Touchpad tap to click was working, now not [Solved]

[MX Live USB User]

I run XFCE MX Linux live USB (PNY USB3) that I set up and remastered on my laptop. I run it as my daily driver on my Dell 3530 i7-8750H with 32GB RAM and run HDMI out to a television. I have used MX like this for years, largely without issue. Last night I was sitting on the couch using using Firefox with my Logitech K400 Plus wireless keyboard (which I do a lot) and when I went to grab it my hand hit a few keys. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something happen on the screen, but I don't know what happened. Immediately after that the tap to click on my wireless keyboard did not work for anything, not just Firefox. I tried rebooting and that didn't work. I am a little upset about that since I am running a live USB that doesn't (or isn't supposed to) save changes upon reboot. Other changes aren't saved.

I know this has happened to me a couple of times in the past and never could figure out how to undo what had happened nor could I find a solution online. I previously gave up and just installed a fresh live MX system and set it all back up again. I have a ton of things customized and do not want to start fresh again.

I seem to recall somewhere in one of the many places to change settings there was a checkbox to enable tap to click, but I can't find it. In the Mouse and Touchpad settings I only have a 'Buttons and Feedback' tab, no Touchpad tab.

I do not want to install any other applications to fix this problem since it was working without needing any other applications. I do not want to use the CLI to change settings in a configuration file as the touch to click was working and changed without opening a config file. I should be able to undo what was done without doing either of these things. Could someone please tell me what keys could have been hit to disable touch to tap and how to enable it again?

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 6.1.0-13-amd64 [6.1.55-1] arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/antiX/vmlinuz quiet splasht nosplash
  Desktop: Xfce v: 4.18.1 tk: Gtk v: 3.24.36 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm v: 4.18.0 vt: 7
    dm: LightDM v: 1.26.0 Distro: MX-23.1_x64 Libretto October 15  2023 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12
    (bookworm)
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Dell product: Precision 3530 v: N/A serial: <superuser required> Chassis:
    type: 10 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Dell model: 0T36NT v: A00 serial: <superuser required> UEFI: Dell v: 1.6.1
    date: 01/11/2019
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 22.0 Wh (100.0%) condition: 22.0/68.0 Wh (32.4%) volts: 8.4 min: 7.6
    model: SMP DELL GD1JP65 type: Li-poly serial: <filter> status: full
  Device-1: hidpp_battery_2 model: Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard K400 Plus serial: <filter>
    charge: 55% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes status: discharging
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i7-8750H bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Coffee Lake gen: core 8 level: v3
    note: check built: 2018 process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0x9E (158) stepping: 0xA (10)
    microcode: 0x96
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 6 tpc: 2 threads: 12 smt: enabled cache: L1: 384 KiB
    desc: d-6x32 KiB; i-6x32 KiB L2: 1.5 MiB desc: 6x256 KiB L3: 9 MiB desc: 1x9 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 844 high: 900 min/max: 800/4100 scaling: driver: intel_pstate
    governor: powersave cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 820 5: 900 6: 829 7: 900 8: 900 9: 800 10: 900
    11: 884 12: 800 bogomips: 52799
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling status: Vulnerable: No microcode
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT vulnerable
  Type: mds status: Vulnerable: Clear CPU buffers attempted, no microcode; SMT vulnerable
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: mmio_stale_data status: Vulnerable: Clear CPU buffers attempted, no microcode; SMT
    vulnerable
  Type: retbleed mitigation: IBRS
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: IBRS, IBPB: conditional, STIBP: conditional, RSB filling,
    PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected
  Type: srbds status: Vulnerable: No microcode
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel CoffeeLake-H GT2 [UHD Graphics 630] vendor: Dell driver: i915 v: kernel
    arch: Gen-9.5 process: Intel 14nm built: 2016-20 ports: active: DP-1 off: eDP-1 empty: DP-2,
    DP-3, HDMI-A-1, HDMI-A-2 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:3e9b class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP107GLM [Quadro P600 Mobile] vendor: Dell driver: N/A alternate: nouveau
    non-free: 530.xx+ status: current (as of 2023-03) arch: Pascal code: GP10x process: TSMC 16nm
    built: 2016-21 pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:1cbc
    class-ID: 0302
  Device-3: Realtek Integrated_Webcam_HD type: USB driver: uvcvideo bus-ID: 1-11:8
    chip-ID: 0bda:58f6 class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 compositor: xfwm v: 4.18.0 driver: X:
    loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915 display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 508x286mm (20.00x11.26") s-diag: 583mm (22.95")
  Monitor-1: DP-1 pos: primary model: Sony TV serial: <filter> built: 2014 res: 1920x1080 hz: 60
    dpi: 55 gamma: 1.2 size: 886x498mm (34.88x19.61") diag: 1016mm (40") ratio: 16:9 modes:
    max: 1920x1080 min: 640x480
  Monitor-2: eDP-1 note: disabled model: LG Display 0x0546 built: 2017 res: 1920x1080 dpi: 142
    gamma: 1.2 size: 344x194mm (13.54x7.64") diag: 395mm (15.5") ratio: 16:9 modes: 1920x1080
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 Mesa 22.3.6 renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 630 (CFL GT2)
    direct-render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
    alternate: snd_soc_skl,snd_sof_pci_intel_cnl bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:a348 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-13-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.0 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH CNVi WiFi driver: iwlwifi v: kernel modules: wl bus-ID: 00:14.3
    chip-ID: 8086:a370 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlan0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Intel Ethernet I219-LM vendor: Dell driver: e1000e v: kernel port: N/A
    bus-ID: 00:1f.6 chip-ID: 8086:15bb class-ID: 0200
  IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel Bluetooth 9460/9560 Jefferson Peak (JfP) type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8
    bus-ID: 1-14:9 chip-ID: 8087:0aaa class-ID: e001
  Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 3 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 3.0 lmp-v: 5.1
    sub-v: 100 hci-v: 5.1 rev: 100
  Info: acl-mtu: 1021:4 sco-mtu: 96:6 link-policy: rswitch sniff link-mode: peripheral accept
    service-classes: rendering, capturing, object transfer, audio, telephony
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 461.92 GiB used: 372.72 GiB (80.7%)
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 type: USB vendor: PNY model: USB 3.2.1 FD size: 461.92 GiB
    block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: N/A serial: <filter> rev: PMAP scheme: MBR
  SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
Partition:
  Message: No partition data found.
Swap:
  Alert: No swap data was found.
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 53.0 C pch: 45.0 C mobo: 47.0 C
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 2326
Repos:
  Packages: 2689 pm: dpkg pkgs: 2648 libs: 1503 tools: apt,apt-get,aptitude,nala,synaptic pm: rpm
    pkgs: 0 pm: flatpak pkgs: 41
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
    2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
    1: deb http://mirrors.rit.edu/mxlinux/mx-packages/mx/repo/ bookworm main non-free
Info:
  Processes: 301 Uptime: 51m wakeups: 15 Memory: 31.13 GiB used: 3.3 GiB (10.6%) Init: SysVinit
  v: 3.06 runlevel: 5 default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 alt: 12
  Client: shell wrapper v: 5.2.15-release inxi: 3.3.26
Boot Mode: UEFI
Video Tweaks:
Detected possible Hybrid Graphics

[CharlesV]

Welcome in.

There is a setting in MX Tweak | Other tab where you can set "Use libinput drivers for touchpad..." Possibly this was triggered.

If you have Touchpad-indicator installed this might have triggered.

And you might also look in Application shortcuts or auto key's and see if there is anything set that might trigger a mouse / touchpad / synaptics app that you might have hit.

[j2mcgreg]

Welcome in.

There is a setting in MX Tweak | Other tab where you can set "Use libinput drivers for touchpad..." Possibly this was triggered.

If you have Touchpad-indicator installed this might have triggered.

And you might also look in Application shortcuts or auto key's and see if there is anything set that might trigger a mouse / touchpad / synaptics app that you might have hit.

I'll add to this that you should also look in your owner's manual to see if there is a key combo that works as a touchpad switch.

[dolphin_oracle]

fyi libinput is default on mx23.1

I have that same keyboard/touchpad combo, and can confirm the xfce mouse settings don't show the touchpad tab for it.

but I also don't know of a keyboard combo that will disable the touchpad clicking. not saying there isn't one, just don't know what it is.

mouse settings are stored in the home folder, so if that is preserved such settings would also be preserved.

there is a libinput.conf file under /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d that should enable touch-to-click by default.

[Charlie Brown]

Although it was the same after a reboot and it's not set to save the changes: Create a new user with 2 clicks ("MX User Manager"), logout, then login with that and see how it's there.

[MX Live USB User]

Thank you for such quick responses! I'm sorry I failed to list more things that I have tried. I didn't have Touchpad-indicator installed and did install it last night (against my will). I verified it was enabled and checked the preferences. It didn't solve it.

I don't see anything for keyboard shortcuts to cause this.

I don't have an owner's manual as I purchased this Dell used. I can't imagine that being the issue as I would think it is operating system dependant.

Regarding MX Tweak | Other tab where you can set "Use libinput drivers for touchpad..."
I don't see 'Use libinput drivers for touchpad...' there, however I have 'Use Intel driver instead of default "modesetting" driver' which is unchecked.

This is what is in the libinput.conf file:
It has:
Section "InputClass"
Identifier "touchpad"
Driver "libinput"
MatchIsTouchpad "on"
Option "Tapping" "on"
EndSection

Regarding creating a new user. I only created a user on installed systems in the past...and it's been years. I created my own html 'home' page and I am NOT an html programmer that is local on my laptop. It has links to a lot subpages as well as local files. I have run into problems in the past when creating a snapshot (if I recall correctly) where it won't let me use 'demo' as the user name because it is already in use. When I created another user, like 'demo1', then a bunch of my links no longer worked. While I should, and have as much as I could find, removed references to 'demo', I can't be 100% sure and don't want to risk it. So, if I create a new user and it corrects the tap to click issue, will I need to log in as that user for it to stick?

[Charlie Brown]

Create the new user just to test (and to let us know whether it's a user config issue or a system-wide one).

Just create with any name other than demo.. let it be test or charlie, you can remove later with 2 clicks again.


The reason that you don't see the libinput option in "MX Tweak" is that it was till MX-21 (where "synaptics" was the default driver), on 23 no such option as libinput is already the default.


On some Dells F9 is the switch to completely turn off/on the touchpad.


Also have a look in Bios: For similar ones:

"Advanced Startup" (or: "Change Advanced Startup Options" ) => " Restart Now" => "Internal Pointing Device" ...

If needed disable and enable back etc..


But the new user is the simplest step, nothing to worry...

[MX Live USB User]

I created a new 'test' user then logged out and into it. Still the same.

Also, regarding "mouse settings are stored in the home folder"...I don't see anything regarding mouse settings there...even in hidden files.

F9 didn't resolve the issue either. I found this function key map from Dell's website (below) and nothing there to indicate tap to click. I followed links on there regarding Disabling or Enabling the Touchpad and reboot, hit F12 and ran the Diagnostic test as one of their pages suggested. Two warnings both unrelated to the issue...no hard drive installed and battery is reaching the end of life.
https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-u ... tion-guide

I finally got the idea of booting to a different live USB (MX 21) and still had the tap to click issue with the wireless keyboard. I don't have an issue with the tap to click on the laptop mouse. I guess my hitting the keys with my hand when going to grab the wireless keyboard damaged it and the tap to click no longer works while the rest of the keys and mouse on it does?? Seems unlikely to me, but what do you think?

[Charlie Brown]

On MX-21 the driver is different (as mentioned above: not libinput but synaptics).

The file is here but it seems playing with that won't work, cause when you create a new user it's already reset (created anew with the defaults)

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~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/pointers.xml

[Charlie Brown]

Just.. is it the same when on battery and when plugged in?