Touchpad Not Working: Tips And How To Solve Them

Modern laptops are irreplaceable portable devices, convenient to use, not tied to a stationary workplace.

To work with them, you do not need to buy additional equipment or other devices, which is especially pleasing to regular users.

“Why doesn’t the touchpad work and what should I do?” many cannot answer this question.

Content

  • Reasons why the touchpad doesn’t work.
  • Configuring the touchpad in Windows.
  • Buttons for turning on the touchpad.
  • Tips for enabling the touchpad.

Thanks to the design features, you do not need to use a mouse, which is replaced by a practical touchpad that controls the movement of the cursor. If the first acquaintance with this device is frightening, then further convenience and quick addiction justifies its constant use.

After a little practice, the touchpad quickly becomes a convenient tool for work, completely replacing a computer mouse.

The touchpad reacts to the touch of a finger or fingers, adjusts the movement of the cursor along a given trajectory according to the user’s desire.

In this article, we will help you figure out what to do if the touchpad does not work and in which cases you can fix this malfunction yourself.

Why the touchpad doesn’t work – general recommendations

Many users in the concept of “touchpad does not work” include a fairly wide range of problems that complicate the operation of the device as a whole.

This can be a deteriorated reaction of the cursor to the commands being given, its slow or fast movement across the desktop or on open pages and documents.

Often, such problems are eliminated by routine cleaning of the device from possible contamination, which is carried out with an alcohol wipe.

The work surface reacts to wet or greasy hands after eating, so hands should be washed before starting work.

You need to start work after the device has completely dried, and it is better to carry out cleaning and washing procedures periodically, once every 2-3 months. Such standard measures do not always help to answer the question – why the touchpad does not work, and the device continues to work unstable.

Why the touchpad does not work – operating system settings.

One of the reasons why the touchpad does not work may be incorrect settings in the installed operating system (OS).

To check them on Windows:

  1. We go to “Start”, then to “Control Panel”
  2. Set the “small icons”parameter in the upper right corner
  3. We select the line “mouse”.
  4. Having entered the “Pointer parameters”tab , it is possible to adjust the pointer acceleration.
  5. By selecting the appropriate parameter on the scroll bar, the checkbox “Increase the accuracy of the pointer setting” is set.

After making any, even minor, changes, be sure to save the entered parameters. If after that the touchpad still does not work on the laptop, it is better to check the installed drivers.

How to install drivers, you can read in our article “How to Correctly Install Drivers on a Computer or Laptop”

The best option would be to download new drivers, it is better to do this from the official website from the manufacturer. There you can pick them up for a specific model, a series of computers with guaranteed quality.

Why the touchpad does not work – Turn on the touchpad.

If scrolling on the touchpad does not work, it completely does not respond to user actions, there is a possibility that it is disabled. To activate, several simple options are used to help correct the situation:

  • Functional button.

Certain models are equipped with special buttons to turn on the device if the touchpad does not work;

  • Combination of keyboard buttons.

On the function buttons from F1 to F12, you should find those that have an image of a rectangle with a cross, a finger, the selected keys are used in combination with “Fn”.

It is not recommended to go through all the keys, so as not to enable or disable functions that may interfere with normal functioning.

Certain laptop models are equipped with a unique function that displays images of the manipulation performed on the monitor (images on the desktop), then you can easily clearly see what exactly you did;

  • Disabling the mouse.

A mouse connected additionally via a USB portal can be the reason why the touchpad does not work. This limitation is provided by the developers to avoid conflict between both devices;

  • BIOS settings.

You need to go into the BIOS (when turning on the laptop, you need to use the “F2”, “F8”, Delete keys, depending on the proposal) – “Advanced” – “Internal Pointing Device” and set “Enabled”.

Making edits without fail requires saving, this option is suitable for those who install windows 10 and their touchpad does not work.

Why the touchpad does not work – additional actions if the touchpad does not work

Before fixing the problem yourself, looking for the reason why the touchpad stopped working, it is worth determining whether the OS is in contact with the functionality.

  1. We go: “Start”, go to the “Control Panel”
  2. We go to the “Device Manager”
  3. In the “Mice and other pointing devices” tab, it is enough to deselect the mouse and put a tick in front of the touchpad.

There may not be such a bookmark at the specified address, then it is recommended to reinstall the drivers to exclude the possibility of other problems with the non-working touchpad.

If none of the options worked, it was not possible to fix the problem on our own – it is better to contact a specialized service center, where professionals will eliminate hardware and mechanical damage.

Why the touchpad doesn’t work – recommendations of professional specialists.

Experts can recommend changing the device on the computer in case of complex damage. If a strong impact was simply exerted on it, or mechanical pressure, as a result of which the buttons were pressed through, they will be restored to their previous state.

Full diagnostics will help determine the exact cause of the problem. This procedure is especially relevant if the touchpad does not work, the keyboard buttons do not respond to pressing, and other ports do not respond to devices that are turned on.

Almost all parts of the laptop, like the touchpad, are connected with a ribbon cable to the motherboard, but long-term transportation, intensive operation or other factors can affect the disconnection of the ribbon cable from a special connector.

In this case, it is better not to disassemble the laptop yourself, but to seek help from the service center specialists who have experience with similar problems.

 

by Abdullah Sam
I’m a teacher, researcher and writer. I write about study subjects to improve the learning of college and university students. I write top Quality study notes Mostly, Tech, Games, Education, And Solutions/Tips and Tricks. I am a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence or virtue.

Leave a Comment