Laptop touchpad not working – those of you who own a laptop must have experienced some problems with the device. One of them is when the touchpad can’t work properly.
This is definitely annoying because the control on the laptop can only be done from the touchpad. Therefore, to be able to solve and find a solution, you must know the cause of the touchpad not working.
Laptop Touchpad Not Working: Here’s the Cause and How to Fix it
There are many things that can cause the touchpad to not work. The simplest cause is because the touchpad is locked. If the cause is locked, it can still be solved easily using a combination of several keyboard keys.
So what if it’s caused by something else? Well, here are some other causes and how to overcome them.
1. Touchpad Driver Not Up to Date
The most often underestimated cause that causes the touchpad to not work is the driver. It could be because the laptop doesn’t have the touchpad driver installed on the laptop, or it’s already installed but hasn’t been updated.
Usually when reinstalling, the touchpad driver can be deleted too, so you have to install the touchpad driver again.
Another possibility is that the driver is out of date. For this second cause, the solution is to update the touchpad driver to the latest version.
To update the touchpad driver, do the following:
- go to menu ‘ Device Manager ‘
- Then select ‘ Your PC ‘
- then select the option ‘ Mice and other pointing device ‘
- After that, right-click on the ‘ Update Driver Software ‘ menu.
- Then click on the option ‘ search automatically for updated driver software ‘
- follow the update process until it’s finished
2. There is a Mouse Software
The next cause that can also cause the touchpad to not work is because of the mouse software. Many laptop users who use a mouse then install mouse software for various needs.
Unfortunately, it is precisely this mouse software that can cause the touchpad to not work properly. Therefore, if you are using mouse software, the solution so that the touchpad can work again is to remove the mouse software.
3. Laptop Operating System
Cases like this are the most common cases, where the touchpad does not function normally, even after the laptop is reinstalled.
If you feel that the touchpad is not working properly after reinstalling, then the cause of the touchpad not being able to be used is because of the operating system.
This can happen if the operating system crashes or some other error. To fix this, you can start by fixing the register where the touchpad is set. If it is not possible, then you will have to reinstall your laptop.
4. Damaged Due to Virus Attack
Do not think if the virus only attacks the inside of the laptop which can damage the system and even files on the laptop. This virus attack can even cause operating system failure, even though this operating system is in charge of controlling the hardware (hardware) including the touchpad in it.
If the operating system that manages the hardware is infected with a virus, the touchpad will also be affected which makes it not work. The solution to this is to do a scan. Use an antivirus that already has a top-rated status or the most powerful antivirus.
If you have found the most powerful antivirus, the next step is just to do the scanning process to all files on the laptop. After the scanning process is complete, clean the detected viruses. Then, restart your laptop. If it’s on, check your Laptop’s touchpad again, whether it’s working or not.
5. Touchpad Off
This point is the most common reason why the touchpad doesn’t work, which is accidentally putting the touchpad in the off mode.
This can happen because the inactive/active touchpad buttons can be done using a combination of keyboard keys. If this happens, you don’t need to worry because it’s very easy to fix.
How to solve a laptop touchpad that doesn’t work because this can be done in two ways. First, enable the disabled touchpad with a keyboard key combination and second, through settings.
a. Via key combination (Hotkeys)
The key combination that can be used to activate a disabled touchpad varies depending on the laptop.
Generally, it is a combination of Fn+F5 or Fn+F6. Choose one of the two that has the function of activating the touchpad board on your laptop.
b. Via settings (Settings)
The second way to enable the touchpad board that is accidentally disabled is through the settings:
- First, go to the Start Menu or you can open it by pressing the keyboard key with the Windows logo.
- After that, go to the ‘ Device ‘ menu option. In this menu there will be many device options that can be set. Select on the ‘ Mouse and Touchpad ‘ option. After that click on the ‘ Additional Mouse Options ‘ option.
- After clicking on the menu, the settings window for the mouse will appear. Select on the ‘ Device Options ‘ menu then select on ‘ enable mouse ‘. In this window you will be shown the status of your touchpad, whether it is active or not. If it’s inactive, then activate it immediately.
If you use a laptop with the Windows 10 Operating system, the settings for enabling the touchpad are slightly different. Here are the steps:
- First go to ‘ Start ‘
- Then select ‘ Settings ‘
- then select on ‘ Devices ‘
- finally select on the option ‘ Touchpad ‘
- Then change the touchpad position from Off to On
These are some of the causes and how to fix the laptop touchpad not working. Just follow all the steps above, Guaranteed your touchpad can work properly again. Hope it’s useful!