Touchpad Not Working

Laptop touchpads work by evaluating the total electrostatic energy in a finger when it moves over it. The top surface of a touch pad is smooth and soft, while it has electronically charged component put on the other side. When you move your finger over the touchpad, the electronic components help interpret your finger location on the touchpad to the screen.

Touchpad problems could be a result of either hardware or software issues with your laptop computer. Ways to solve this problem are discussed below.

Touchpad Problems on Laptop

Certain hardware problems can be the cause of your laptop touchpad to not work. You can follow instructions listed below to find and solve your problem:

Step 1
To start solving touchpad problems on your laptop, clean it properly and also ensure that it is working fine. Take a piece of cloth of a soft material, dip it in rubbing alcohol, and clean your touchpad with it.

Step 2
At times, a problem with the track point cap can result in your touchpad to malfunction. You might have to replace the track point cap if it you find a lot of dirt settled on it or if it has become sticky and is not moving freely.

Step 3
Operating with sweaty, unclean hands can also be a cause of your broken touchpad. This is because touchpads require a dry and warm environment to work properly. In case the touchpad is exposed to excess cold, moisture or heat, it hampers it's performance.

Step 4
To confirm that the problem is a hardware related, try attaching a computer mouse through the USB port and check if it's working. In case the mouse is also not working, there is a software problem with your laptop.

Check for software problems and troubleshoot them following instructions given below, once you are sure that there is no hardware trouble on your laptop.

Step 1
To start with, restart your laptop and when the laptop starts reloading again, keep pressing the F8 key till the windows startup menu appears. From the menu list, select 'Safe Mode' option. After your laptop starts in the 'Safe Mode' and you are still facing the same touchpad problem, there is definitely some software issue with the laptop.

Step 2
Click the 'My Computer' icon and go to 'Control Panel'. In the control panel window, you will find an icon ' Add Remove Programs'. Click on it. If there is any mouse related software in there, delete it from your system. Restart your laptop and see whether the problem still persists. In case it does, you will have to try something else.

Step 3
Go to the 'My Computer' icon, and right click on it, and select the 'Properties' option from the drop down list. In the 'Properties' window, select the 'Device Manager' tab. You should find a category called 'Other Devices'. Click on the '+' symbol besides it, to find out list of devices under it. Delete all devices which appear thereby selecting them and clicking on 'Remove' option at the bottom of the window. Also, find 'Mouse' option in the list and repeat the procedure for removing all items listed under it. Restart your computer. Once your computer reboots, you should find a 'New Hardware Wizard' window open on your screen, which will load all the necessary drivers for the mouse.

In case you have followed all above listed instructions, and your laptop touchpad's problem still refuses to go away, you should call for technical assistance.