Touchpad not working on Dell XPS L501x

Question

I just installed Ubuntu 11.10 (64 bit) and my touchpad is dead. Some ideas?

Answer 1

Because it is not working only in Gnome 3 and Unity 3D, you can fix it like this :

• Install dconf-tools
• Launch it dconf-editor
• Search for: /org/gnome/settings-daemon/peripherals/touchpad/
• Check "touchpad-enabled"

Answer 2

Here is the trick :

sudo modprobe -r psmouse
sudo modprobe psmouse proto=imps

Answer 3

This worked for me:

System Settings > Mouse and Touchpad > Touchpad

in section General uncheck 'Disable touchpad while typing'. Restart.

Answer 4

I found this link with a solution for the same problem when I was troubleshooting another synaptics touchpad problem:

• Dell XPS touchpad not working in Ubuntu

Answer 5

I had the same issue right after upgrading to 11.10 on my Dell Inspiron. What I did was install Synaptiks touchpad management from the Ubuntu Software center, logged out, then logged back in. Now my touchpad is working well.

Answer 6

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/804109

Comment #32 contains a fix for Elantech touchpads. Check if your dell has one.

Answer 7

It appears something political happened, but either way the touchpads have technically changed brand.

To fix:

1. edit the file /etc/acpi/asus-touchpad.sh (you'll probably need sudo)
2. change the following line:

XINPUTNUM=`xinput list | grep 'SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad' | sed -n -e's/.*id=\([0-9]\+\).*/\1/p'`

to:

XINPUTNUM=`xinput list | grep 'ETPS/2 Elantech Touchpad' | sed -n -e's/.*id=\([0-9]\+\).*/\1/p'`

Source: This question was posed here on launchpad.net, and the solution is on this post.

Answer 8

I had the same problem on an XPS17 L702x. Its pretty simple to fix, just disable the flag to 'Disable touchpad while typing'. There are more tunable things you may be interested in to get your XPS all working sweetly. All the information is here...

http://www.cmdematos.com/2011/10/ubuntu-1110-oneric-on-dell-xps17-l702x.html