Scrolling Problems With the MacBook

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Scrolling problems with MacBooks can seriously impair the user experience.

Before graphical user interfaces on computers, when everything on a screen was lines of text, users could scroll up and down through long documents with the "Page Up" and "Page Down" keys. Contemporary MacBook owners need more fine-grained scrolling methods, such as two-finger scrolling on their trackpad or the scroll wheel on a peripheral. You can usually resolve MacBook scrolling problems by installing the necessary software or fixing configuration settings.

  1. Scroll Settings

    • While MacBook trackpads do let you scroll up and down a page with two fingers, this feature will only work if you've enabled it in OS X's System Preferences. You can check to see if two-finger scrolling is enabled by entering System Preferences before clicking on the "Trackpad" icon. You must check the "Scroll" radio box under "Two Fingers" for two-finger scrolling to work.

    Software Updates

    • Another possible reason for scrolling is a software bug in the OS X operating system or the firmware that regulates the trackpad itself. If your MacBook's software is not up to date, it could be missing a software patch Apple released to resolve the problem. You can apply these software patches by clicking the "System Update" icon in the System Preferences panel, then clicking the "Check Now" button.

    Mouse Drivers

    • If you're having problems with the scroll wheel of a mouse plugged into your MacBook, the problem could be a lack of driver support. Drivers are software that allow operating systems to use hardware components, such as a mouse. If the mouse's manufacturer didn't program a software driver for Apple's OS, features such as the scroll wheel may work irregularly or not at all.

    Bootcamp Software

    • MacBooks can dual boot Microsoft's Windows operating system alongside Apple's operating system, but a standard installation of Windows doesn't completely support all of your MacBook's hardware. Features such as two-finger scrolling will not work unless you run the "Bootcamp Installer" from the system install disk that came with the MacBook.

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  • Photo Credit BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images

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