Laptop touchpad works incorrectly when on power supply

"My initial feeling is that the new power supply is causing electrical interference. The touchpad is likely connected internally via USB, which can (won't always of course) be susceptible to interference.

Here's a test for this.... do you see the incorrect behaviour if you have your new power supply plugged in and sitting next to your computer, but not actually plugged into the machine?"

"I had this issue just now, then found this while attempting to troubleshoot. At first I thought this was caused by a recent Ubuntu update that conflicted somehow with my Dell Mini 10.

Turns out it was the power outlet I was plugging my laptop into. What's even more odd is when the power strip I have the power adapter plugged into is switched off, the mouse still does not work. So I started plugging in the switched off power strip with my power adapter and laptop plugged into it to other outlets and with all of them my mouse works except this one outlet. So I then discovered that although everything else I've plugged into this outlet seems to work, when the fish tank light which is plugged into this same outlet is on, the mouse on this laptop doesn't work whether the power strip is switched on or off. Just last week though, this very plug/power configuration was working perfectly. Maybe this 1 year old netbook is starting to show it's age? At any rate, I hope this helps someone!"