The touchpad is an age-old feature that has long since replaced alternative mouse controls. With it we can completely control our device, be it a laptop or a hybrid tablet. Many laptops (Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Dell) have problems with the touchpad. What to do if the touchpad does not work on a laptop in Windows 10? Let's look at 5 ways to fix this problem.

1. Re-enabling the touchpad with the Fn key

One story happened to me when I turned on WiFi on my laptop and accidentally disabled the touchpad. For a long time I was looking for the reason, not immediately realizing what happened. It turned out to be simple, laptops have a button additional functions called Fn from the bottom left of the keyboard. To enable any function on a laptop, press the combination of the Fn and F1...F12 buttons. On these same buttons F1-F12, pictures or symbols are drawn to apply the parameter. For example, to enable the touchpad, you need to press Fn+F7; on the F7 button itself there will be an image of something like a touchpad. You can press all the buttons in order Fn+F1...F12, but remember that there is a function to turn off the display; press again the buttons on which the screen went dark.

On some HP laptops, the touchpad is turned on and off by double-tapping the edge of the touchpad itself. Asus and acer brands may have a separate button next to the touchpad. If the touchpad still does not work, then move on.

2. Uninstall Other Mouse Drivers

There are times when you have had a whole bunch of drivers connected in the past from different devices mice and you never deleted them. Some drivers from mouse manufacturers automatically disable the Touchpad themselves. Go to device Manager by pressing a combination of buttons Win+R and enter in the line devmgmt.msc.

Find the line indicating mice and other pointing devices, click on the tab to expand the category and remove all mouse drivers in order until the touchpad starts working on your laptop. If it doesn't work, try rebooting the system after removing all drivers. Touchpad not working? We move on to the next point.

3. Update or roll back the touchpad driver

Try updating or rolling back the touchpad driver. Go to the same device manager as described above. Find the device Touchpad, usually it is called the same as the brand of laptop (Dell TouchPad, Lenovo TouchPad, Synaptics, HP TouchPad, Acer TouchPad, Asus TouchPad.) Right-click on your driver and select properties. Next, click Update to see if there are any useful updates for your touchpad.

Many people reported on the Microsoft forums that the Touchpad stopped working after Windows updates 10, for this you need to select rollback driver. If your Rollback button is not highlighted, it means you don’t have previous version drivers.

In many cases, the device manager does not work to enable TouchPath on a laptop. If your TouchPad still does not work on a laptop in Windows 10, then go to the mouse properties.

• Dial mouse in line windows search and go to Mouse Settings.
• Click Extra options mouse, in the window that opens go Device Settings, tab Touchpad or as in the picture.
• Find your Touchpad and click "enable".

5. Disable touch screen input service for hybrid laptops

If your laptop is a hybrid (laptop and tablet in one) touch display.) There is a possibility that the touchscreen input service, which controls the functionality of the stylus, is interfering with your touchpad.

To disable the service press win+R then enter services.msc and in the list of services find TabletInputService or Tablet PC Input Service. Right-click on it, then disable it. A very inconvenient solution for those who use touch screen and touchpads, but you can be smarter and try to remove the drivers, roll back, update and then start the service again.

Invented the touchpad one person, call him George Gerfeide, in 1988. And only after some time, Apple company licensed his invention, and began using the "touch pad" from 1994 to the present day in its PowerBooks. This year has truly become progress in the field computer technology, because to this day we use the much-needed “platform”, which, by the way, can be replaced with a mouse, and don’t think about “ how does it work?".

Principle of operation

Principle of operation The touchpad is not very complicated. His work is based on measurement containers or fingers, or containers between sensors. So called capacitive sensors, located along the horizontal and vertical axes of the TouchPad*a, allow our “touch pad” to determine in which part the finger is located, i.e. determine the position of the finger with the required accuracy. If you look at the TouchPad from the physical side, it is made of numerous metal conductors that form a mesh. These same conductors are separated insulating gasket made of lavsan film, which has a satisfyingly small size. Due to the fact that the touchpad works when measuring capacity, it is impossible to use it with a pen or pencil. There is no point in describing all the calculations that the touchpad performs, because... everything is too complicated.

Size, advantages and disadvantages

A touchpad is a device that takes up an insignificant amount of space, which is truly enough for use in everyday life on a laptop (it is convenient to use the touchpad when turning pages in a browser, and when using system (office) applications and for simple games). But note that you will have difficulty playing online/3D shooters, and you will also have difficulty working in Photoshop.
A touchpad is usually used on laptops, but it can also be purchased. This device does not require drivers or third-party applications to operate. Using a touchpad will be especially necessary where it is not possible to use a regular mouse, for example, in the subway, on the train, in a car, etc. Typically, all touchpads are protected from dust or moisture getting inside. The touchpad should serve you for quite some time, usually 5-6 years! I would also like to present a list of advantages of the touchpad:

• The touchpad does not require a flat surface or large space to operate.
• To move the mouse across the screen, you don’t need to drag your finger on the touchpad much, just a little movement is enough
• You don’t need to get used to the touchpad or have any special skills, because... It's very easy to get used to and it's also easy to use
• Waterproof, dustproof
• It will not break on its own and will serve you for a very long time.

So, I hope you have learned a lot of interesting and educational things in this article. Personally, I learned that the touchpad is waterproof, and that the principle of its operation is based on the capacity of the sensors.

This is where the article ends, dear readers, goodbye

Touchpad, also known as trackpad, also known as touchpad - all these are the names of the device for cursor control on computer and mobile devices. Most often, this device can be found on laptops, less often on advanced keyboards connected to a PC. Even less often – among the ways to control certain models of mobile phones.

Entering control commands using the touchpad is carried out by touch one or more fingers on its surface. The device operates on the principle of collecting information from sensors— capacitive sensors located under the surface. Their different readings are compared and thus the exact location fingers on the surface, pressing force, as well as other manipulations.

The word "TouchPad" on English language initially did not reflect the essence of the generally accepted concept, it is still a trademark of one of the largest manufacturers of these devices - Synaptics. But there are other manufacturers.

Control potential

The potential for control commands using the touchpad is small, even for those devices that support multitouch. Usually this moving cursor, clicks right and left mouse buttons, scrolling(analogous to rotating a mouse wheel). Using the manufacturer's driver, other commands applicable to specific model touchpad.

Advantages and Benefits

Touchpad devices

The touchpad is convenient manipulator, if you use a laptop as part of your leisure time, communicating on social networks or viewing media content. With its help, simple actions can be carried out even while lying in bed.

But such an input device is not suitable for serious work. It loses computer mouse and convenience, and in maneuverability, and in efficiency. And sometimes he also creates obstacles. When actively typing on a laptop, many offend touchpad, since it is usually located at the level of the spacebar. A displaced cursor and a glance at the screen that is not taken in time in such cases turns the typed text into text editor a masterpiece of human thought in abracadabra of chaotic text inserts.

A touchpad is a touch pad designed to control the mouse cursor on a computer (laptop). In terms of its properties, the touchpad performs the role of an ordinary computer mouse.

The touchpad has a low resolution, which makes it difficult to work where more precise movements are needed (for example, in graphic editors), but has many advantages:
-reliability due to the absence of moving parts;
-controlling the cursor using the touchpad does not require special skills or getting used to;
- the presence of a flat surface and large space completely unnecessary;
-small movement of the finger makes it possible to move the cursor around the screen;
-using one touchpad you can simulate pressing the left and right button mice;

Touchpads are mainly installed on laptops, because... take up little space and are convenient to use. On most laptops, it is located under the keyboard and is a small, flat rectangle.

Typically, touchpads are small and do not exceed 50 square centimeters, but there are touchpads that exceed these dimensions. Such touchpads are used in payment and information terminals, as well as in special control systems. Several interfaces are used to connect the touchpad to a computer: USB, RS-232, PS/2. Apple family computers use the ADB interface. Wireless touchpads are also available.

The principle of operation of the touchpad is based on measuring the capacitance between the built-in sensors or measuring the capacitance of a finger. Sensors are located on both the vertical and horizontal axes of the touchpad, which makes it possible to accurately determine the position of the finger and move the cursor to the right place. Because the touchpad works on the principle of capacitance measurement, then when you touch it with a non-conductive object (for example, a pen or pencil), the touchpad will not work. Also, the touchpad does not work with very small contact areas.

The touchpad is easy to use and does not require any special care. Occasionally, about once every six months, it is recommended to check the touchpad for accuracy of movements and if the accuracy deteriorates (movements are more jerky or abrupt), clean the touchpad. The touchpads are very well protected from dust and moisture (including water), as well as from foreign objects getting inside the touchpad. The touchpad is very reliable and rarely breaks; it is very rare for a new touchpad to break within five years of operation.

In most cases, the touchpad does not require any special driver to operate. When you connect it to a computer, it is recognized as an ordinary “mouse”, and when using the USB interface, it can be connected and disconnected “hot”, i.e. There is no need to turn off the computer.

When purchasing a laptop, it is assumed that it will be used in various conditions where using a mouse is inconvenient and sometimes impossible (for example, on a train or in a car. Therefore, when choosing a laptop, you should pay great attention to the touchpad. Let's look at a few simple rules regarding the touchpad, which should guide you when choosing a laptop:
-The touchpad should be positioned so that you do not touch it when performing other operations (for example, when pressing buttons on the keyboard). It is usually located in the center of the keyboard under the buttons.
-The larger the size of the touchpad, the better, but it should not interfere with pressing the keyboard buttons.
-The touchpad must be protected from accidental touch. Usually it is slightly recessed into the laptop body.
-Also pay attention to the mouse control buttons. They should be comfortable and press with little effort.

Laptop is mobile device, which can be used equally effectively both in a full-fledged workplace and in traveling conditions, for example in transport. The touchpad is one of those devices that provide mobility. Therefore, it is very important for users to know how to enable the touchpad on a laptop.

After this, a window with mouse properties will open in front of you. Here you need to go to the “Device Settings” tab (sometimes this tab may have a different name, for example “ELAN”). There should be an Enable button on the Device Settings tab. Click on this button and save the settings by clicking on the “OK” button, which is located at the bottom of the window.

It should be noted that on the “Device Settings” tab, the “Disable when connecting an external mouse” function may be available. If it is active, the touchpad will not work when a regular computer mouse. If you want to use the touchpad and mouse at the same time, then this function must be disabled.

If you have checked all the listed methods for enabling the touchpad and nothing helped, then your touchpad may be disabled in the BIOS. In this case, in order to enable the touchpad you need to enable a function called “Internal Pointing Device”. As a rule, it is located in the “Advanced” settings section.

If everything is also enabled in the BIOS, then there are only two options left: not installed drivers or touchpad failure.