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BELIEVE ME PLEASE. I've seen questions in forums like "How much does a software weigh?" and i hope this question will not be mocked like that :(

But when I plug in my external hard disk 1TB Sandisk, external power in my laptop Ubuntu 12.04 LTS desktop... 64-BIT... Dell latitude E6520 my touch-pad becomes pretty inactive. When I remove it, it acts normal.

Driver problems? Please guide.. let me know if u need any logs/specifications more...

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  • Are you using USB?
    – Mitch
    Jun 30, 2012 at 17:39
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    Yes, if the disk and the touchpad share a USB bus then the disk may be pulling too much power. If you can, try connecting the disk via a powered USB hub.
    – Mike Scott
    Jun 30, 2012 at 17:52
  • Genius.. figured out that i'm using a 1.5A adapter instead of 2.0A adapter. Maybe if i use a 2.0, the drive will get enough power and wont suck up the touchpad's power.
    – raj
    Jun 30, 2012 at 18:01

2 Answers 2

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I had the same problem, and solved it by replacing my enclosure's power cord.

I had to get my hard drive put into another enclosure, when I plugged it into my laptop, the touchpad went all funny. However upon changing the power cord (whole thing), the problem went away.

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  • Why would this be downvoted? An incorrect voltage from a power cord defect can propagate to the USB controller.
    – nanofarad
    Dec 30, 2012 at 23:05
  • @ObsessiveSSOℲ The original looked like a spontaneous comment, so I down-voted it. I've reversed that now that it's helpful. Jan 2, 2013 at 17:46
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This might sound crazy, but try it. I don't have a laptop handy, but try this. See if there is a setting in your TouchPad that says something like disable the TouchPad when external USB pointing device is attached. If the box is checked then uncheck it, and see if it has had any effect when you connect the HDD.

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