The laptop touchpad is a great alternative to the traditional mouse. It allows you to scroll your cursor, click and drag, and just about everything that the mouse can offer. Best of all, you don’t need a mousepad and won’t drive yourself crazy when its unrespo But like the mouse, the touchpad can suffer from issues and malfunction. With these simple fixes, you may be able to bring it back to its normal state.
Unplug external devices. Some operating systems automatically disable the touchpad when they detect peripheral devices, such as the mouse, being plugged into the USB or PS/2 ports.
Make sure it’s turned on. Some laptop models have a dedicated key that turns the touchpad on or off. This key may be found combined with a function key in the keyboard.
Update the drivers. System changes such as installing a new operating system may cause the computer to not recognize the touchpad. Let your computer search online for a compatible, updated driver.
Clean it. Dirt and other impurities may have gathered as you use it with your fingers over time. This layer of dirt can desensitize it and cause it to improperly identify your swipes and other touch inputs.
Increase its sensitivity. If the touchpad is responsive but doesn’t drag the cursor fast enough, go to its properties window or preferences panel in your operating system and increase its sensitivity. Is the cursor moving too fast? Then lower its sensitivity instead.
Verify it’s the only component that isn’t functioning. If your other input devices (such as the keyboard, external mouse and touchscreen) don’t work either, your actual problem could be an unresponsive operating system. Restart the computer.
When none of these solutions work, it’s possible that you have a defective touchpad. Give us a call and we’ll send someone out to determine if the hardware needs replacement.
