Thinkpads Forum

Hello,
I registrated here to ask for help in my issue.
I recently bought a Thinkpad X121e, the i3 version, with 4 gigs of ram, which I upgraded to 8 (got them from the online store for free with the laptop)
It came without an OS, so I put Ubuntu 12.04 LTS on it.

So here is the problem: the cursor is constantly drifting to the upper right corner. It doesn't matter wether or not I touched it or not.
Normally it doesn't move at all when I just started the pc, then it starts slowly creeping and then gets faster and faster.
It isn't just drifting for some inches and then stops, it just constantly goes up, even if I leave it there for half an hour or more.

When I put the ThinkPad into hibernate and then "wake" it back up again, it goes back to just move slow or, for some minutes, not move for once.

I don't know if that is an issue with Linux or if it is just plain up broken. I am searching for over a week now and haven't found anything satisfying yet.

Sorry if my language is a bit off, but it is not my native, so yeah

Best Rergards,
DerMarc42

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

It sounds like your trackpoint is broken. Normally the pressure sensor is supposed to reset itself ("auto calibrate") after a few seconds. Most likely you will have to replace the keyboard as it's not easy (or sometimes possible) to replace just the trackpoint assembly by itself. There is a small chance that something is pushing the trackpoint cap so you may want to remove it and clean the area around the trackpoint stub and surrounding keys.

Thanks for the answer.

I removed the cap, but it is clean.
Does the support work over Lenovo or over the website I bought it?
And also, as said, I upgraded the thing, do I have to take out the extra RAM before I send it in?

If the laptop is still under warranty, you might be able to sent it to Lenovo for repair. You can check on the warranty status here:

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/product ... fault.page? (US page)
http://support.lenovo.com/de_DE/product ... fault.page? (German version)

You will need to enter the model type and serial number. It will then report if the laptop is still covered.

When sending in your laptop for repairs it is recommended that you remove everything that is not part of the problem. In this case, I would take out the battery, hard drive, memory and any other easily removable card. I believe that the problem is either with the keyboard or the motherboard. Also, take pictures of the laptop

That said, there is an alternative solution. You can buy a keyboard and replace it yourself. The Hardware Maintenance Manual has all of the details about taking the system apart. The version for X121e is here:

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloa ... D=UM007821

So I contacted support now, and they said they will send me a new keyboard, which I have to build in myself.
I don't mind doing it, so it's alright.

Thanks for the help

So, now built in the new keyboard and everything seems to be fine and working now, thank you for the help.

€: how to mark the topic as solved?

"how to mark the topic as solved?"

Click on Edit at the bottom of your original post and add 'SOLVED' in the post subject line. You can also lock your own posts, but I wouldn't lock just in case another Forum member has a similar issue and wants to tag onto your original post.

Glad your issue is now fixed