[Resolved] Touchpad does not work in Windows 10 laptop

Many users have reported an issue where their laptop's touchpad stops working and interrupts their work. Although the problem is usually reported when users upgrade to Windows 10 from an earlier version of Windows, there could be many causes.

Cause

There could be many causes, but the common ones are problems with hardware, internal settings, drivers, and updates.

The worst part of this problem is that since the user cannot use the touchpad, the screen cannot be navigated and thus troubleshooting becomes impossible. Even if we were to use the keyboard arrows for navigation, the options must be selected from the Control Panel which is again difficult to open without the cursor working. Therefore, we should use an external mouse to solve the problem.

Try the following troubleshooting steps in sequence and check which one fixes the problem:

Solution 1: Check if the touchpad is enabled or not on the laptop keyboard

Before moving on to the more complex troubleshooting, it would be worth checking if we disable the mouse by mistake. The enable / disable mouse key is present as a function key on the laptop keyboard. These function keys work when pressed in combination with the Fn key, which is present in the same queue as the space bar on the keyboard.

For Sony laptops, the touchpad key is F1, for Dell it is F3, and for Lenovo it is F8. After changing the touchpad button once, check how the touchpad responds. If it starts to work, we've fixed the problem.

Solution 2: Run the hardware and device troubleshooter

1] Click Start button and then on the gear symbol to open the file settings window.

2] Select Update and security and then go to Troubleshoot tab on the left side.

3] From the list, select the file Troubleshoot hardware and devices.

Solution 3: Make sure the touchpad is turned on from the control panel

1] Press Win + R to open the file Run window and type the command control panel. Press Enter to open the control panel window.

2] In the list of options, click Topo to open the mouse properties.

3] Go to Pointer options tab and check the speed of the mouse. If it is set to very slow, users may experience problems moving the cursor. If so, correct the same and save the settings.

Solution 4: perform a clean boot

A clean boot could help identify annoying startup programs. Here is the procedure for a clean boot.

Solution 5: Update Windows

Windows Update usually updates drivers, a simpler process than doing it manually.

1] Click the Start button and then the gear symbol to open the Settings window.

2] Select Updates & Security from the options and click Update Now.

3] Reboot your system and see if it makes a difference.

Solution 6: update the drivers

1] Press Win + R to open the Run window and type the command devmgmt.msc. Press Enter to open Device Manager.

2] In the alphabetically sorted list, look for Mice and other pointing devices.

3] Right-click and select Update Driver. You might also consider uninstalling it and restarting your system.

If that doesn't work, try installing the drivers from the manufacturer's website.

Hope these steps help solve the problem!