Aspire R14 Touchscreen Problem

alenzie
alenzie Member Posts: 11

Tinkerer
edited February 2018 in Swift and Spin Series
I've had my R14 for about a year and am very happy with it overall, but the touchscreen has started acting up recently. It sometimes goes mad and looks as if a ghost is tapping all over it really fast! If the background was a picture of a lake, you would think it's animated and rain is falling on the water surface. The tap marks appear really fast and all over the screen, but they're more concentrated around the edges. It gets almost impossible to use the keyboard and/or the touchpad as the "taps" cancel every command/click before you can complete it. I have to shut down the laptop manually and power it on again to fix it, but this has been happening more often over the past week and I'm now concerned because the manual reset is affecting my data and my hard disk. Any suggestions?
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Answers

  • Sharanji
    Sharanji ACE Posts: 4,328 Pathfinder
    alenzie 

    Did this happen after recent windows update?
    Also, check if you have installed any new application before this issue?
    I don't think this is a hardware issue with the touch screen since the problem goes away if I restart the PC. 

    Please the below mentioned troubleshooting steps:  
    First do a power reset, Press hold the power button for 10 seconds, disconnect the charger. Insert a paperclip into the hole and press for four seconds to reset the computer. it simulates removing and reinstalling the battery. Connect the charger and power On the device to check the issue.

    You can use the troubleshooting feature of Windows 10 to solve the ghost touch screen issues.  
    Open the press Win + X key to open the Control Panel > Select Troubleshooting > Click Hardware and Sound > Select Hardware and Devices to open a new dialog > Click Next and Windows 10 will detect and repair the problem automatically. 

    Also, try to calibrate the touchscreen. Use shortcut keys Win + X to open the Control Panel > Select the Tablet PC Settings > Choose Calibrate the screen for pen or touch input > Click the button Calibrate > Then click Reset. 

    Post back the results and we will assist you further.

    Hit 'Like' if you find the answer helpful!   
    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!

  • padgett
    padgett ACE Posts: 4,532 Pathfinder
    edited February 2018
    Open Device Manager > Display Adapters. Right click on the adapter and select the Driver tab. Dies it match your display adapter ? If it says "Microsoft" that has been knows to cause odd problems.
  • alenzie
    alenzie Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    Thanks, Sharanji. Troubleshooting didn't show anything and I'd already done the calibration. I'll wait and see if I can find any pattern in when this happens. Will post back then.
  • alenzie
    alenzie Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    Sorry I didn't see your answer there, padgett. The driver is the right one- not a generic Microsoft driver.
  • alenzie
    alenzie Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    Okay, so I'm back...as confused as last time (if not more!) The ghost taps problem persists and there is absolutely no pattern at all. It could happen any time between 5 minutes and 2 hours after powering up, in any position (on a flat table, on my lap, on my chest while I'm lying down!), in both laptop and tablet modes, charging and not charging, when using an app, browsing or just sitting idle...totally random! The only noticeable thing is the ghost taps mostly happen along the two sides of the screen. I have mastered hitting Alt+F4 and Enter in less than a second because that's the only way to shut it down if you don't want to turn it off manually. If you take longer than a second, the random taps cancel out any command/window/mouse movement.

    And guess what! It happened again while I was typing this...to remind me to say that there is no pattern in the frequency either! Sometimes you restart the laptop and it doesn't happen for the rest of the day, sometimes it happens 5 minutes after a restart.

    I'm not too bad with computers myself but HELP! This is getting frustrating.

    p.s. I agree with Sharanji that this is likely NOT a hardware issue.
  • lisarenee
    lisarenee Member Posts: 2 New User
    edited January 2019
    I am having the SAME issue. Often, it is impossible to restart, as the "blinking circle" opens various windows and desktop folders. Using the touch screen to "x" out of a program or file won't always work. It's random too - I can be working and the blinking circles start, or I can be away from the computer for 6+ hours, come back, and a window is open that I didn't open, and the circles are "blinking."  I read somewhere to close the keyboard and reopen it. If I haven't saved my work, I hate to do that. It's been happening for 6 months or so. I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one this happens to, but I'm also not happy that this is happening at all. Any recommendations are appreciated. 
    I have an Acer Aspire V5-573P-9660 Windows 10 Home, Version 1803 
  • lisarenee
    lisarenee Member Posts: 2 New User
    Can I disable the touch screen - and if I do, will it solve this problem? 
    This blinking circle is making it impossible to work, as it starts opening apps and documents and covering my screen in stuff I don't need opened. I have to try and shut it down but can't always get my work saved. Has anyone disabled their screen, and did it stop the ghosting circle problems? Thank you. 
  • dessi
    dessi Member Posts: 3 New User
    I have Acer aspire R14 laptop running Windows 10. I've had this machine for about 8 months now and have loved it.
    Over the last while now I've had an issue where I suddenly lose control of the mouse - the cursor starts jumping all over opening random things. I get the grey circles as when one touches the screen except they're popping up all over the place. I'll immediately shut everything down. When I reboot it doesn't show itself right off but eventually it returns. help plse???
  • Nicki
    Nicki Member Posts: 4 New User
    I'm having the same issue.  It started about 8 months ago and it didn't really impact on the work I was doing at the time.  But lately, it's going crazy to the point that I struggle to turn it off.  I was thinking that perhaps it was time to buy a new laptop, I've had this one a couple of years and I love it, but reading the other comments the issue is happening to devices not as old as mine.  Any advice on how to rectify this issue would be much appreciated.
  • Nicki
    Nicki Member Posts: 4 New User
    Just a little update .... no improvement with the previous suggestions, but one thing I have noticed it's always a windows application that goes really nuts .... advice needed as soon as please
  • Nicki
    Nicki Member Posts: 4 New User
    lisarenee said:
    Can I disable the touch screen - and if I do, will it solve this problem? 
    This blinking circle is making it impossible to work, as it starts opening apps and documents and covering my screen in stuff I don't need opened. I have to try and shut it down but can't always get my work saved. Has anyone disabled their screen, and did it stop the ghosting circle problems? Thank you. 
    Hi Lisarenee, did you get to resolve the issue?  I've done everything and now considering disabling the touchscreen
  • Nicki
    Nicki Member Posts: 4 New User
    It got to the point this morning that I couldn't login to my laptop because the 'ghosting' was that bad.  Shut down and reboot.  I've disabled the touch screen in the hope that this is going to sort it out as I can't carry on with how it is .... extremely frustrating and I've also had to delete a number of bookmarks that were created during the ghosting! 
  • JoeCool_IT
    JoeCool_IT Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer
    I have had this issue with the touchscreen going crazy for quite a while.  It's hard to describe (but has been described well here). I call it "puddling", where the touchscreen acts like a ghost is hitting it and the various areas light up as if they were drops hitting a puddle. Every icon that gets "hit" is activated, so programs open and then are activated....very frustrating!  I think the guy at GeekSquad thinks I am nuts. 

    I've found only one thing that correlates with the problem consistently (it's not random).  When I am charging the laptop from scratch (battery died and pc goes black) the issue will occur.  If I plug it in while the PC is running Windows 10 normally and the battery is low....it immediately starts happening.  My way of dealing with this is to shut down the pc and let it fully charge.  Then I disconnect the power adapter, or it will start happening when I boot up. In short it only happens when the laptop is plugged in. It's annoying to say the least.

    My theory is that it has to do with the charging circuit (since it happens when the charger is plugged in.  Also I just bought a new battery to replace the old one and noticed something strange:  The Windows icon that indicates the battery level DID NOT CHANGE when I replaced the battery (which should have been either very low or fully charged)....it was exactly the same charge level of 52%.  This is theoretically impossible. 

    So maybe it's a problem with the chip that does power management (which I presume is on the motherboard)??  I don't think it has to do with a bad LCD display, but may be wrong.  Has anyone replaced a motherboard and fixed this issue??  I am guessing the power circuit is on the motherboard....  Has anyone replaced the Display to fix this issue (that's one theory, but since it happens only when plugged into the charger I think it's at another level.

    Are there on-board diagnostics that I can access to check the functionality of the motherboard?  I know these are a lot of questions but appreciate any feedback from anyone.  I am an EE so have experience with flaky chipsets over the years....and there seems to be a problem ONLY WHEN ITS PLUGGED IN.   Thanks in advance for any feedback!!
  • alenzie
    alenzie Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    Okay, here's my belated update. I actually ended up taking my device back to Acer service in March 2018 and they replaced the touchscreen under warranty. It was fixed and all was well until earlier this month when it started acting up again...exact same issue, but it hasn't got too bad yet. I have a feeling it's a 'crappy hardware' issue, but I'd like to test JoeCool's theory, although it would still remain a 'crappy hardware' issue. Sorry everyone...sounds like we should start saving up for a better laptop.
  • JoeCool_IT
    JoeCool_IT Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer
    The guy at Geeksquad thought it was the touchscreen and I disagreed (I've been troubleshooting longer than his lifetime mind you). I think you may have proved my point Alenzie (sorry it didn't work out for you, though).  I'd love to hear if anyone has replaced the motherboard where I believe the power charging circuitry resides.  Anyone??
  • alenzie
    alenzie Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    JoeCool, you clearly know more than most Geeksquad people (no disrespect to Geeksquad). Last year, I experienced the issue both plugged in and unplugged at different battery charge levels. The fact that the new touchscreen worked hassel-free for about a year tells me it's just bad touchscreen sensors with a one-year lifespan. I'll still try the plugged in/unplugged scenarios and post an update soon.
    About the motherboard issue, it is a possibility, but I don't know anyone would want to bear the cost of replacement given the relatively low price of the device, unless they get it done under warranty.
  • JoeCool_IT
    JoeCool_IT Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer
    Alenzie, My new replacement battery is fully charged at 100% and the problem is not happening  :open_mouth: Usually when I charged my old battery it would happen when it hit 100% every single time....so I haven't seen it happen yet.  I wonder if it's just a bad battery that is causing the surges that I suspect are happening (usually the touchscreen gets brighter as the "puddling" occurs....I thought it was the charging voltage triggering something.  I will post as soon as the problem comes back and will try different scenarios.  So it might be a battery issue (hopefully; it's easy to replace).  Fingers crossed and thank you for posting this problem.  I knew I wasn't crazy (at least with this issue). JoeCool_IT.
  • alenzie
    alenzie Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    Fingers and toes crossed it's the battery, and thank you for the insights and follow-ups. 
  • JoeCool_IT
    JoeCool_IT Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer
    This issue has been driving me crazy too long.  Fingers, toes all crossed and I'd make a sacrifice to the Tech Gods if I knew what would fix it.... I'll post after I've gone through a few battery charge cycles. Good luck to you.
  • JoeCool_IT
    JoeCool_IT Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer
    Everything was fine with the new battery and then I got down to 84% and decided to try charging....WHAM, it's back!!  All sorts of dots on the screen (I call "puddling" since its like watching rain in a puddle).  *****.

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