A graphic designer reports that the cursor on a laptop jumps unpredictably when they use the built-in trackpad, yet an external USB mouse moves smoothly. There is no sign of physical damage to the trackpad itself. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the erratic cursor behavior?
The trackpad needs recalibration for sensitivity.
There is moisture or dirt on the trackpad surface.
Touch-based features must be disabled in the OS settings.
Capacitive trackpads detect very small changes in an electrostatic field. A thin film of moisture, sweat, or dirt can register as additional touches, so the pointer appears to jump or drift. Cleaning and drying the pad usually restores normal tracking.
Out-of-date or corrupted drivers can also cause touchpad-only problems, but those issues usually appear after an operating-system or driver update and are less common than surface contamination. Re-calibrating sensitivity or disabling multi-touch features affects how intentional input is interpreted, not the phantom touches produced by contaminants.
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How does a capacitive trackpad detect input?
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Why does moisture or dirt cause erratic cursor behavior on a trackpad?
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What are the typical signs of out-of-date or corrupted trackpad drivers?