You try to use your Toshiba laptop touchpad, but it doesn’t respond. The mouse cursor isn’t working no matter the amount of tapping, pinching, or swiping you do. It’s a very frustrating experience that most Toshiba laptop users have encountered.
However, what’s more frustrating is combing through the internet and seeking answers as to why the Toshiba laptop touchpad is not working. If this is your predicament, we say congratulations because you’ve found a goldmine.
This article will uncover the Toshiba laptop touchpad problem and offer tested troubleshooting methods to help fix the problem.
If you find this interesting, ride along, hoping to fix your Toshiba laptop touchpad.
Toshiba Laptop Touchpad Not Working: Likely Causes
There’s no problem without causes. Certain factors could contribute to your touchpad’s dysfunctionality. Hardware and software problems are the two categories responsible for this problem. We’ve highlighted below possible reasons your touchpad might not be working:
- Disabled Touchpad
- Dirty touchpad
- Glitch or one-time malfunction
- Outdated touchpad driver
- Malicious software
- Conflicts from external devices
Toshiba Laptop Touchpad Not Working: How To Fix
To help you solve this problem and get your touchpad working effectively again, we’ve highlighted below proven solutions that address all these issues. You can follow them in the order we arrange until you find one that tackles the problem accordingly.
Let’s get started.
1. Re-enable Your Laptop Touchpad
You may have inadvertently disabled your Touchpad. Your laptop has special functions you can press to disable the touchpad. There’s a possibility these functions have been triggered, thus disabling your touchpad. You’ll need to check and re-enable your touchpad so it can work again. Follow the simple instructions below to perform the operation:
- On your laptop keyboard, locate the Fn key and the touchpad icon (the F9 key)
- Now press these two keys simultaneously to re-enable your touchpad
Check if you can now use your touchpad. If the method doesn’t work, move to the following method.
2. Reboot Your Laptop
Your laptop touchpad might not be functioning due to certain temporary corruption issues with the laptop. Ilike most other simple technological problems. In this case, a quick reboot will do the trick and solve the problem. Therefore:
- Press your laptop Power button until it is switched off.
- Unplug the power cord from the socket
- Disconnect the battery if it’s removable
- Allow the laptop to rest for about 15 seconds
- Insert the battery and reconnect the power cable
Now switch on your laptop and check if the touchpad is now functioning.
3. Remove External Mice
Another simple but effective method you can explore to troubleshoot the problem is to remove any external mice. This method is essential because some windows disable the touchpad features when an external mice is connected.
In some other cases, the external mice might conflict with the touchpad. Remove any external mice, including USB mice and Bluetooth mice connected to your laptop. Afterward, reboot your laptop and check if the touchpad is back to work.
4. Update your touchpad driver
If you’re using the wrong touchpad driver, it could be preventing your touchpad from working well. An incorrect driver, in this case means an outdated, corrupted, or incompatible driver. Most users have fixed this touchpad driver by reinstalling, updating, or reinstalling their system touchpad driver. You should consider changing your touchpad driver to check if the problem will vanish.
Except you have the latest touchpad driver installed, we recommend uninstalling the present driver and downloading a new one. Follow our instructions below:
(Note that you’ll need to use an external mouse for this process)
- From the Start Menu, click on Settings
- Start the Control Panel, click on System and Security from the categories
- Select System from the page, then press Device Manager from the left pane or icon
- Expand the Human interface option in the Device Manager tab
- Click on the touchpad name and select the Driver tab from the list
- Select the Uninstall option and confirm the option.
- When the drive finishes uninstalling, return to the Driver tab under Device Manager
- Select Update Driver software
- Press the Search Automatically for Updated Driver Software option
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the updated driver installation.
Note that if windows claim there’s no updated driver software available, you can visit the Toshiba official website for confirmation. If you’re using Toshiba Satellite with Windows Vista, click the link to the resource section and follow the onscreen instructions to download and install the driver.
Alternatively, you visit synaptics.com in your web browser if you have a different Toshiba model. You’ll find a generic driver you can install to fix the problem.
5. Clean The Touchpad
If none of the above methods have fixed your touchpad, it could be that there’s dirt on the surface of the touchpad. Although the chance is slim, specks of dirt or dust might have accumulated on the surface or underneath your touchpad, thus reducing its sensitivity and preventing it from processing touch. A good cleaning might be all your touchpad needs to restore its functionality.
So, get a microfiber or soft clean and gently clean the touchpad from dirt or dust. For the best results, you can explore compressed air to puff out dirt trapped underneath the touchpad.
6. Contact Manufacturer Support
This article discusses proven methods to fix a Toshiba laptop touchpad that’s not working. In cases where you apply all these solutions, and none resolve the problem on your laptop, the touchpad might be completely faulty. Seek technical assistance from a professional or contact your manufacturer’s support for repair or further information.