Strange touchpad behavior after Windows reboots to Linux (1005ha)

[ryokimball]

I've noticed a strange issue with the touchpad in my 1005ha netbook.
I have a dual-boot environment set up between Linux and WinXP. Whenever I am in Windows, reboot and go into Linux, then touch two points on the touchpad (like doing a two-finger scroll) the cursor goes haywire, flying every which way. It may possibly occasionally click, too (text and such occasionally is highlighted, as if it's being click and dragged) but I believe this is more the result of an interpreted double-tap-then-hold (which is equivalent to click-hold-and-drag).
This is not really a problem since I rarely go into Windows anyway, but I figure it's worth mentioning. If you have any ideas, I am willing to experiment to find a solution.

[Rubberman]

It's possible that there is some configuration information left in flash memory that is confusing Linux. Try a hard reset of the system after shutting down Windows to see. IE, shut down system, remove battery, unplug external power, hold power-on button/switch for at least 15 seconds. Then, reinstall battery and power up normally.

[ryokimball]

If I understand you right, that's unnecessary. If I shut Windows down (either by pressing the button, or selecting "shut down" --even a cold boot) and turn it back on into Linux, it works fine. It only happens when I 'reboot' from Windows.

[Rubberman]

If I understand you right, that's unnecessary. If I shut Windows down (either by pressing the button, or selecting "shut down" --even a cold boot) and turn it back on into Linux, it works fine. It only happens when I 'reboot' from Windows.

That just reinforces my opinion that it is cruft left in memory between reboots, which is erased when you do a cold reboot. In any case, stuff left in flash will persevere even on a full shutdown/reboot. Since that is not your situation, then it is in volatile memory. However, Linux is still seeing that and getting "confused" as a result. So, my recommendation is that you do a full shutdown and reboot when switching between Windows and Linux. Generally, I always run Linux and if I need Windows I run that in a VirtualBox VM on the Linux host. Less trouble, at least for me!

[ryokimball]

I admit that i have not really tried running a VM of any sort on my netbook... I don't think I want to try, though :P It's only there so I can play Morrowind, after all, so I'm probably better off just remembering to shut it down. Thanks

[Rubberman]

I run XP on my Dell laptop. I give it 2GB or the 4GB RAM the system has, and 1 core (it's a dual core system), so it runs just fine, and Linux is still snappy. There are a couple of applications that I use that need to run natively on Windows, so this gives me that option, without needing to reboot the system.