Thinkpads Forum

Hello everyone.

Got a T440s a week ago. It is a brilliant machine. However there is one issue, that I definitely have (i.e. it is not a single event).

I use trackpoint, and I have problem with the left click. It is seemingly a random, but frequently reoccurring issue. It manifests itself by the click not "going through", sometimes multiple times in a row. I.e. I would click on an element (e.g. a tab), nothing happens, I click again, then again, and again (sometimes multiple times, importantly not breaking contact of the thumb with the pad) - nothing. Then I re-position my thumb (lift, adjust, etc.) and click again - then it happens. Frequency is ca. 1 in a 100 clicks or so, but that's annoying. Middle scroll and right click are flawless.

Tried adjusting the zones in the ultranav utility - no effect. Tried making SURE my thumb is in the correct left zone of the pad - the issue persists, so it's not that I miss the zone.

To sum it up, the issue occurs seemingly randomly and is somehow related to the contact of the thumb with the pad not being recognized by the system.

Is there anyone that has the same issue? Is it me or the laptop? Any advice?

Are you using Windows 8.1? There is a setting in the mouse and touchpad settings "To help prevent the cursor from accidentally moving while you type, turn off taps or change the delay before taps work." Set it to "no delay" and the left click should always work.

85101 wrote:Are you using Windows 8.1? There is a setting in the mouse and touchpad settings "To help prevent the cursor from accidentally moving while you type, turn off taps or change the delay before taps work." Set it to "no delay" and the left click should always work.

Thanks! Found it, it was at medium delay, I changed it to no delay. Will report on how it goes.

Unfortunately, the issue persists. I believe it has something to do with the positioning of the thumb on the pad. In particular, the middle and right click are always pressed with the tip, and the left click with the side of the thumb due to the physiological position of the hand (I'm right-handed). I suspect it decreases the sensitivity of the pad, albeit I do not have any direct proof yet.

Update:

It seems to be somewhat application/task dependent. It shows an awful lot when I try to select folders in explorer, work in MS Word, select items in gmail.

I am almost certain now, that instead of just clicking I have to gently lower my thumb on the pad, then firmly press it. This whole ritual is a lot slower than the physical buttons, as I have to think about EVERY CLICK. Why did Lenovo have to revamp the most awesome pointing device ever?! WHY, WHY, WHY?! I'm not a Thinkpad fanboy, no. I am however very particular about the ergonomics.

Left click issue aside, there are several other problems with the trackpoint design. First, devices with the physical buttons (T400) allowed one to place their palm on the body of the laptop and move literally just the tip of the thumb, whereas here one has to almost hover the whole wrist above the touchpad to avoid clicking it with the base of the palm. It starts to hurt even after several minutes of use. Second, forget about the right-click-left-click navigation mouse gestures.

I am almost certain, that this left click issue is a software problem (some recognition-execution delay), as the touchpad is extremely sensitive as far as gestures are concerned.

Other than this trackpoint issue, the machine is perfect. However, had I known about it - I'm almost convinced at the moment, I wouldn't have bought it.

A question: Which driver version do you use?

The latest driver, 18.0.7.39, has an issue with the left clicking - clicks are often not recognized. If you use this version, try to downgrade to 18.0.7.34: http://drivers.softpedia.com/progDownlo ... 44359.html

Oh, indeed it was 18.0.7.39. I installed 18.0.7.34 according to your recommendation. For a brief few minutes I had it, it indeed seems to have been the culprit. I'll keep you posted.

Yep, it was the driver issue. Have been working for several hours now - not a single missed click. Vielen Dank, Ibthink!

No problem! Es war mir eine Freude helfen zu können.