Dell XPS M1530 Linux Touchpad Problems

Many of you might have experienced the “highly hyper” behaviour of the touchpad while working on Linux on Dell XPS M1530. It seems there is a configuration problem for the touchpad.

Here, I rectify the touchpad problem in Ubuntu. The same solution can be used for other Linux distributions too.

1) Open the boot file: /boot/grub/menu.lst
Command Line Interface:
sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst
[sudo] password for username:

Graphical User Interface:
Press ALT + F2
Enter: gksu gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst
Enter the root password when asked.

2) Change the following line:
Before:
# defoptions = quiet splash

After:
# defoptions = quiet splash i8042.nomux=1

3) Run this command in a terminal (Accessories > Terminal)
# sudo update-grub
# [sudo] password for xxxx:

4) Restart the machine …. DONE!

For other distributions, instead of # defoptions, you might have to edit the kernel boot line.

Linux vs. Dell XPS M1530

I have been trying since 5 months to install Linux on my Dell XPS M1530. I have tried around 4-5 distros, but the touchpad created a hell lot of problems (though I am an all-keyboard type person). Finally, yesterday, I was able to get my touchpad work properly.

Configuration of my Dell:
- 2.1 GHz Intel Core2Duo Processor T8100
- 4 GB RAM
- 8600 GTx NVidia GeForce Graphics Card
- etc, etc, etc …

The Distros I used:
- Fedora Core 9
- Suse 10.2
- Mandriva
- CentOS
- Ubuntu (finally using this one)

Steps:
- Open the file /boot/grub/menu.lst in admin previledges, you can do this using and editor
——- ALT + F2
——- Type /boot/grub/menu.lst
——- Enter the root password (if asked)

- The file will be opened in an editor. You need to change a particular line in there
—– Before: # defoptions = quiet splash
—– After: # defoptions = quiet splash i8024.nomux=1

- Another thing that needs to be done is the following command to be executed in the terminal
—– sudo update-grub
—– password for xxxx: root password

Restart the machine.

This worked for me. Hopefully it would work for all out there.

Would like to thank this post and the writer:
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/34253

You can also check this link:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/InstallingUbuntuOnADellXPSM1530

Cheers