Mouse function of trackpad on 13" macbook pro is no longer working. The trackpad is working fine as I can move the pointer around as normal, but I cannot click on anything. The mouse will physically click, but it will not register.

Question

Hello,
My mouse function of the trackpad is no longer registering clicks. The trackpad seems to be normal as I can scroll the arrow around as normal, but I cannot click on anything. I hooked up a logitech usb wireless mouse, and it works fine, so I am assuming it is a hardware problem. Are there any simple solutions, or will I need to replace the trackpad? Thank you very much.

Answer 1

Conclusion: I had an unresponsive trackpad key in addition to other strange user-interface issues. Although I did several things before solving the problem, it may well be that using the installation disk to run disk repair was the essential cure.
Detailed history: On 3/2/12 I set off for work with my Macbook Air (first generation) in closed-cover sleep mode. When I opened it and tried to select a menu item, I notice that the mouse-point draws rectangular regions on the desktop. Moreover, though I am able to open menus, I could not select menu items because the click key (on the first generation MBA's they still have trackpad keys) does not work. At this time, I recall that even attaching a mouse did not seem to work. Since I was at work I used another computer to go onto the internet print out Apple's shortcut-key dictionary (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343) that allowed me to navigate and select things without my trackpad. Particularly helpful were the following shortcut keys:
'Control-Function-F2' --selects the Finder menu
'Tab' --allows you to hop to the adjacent menu header
'option-o' --opens selected items
'option-w' --closes an open window
This mouse-less navigation was critical for being able to use the internet when I went home from the office. I then began a little online research about my problem. I found nothing that seemed to fit my particular symptom, although I did glean the usual prescriptive advice about safe-mode startup, disk repair, and resetting the PRAM (see http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417).  Note that I did each of these without consulting the official procedure in the forgoing link.
Without mouse-like navigation, I was unable to run the disk repair from the disk utility because the navigation shortcut keys don't provide a way to select certain unsupported items in the application window that are critical. I did manage to run a disk repair from the command line at startup using the 'fsck -fy' technique described in the apple support doc (see above). This probably enabled a mouse to now work where it wouldn't before--though I can't be sure--for the next day, I took my laptop into the Apple service desk and the technician hooks a mouse up and to my surprise it works though the trackpad is still ineffective. I even reinstall Snow Leopard which takes several hours. None of the forgoing techniques seems to help (except, perhaps the 'fsck -fy' procedure).
So, as mentioned, I take my laptop to the Genius bar to have it looked at. Since the technician had to remove the mouse to insert his testing gear (my MBA has only one USB port) and could not select anything on the apps windows, he concludes it's a mechanical problem. This was after I suggested that he hook up some sort of USB hub to provide the two ports needed to hook up both a mouse and his test equipment--but what do I know. Unfortunately, I passively listen as he describes that the replacement cost will be $180 for a new top panel with trackpad. Or I could just buy a new mouse for $50. I almost sprung for the panel replacement, but thought I might first do a little research online or just try to get by using a mouse from now on. When I got home, I thought it might be good to now run the disk repair, now that I could use a mouse to select the critical buttons needed to initiate the repair. This apparently did some good, as I now found the trackpad more responsive, though still behaving weird. I then proceeded to update my re-installation of Snow Leopard by initiating the Software update mechanism. This required a very large package for my slow DSL internet connection to handle, so I left my computer on overnight to complete this download. Upon startup, the trackpad key was able to select menu items, however when I selected a file, the file icon would stick to the pointer icon. Not good. What else could I do? I decided to run the disk utility one more time. When I did, some serious errors were spotted and I was told to restart the computer using the original installation disk and choose the disk repair utility from the startup disk. The repairs took place and it showed that the repair was successful. When I rebooted from the hard-drive the trackpad key works perfectly! In hindsight, although I did several things before solving the problem, it may well be that using the installation disk to run disk repair was the essential cure. I will certainly do that first next time I find the trackpad key unresponsive.