that most people would have an external mouse. However, I have the same problems too, and it recurs under LINUX, which indicates that it may be a hardware problem. One thing to keep in mind is that the touchpad is extremely sensitive to palm brushes, and it interprets them as gestures. I have turned off tap-to-click, and that helps a good deal, but it still occassionally occurs, which is slightly disconcerting. It occured twice as I was writing this review, and I know that tap-to-click is turned off--just checked.

I wish ASUS would stick to what they do best--great performance hardware at great prices. Leave Apple to do what Apple does best--great gimmicks at greatly inflated prices. The gestures are a waste on a machine whose owners almost certainly own--and use--an external mouse.

[thedogy]

well yeah i use a mouse most the time, but i still use the touchpad sometimes.

so what drivers have you got installed ? does your cursor hop around sometimes ?

[Zygomorphic]

I run the default drivers, as I have not had the issue be too severe--still frequent enough to be exasperating. I think part of it is brushing the palm on the trackpad. My cursor does hop around sometimes, under both Windows and LINUX, which is surprising. Usually, software problems are one or the other. That leaves two options:
1) Hardware flaw: The trackpad has a defect in its sensitivity--doubtful
2) User flaw: The user is touching the touchpad without meaning to.

[BrodyBoy]

Hi guys, the main problem with my G53sx is the touchpad. the cursor hops around all the time. sometimes its really bad, sometimes not so bad. its unresponsive as well. ive tried diferent drivers, synaptics etc, and that, fixes it, but then starts going weird again.

is there a fix for this ? anyone had the same problems, and how did you overcome it ??

its really annoying me. Ive tried reinstalling windows, updating bios. hasnt helped.

It's sounding like you may have a hardware issue. The G-series notebooks use a piece of foil-tape to ground the touchpad, making it more vulnerable to failure than the rigid-metal ground used in many other models.

In a few reported cases, owners have been able to disassemble their machines, re-ground the touchpad, and restore normal operation. In most cases, though, once the TP has failed this way, it's permanently damaged.

Are you still within your retailer's return window, by any chance? If so, I'd highly recommend you simply return that G53 as defective and get a different unit. If return/exchange is not an option, the only other real solutions to this are sending it in to Asus for repair, or buying a new TP and replacing it yourself.

[BrodyBoy]

The gestures are a waste on a machine whose owners almost certainly own--and use--an external mouse.

I think that assumption is incorrect.....many if not most G-series owners on this forum do use their touchpads.

It's a basic I/O device, and whatever marketing name gets attached to a notebook ("business," "multimedia," "gaming," "ultra-portable," etc....), a touchpad is instrinsic to the notebook form factor. It should be expected to work properly in any model, just like the keyboard, display, and speakers should be expected to work.

[thedogy]

i dont think the warrenty will work as i bought it overseas.

Would sending it off to asus for repairs cost me much, and would it actually solve anything ??

It sounds ilke replacing the touch pad with something better is the best option. can you recommend a replacement touchpad and how i would get one? and are they hard to replace ?

Thanks.

[Zygomorphic]

It would be difficult to replace, as the ASUS G53SX is quite hard to disassemble. Basically, it involved
1) taking off the keyboard (look for the little slots above the keyboard,
2) Removing a screw in the botoom right corner below the keyboard,
3) Pushing the slider in the bottom right corner over to the left--difficult.
4) Lifting out the touchpad/palm rest area.

A better set of instructions can be found in the ASUS manual.

[thedogy]

sounds easy eough. I should have a problem with that. assuming the replacement would just involved unplugging then plugging into the new one lol.
THe big thing is that if i can conclude that software wont fix the touchpad problems, then putting a whole new touchpad is the way to go. and from what you guys have said, this is correct.

[Zygomorphic]

From what I remember, there is a ribbon cable connecting the touchpad to the motherboard. Be careful when lifting the palm-rest out, the ribbon cable isn't very long.

Good luck!