Touchpad stopped working

**sisterpete** · December 29th, 2004, 05:55 AM

i have a compaq presario 1720us running win xp pro and my touchpad does not work. i have talked with compaq multiple times before and recieved no help at all. everything i was told to do, i had already done, several times, but i did them again anyway, and it did not work. i have downloaded the drivers several times, from your site, and even once from synaptics site just as a long shot, just to be sure that i did not get a corrupt file, i have uninstalled the drivers and reinstalled them several times.... but nothing works. the device was working just fine one day, and the next it was not.

in an effort to figure this out, i have noticed one thing that must be the problem, i just can't figure out how to get it changed. here it is.

in the control panel under the hardware device manager, i click on properties for my synaptics touchpad and under the "general" tab, the "device usage" area at the bottom where you select "use this device (enable)" or "do not use this device (disable)" is grayed out. i cannot select anything there.

on my other devices, it is not grayed out and i can select whether to use it or not.

i really need this fixed.... as this notebook is pretty useless as a "mobile" unit without the touchpad working. i can plug a mouse in and it works ok, but that's not very practicle when you are on the move.

thank you in advance for any help you may give.

**Archer** · December 29th, 2004, 07:20 AM

Try disabling it in the bios,boot up into windows ,shutdown and re enable it once more so that windows re detects the hardware.

**sisterpete** · December 29th, 2004, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by Archer

Try disabling it in the bios,boot up into windows ,shutdown and re enable it once more so that windows re detects the hardware.

Hi Archer,

Thanks for the reply... After I posted this, I read about the BIOS thing, so I checked mine out. There is nothing in the BIOS about the touchpad or PS/2 device.

I was kind of surprised that this BIOS was so limited, very few options.

Most I've seen have more options then this.

Jimmy

**Richard1** · December 29th, 2004, 02:24 PM

You could try completely removing the driver from the Device Manager, reboot, when the computer recognizes the new hardware install the newest compatible driver. I have owned and worked on mostly Dells laptops, I've seen a few of the touchpads go bad. If nothing works call your local PC Tech(or do it yourself depending on your skill level), and get an estimate on replacing it. Good luck!

**sisterpete** · December 29th, 2004, 03:14 PM

Originally Posted by Richard1

You could try completely removing the driver from the Device Manager, reboot, when the computer recognizes the new hardware install the newest compatible driver. I have owned and worked on mostly Dells laptops, I've seen a few of the touchpads go bad. If nothing works call your local PC Tech(or do it yourself depending on your skill level), and get an estimate on replacing it. Good luck!

I've removed the drivers several times. I also went as far as editing the registry, deleting anything to do with the touchpad.

The touchpad going bad seems to be a thought... although I don't think so because of this...

>in the control panel under the hardware device manager, i click on >properties for my synaptics touchpad and under the "general" tab, >the "device usage" area at the bottom where you select "use this >device (enable)" or "do not use this device (disable)" is grayed out. i >cannot select anything there.
>
>on my other devices, it is not grayed out and i can select whether to >use it or not.

The other thing I may not have put in my original post is that "properties" tells me "The device is working properly" although it is not.

Thanks for the thoughts... i'm game to hear anything.... if nothing else, it stimulates my brain to come up with more ideas.

**geoscomp** · December 29th, 2004, 03:18 PM

Sounds as if the small cable that connects the touchpad to the motherboard has worked itself loose..so that even though the drivers are installed, the actual connection is not being made. You have to remove the keyboard to check that cable I believe.

**constructor** · December 30th, 2004, 03:35 AM

Is it essential that U have the touchpad?

Easiest solution would be to get a mini optical mouse.

Possibly the cheapest solution too

**Archer** · December 30th, 2004, 03:45 AM

Even with a touchpad I find them a pain to use and instead connect a Labtec wireless optical USB mouse which has a compartment in the bottom to hold the usb reciever.It works on most surfaces even when you sat on a settee with it next to you.

**sisterpete** · December 30th, 2004, 04:45 AM

it is very essential since i travel a lot... so i use it in the plane, and much of the time i travel on a bus also. very hard to use a mouse, which i connect at home, when it is on my lap.

the cable may be a thought, but i still believe it has something to do with windows itself..... because of the inability to enable or disable the touchpad.... all of the other stuff can be enabled and disabled.

i may take it apart to check though... can't hurt, just take some time to do it.

**Duke of Rezin** · December 30th, 2004, 08:32 PM

Try downloading and making the setup disks for floppy drive install: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/P...en&categoryid=
Make the disks, set the BIOS to boot from the floppy drive, run the setup and then choose R for the recovery console option. Log in and at the prompt, type in chkdsk /r/f. Let the scan do its thing and then reset the BIOS to boot from the hardrive.

**imagoon** · January 2nd, 2005, 11:17 PM

Load a program from a bootable floppy that uses the mouse in DOS. If the pad doesnt work in dos it is a hardware issue. If the pad doesnt work at all in dos, check the cable for the pad itself. If that cable is fine you can get a touchpad to replace the old one (it is part of the upper cover) If that fails. The system board will need to be replaced as the 1720 has the mouse ic, and buttons on the system board. The touch pad itself does not contain the buttons or ps/2 interface IC.

~Chris

**Outcoded** · January 3rd, 2005, 04:28 AM

OK, dumb ideas first.

Is there a function key to turn it on and off - I knocked the key combination once on my laptop and it took me a few to work out what happened.

Chances are, if you look along the Function keys, there will be one with a picture of the touchpad on, hold down function and press that.

Have you added any PC cards or external devices to the system?