Touchpad and some keys not working due to static electric shock

Bob_O

Here's an unusual problem -- maybe someone can shed light on this, and (especially) any thoughts toward fixing the problem would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

Yesterday, I touched my ACER Aspire 1830T series netbook (Windows 7, 32-bit) and got a small shock from static electrity -- nothing major, just the same as happens when you touch anything with metal (especially in winter, right?). However, it has caused some problems:

 

1. First it caused my netbook to do a hard shut down. 

2. Once I rebooted the system, the touchpad wasn't working. 

 

To regain functionality in the touchpad, I've tried the following so far:

 

• Fn + F7 (toggle to turn touchpad on/off) -- THIS DID NOT WORK.
• Restart -- THIS DID NOT WORK.
• Use a wireless mouse -- fortunately, THIS WORKs.

3. I was just about to try reinstalling the touchpad driver when I noticed that some of the other normal keys have lost some functinality. For example, I can no longer hold down the backspace or the arrow keys for continuous function -- they only move one space at a time, so I have to sit there tapping them over and over. 

 

So far, I haven't noticed any problems with corrupted files or programs, so maybe it's more of a hardware issue than a driver/software issue.  Is it possible for static electricity to burn up a wire or something?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. This baby is only a couple months out of warranty...

 

Many thanks!

brummyfan2

Try disconnecting the mains, remove the battery and press power button for 20-30 secs, rest it for a while and try switching on again, I'm not sure whether it will resolve but worth a shot.

brummyfan2

Try re-installing Acer Launch Manger and see whether it helps.

Bob_O

Thanks. Can you tell me where I can find the Acer LaunchManager to download? I can't find it on the Acer site and don't trust other websites. (Someone else asked the same questin in this forum a year ago in April, but apparently got no answer.)

brummyfan2

Go to Acer Support,find under "Application" tab.

http://www.acer.co.uk/ac/en/GB/content/drivers

Bob_O

Ah! that's great -- I was looking in the Drivers tab the first time.

 

So, I've reinstalled the Acer LaunchManager, and......

 

Unfortunately it doesn't solve the problem:

• touchpad still doesn't work;
• keys still only single-press.

Any other thoughts out there? Brainstorming's always good. All ideas are welcome.

 

Thanks,

brummyfan2

Try disconnecting the mains, remove the battery and press power button for 20-30 secs, rest it for a while and try switching on again, I'm not sure whether it will resolve but worth a shot.

Bob_O

Thanks, brummyfan2 -- it WORKED!

 

And just in time, too -- I was just starting to get grumpy about having to use the mouse ALL the time!  :-)

 

Kudos to you!

brummyfan2

Great news, Thanks for the feed back and kudos, I'm glad for you.