Lenovo SimpleTap and MultiTouch topics

[#1]

I have a T400s with the MT screen, running a clean installed Win 7 32-bit and all latest Lenovo drivers/BIOS.

I use external screen/keyboard/mouse at work so I am used to have the lid closed. I set in power management in the way that closing the lid does not do anything (e.g., sleep or hibernate).

The problem is: when the lid is fully closed and external mouse is used, the mouse cursor randomly moves and clicks. When random clicks happen, I can see the finger-tap animation near the cursor on the external screen, suggesting that the MT screen receives input even when the lid is closed! It might be heat from the palm rest/keyboard area causing fake taps.

Leaving the lid slightly open (like 15 degrees) solves this problem.

EDIT 1: another clue of the above problem is that while the lid is closed, Windows 7's tablet input panel shows up on the left edge, which typically appears after a tap or a tablet pen gets close to the screen. I also noticed that the random clicks take place near the right edge of the screen.

[#2]

interesting discovery!   thanks for sharing.

i'll have to test this on my X200T to see if it does the same thing.

[#3]

@ wesleyyin,

certainly strange. Some questions to help with the diagnostics;

Which TrackPoint cap you you have on your keyboard, soft domed, soft rim or classic domed (the hairy one)?

Can you try disabling the TrackPoint to see the problem goes away?

Anything else laid on top of the system or between screen and keyboard like a thin cloth or something?

Thanks

[#4]

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andyP wrote:

@ wesleyyin,

certainly strange. Some questions to help with the diagnostics;

Which TrackPoint cap you you have on your keyboard, soft domed, soft rim or classic domed (the hairy one)?

Can you try disabling the TrackPoint to see the problem goes away?

Anything else laid on top of the system or between screen and keyboard like a thin cloth or something?

Thanks

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After I disabled both the trackpoint and touchpad from BIOS, the problem still exists. See the Youtube video. In the video, I connected my T400s to an external monitor through a Lenovo mini-dock and its DVI port. The same problem arises on my other Samsung monitor connected to the T400s displayport (with a displayport -> DVI connector).

I am not sure how to answer your question on the type of trackpoint. The one on the T400s comes original from factory. I tested tapping the screen using the two sparse trackpoint heads, and the screen did not respond to the taps. Since the ghost taps can happen at random places (correcting my previous claim "near the right edge"), the problem does not seem to be related to the trackpoint.

[#5]

thanks for the video.   that helps a lot.

i'm not sure if this is an isolated incident or if it can be replicated across MT T400s systems or if it happens on the EMT X200T.   some investigation is definitely needed here.

[#6]

Wesley,

This is being looked into - thanks for the feedback!  Very helpful.

Best regards,

Mark

[#7]

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Mark_Lenovo wrote:

Wesley,

This is being looked into - thanks for the feedback!  Very helpful.

Best regards,

Mark

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Thanks. Hopefully, the problem is specific to certain units only.

My T400s unit with the problem is being fixed in the US. I expect to receive the fixed unit this coming Wednesday. If the problem is solved, it will say so here.

[#8]

My T400s sent for fix just came back. The system board, palm rest, and fan were replaced. (Note that I also reported a noise problem). Unfortunately, the ghost tapping problem persists.

Here is a new method to discover ghost taps, without the need of an external monitor. Open Windows' Paint program, close the lid, and wait for 5 minutes. Make sure the laptop does not sleep or hibernate. Then, open it up and look for pen strokes. I just did the test and saw strokes near the top-right corner of the screen. That's the place kisses the "ThinkPad" sign on the palm rest when the lid is closed.

Ghost taps are kinda dangerous for my unsaved work. I hope a solution be found by the lenovo technicians.

[#9 · Accepted solution]

The ghost tapping problem is a software issue, not a hardware issue.  The software is not filtering out noise/interference correctly.  A software update should be available for this issue soon - it is currently being tested internally at Lenovo (sorry I don't have an exact date for the release).

[#10]

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someotherguy wrote:

The ghost tapping problem is a software issue, not a hardware issue.  The software is not filtering out noise/interference correctly.  A software update should be available for this issue soon - it is currently being tested internally at Lenovo (sorry I don't have an exact date for the release).

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The new driver from you works fine. No more ghost taps have been seen. Thank you very much for the superb work.