Laptop touchpad problem

20 years ago

I have a laptop and always use my touchpad for scrolling, closing windows etc... but for some reason i think i clicked on something i shouldnt have! Now i can only seem to close windows, scroll down pages, swap from one internet window to another by using my left click button below the touchpad.

I can use my touchpad for moving my mouse across the screen no problem, but when i want to click on a link, or double click something, instead of just gently tapping my touch pad i have to click my left click button. Its not a big problem but its very annoying and slows down whatever task im doing.

I opened up 'Mouse' on my control panel, but that just seemed to offer the option of using the left or right click button for tapping/clicking.

I hope the above makes sense to someone and they could offer me help on how to get the use of my touchpad back?!

Many thanks, Chris

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

genes
20 years ago
Give us a litte hint on what brand and model laptop you have???
marthapartha
20 years ago
Under mouse options is your touch pad enabled? Do you have a TouchPad tab on Mouse from the control panel?

If you don't, you might have accidently removed the program or the driver needs to be updated or re-installed. There should be a system disk with your notebook. Wait until you are well into your desktop before inserting the disk, otherwise if you insert the disk at start-up you might erase your hard drive. Your drivers will be on that disk, otherwise you can try to update your driver through the Device Manager, which I've had no results from without the disk.

Your touchpad just might be wearing out. Just like the touchpads in some elevators, the floor you want will never light up.

I like using a mouse with my notebook. It is not as convienient or compact, but it is much, much, more accurate. They have all kinds of gizmos and mini mice, for notebooks that travel, on the market. If your notebook stays in one locale, any USB mouse will work provided you have enough harddrive space and RAM to support the model of your choice.

Good luck,

marf
Related Discussions
Dell Laptop Lid Problem
Q
Comments (5)
It sounds like the issue with your Dell Inspiron 1750 laptop could be due to a loose or faulty connection between the display cable and the screen. Over time, the repeated opening and closing of the lid might have caused this connection to weaken, or become intermittent. It's recommended to have a technician check and possibly reseat or replace the display cable to resolve the flickering or blank screen issue you're experiencing. This maintenance should help alleviate the frustration caused by having to adjust the lid position constantly.
...See More
problems with cd player on laptop
Q
Comments (3)
I think some of you guys missed the question - OP is ripping audio book CDs and experiences long rip times with SOME disks. OP, I've ripped a lot of CDs (large music collection) and have encountered this from time to time. You're right, sometimes it's because of scratches. Sometimes it's because a PC has limited memory and prior actions in the current on/off session have used too much of the limited space. Sometimes, the ripping software just doesn't like the CD. Sometimes, nothing seems to work. My suggestion is to turn your PC off, turn it on again, and try using a different program to rip the disk that seems stalled. Try Windows Media player. If no better, download and try Media Monkey for the rip. If no better, then I'd guess it's either a difficult disk or a drive problem.
...See More
Tablet, Laptop, Adobe Flash Problems
Q
Comments (19)
I'm going to try Bugspop1's suggestions. I have Xfinity1 and ATT routers, so it may be perilous and require calling them again for help. Also both routers have been replaced in the past 2 weeks because of other problems: The ATT router suddenly and mysteriously stopped allowing any telephone caller ID and calling features...the technician who replaced the router said he didn't know why this happened or what caused it. ATT provides 3 mbps speed, which is (from my experience) not fast enough for Amazon video, so we use ATT mainly when Xfinity isn't working. We have just one phone connected to ATT. The Xfinity/Comcast router was replaced last week because of tv issues. I got fed up with the poor service on the last cable boxes. All channels not HD were stretched to fit the format of our HD tvs. So all the people on tv look like they weigh 500 lbs. Comcast refused for months to provide info to change this in the setup menu of the cable box. So after hours on the phone to them and several trips to their store, we now have tv that shows HD and SD in the proper formats. I also had to accept yet another phone line from Comcast, their bundle, to save money. Their internet/tv bill was $270. The new bill including phone is now supposed to be $190. The stupid downside to this is the Comcast rep said I have to call Comcast on the phone number they provide, otherwise they won't provide any support. I already have 4 phone numbers so this is very annoying to me. After the cable boxes were replaced the internet router was reset by Comcast when they set up the cable boxes. That evening I logged in to the xfinity web site and saw that some videos would play and others wouldn't. CNN wouldn't play anything at all (though accessing the site outside of the xfinity portal allows some videos to play). So I called up Xfinity support who weren't helpful at all. They actually said they don't support video playback help issues on their own site! So their support is less than adequate imho. I tried the suggestions about changing video quality...Amazon works ok in SD. In HD videos start off in very poor quality and gradually get better. I don't use amazon streaming when I'm out of town because the site only streams in HD and would quickly use up my data allowance. Windows Defender is up to date. Nvidia has automatically updated it's drivers several times since I got the MSI laptop. The MSI also did the update where it installed a new version of Win10 (It took about 17 hours). There isn't any software in common on the two laptops. I tried a system restore on the MSI. It didn't help, but it didn't hurt. I uninstalled and reinstalled Adobe flash several times. If I can get inside the router setup menus is it easy to figure out if the routers are allowing adobe flash video? I'll keep working on this....
...See More
Laptop WiFi Connectivity Problem
Q
Comments (5)
I just saw your comment, thanks!, and was researching other symptoms that I discovered 2 days ago. I can no longer connect to the Internet from the laptop (Windows 10) but still see networks listed on the laptop when I ask it to show all networks. When I go into 'Manage known networks', only one of my two networks will display (I also see other neighbor's networks) but my tablet works fine and displays both of my networks. I have moved the laptop to other locations in the house but no change. My network listed is set to 'connect automatically when in range'. Airplane Mode is off. Oddly, the base of the laptop has a light with a WiFi symbol that is currently lit orange. The online documentation on the PC does not say what the orange light means. Q. so how do I check my W10 updates? Ever since Windows upgraded from W7, I have no idea where things are any more. ;o( Q. what is a wifi analyzer? and what is a wifi adapter? what does one do with them? take them to a PC Service Shop to take the laptop's old analyzer and adapter and install the new ones on the laptop? Q. what am I looking for... in the utilities link? I looked in the network tools (I assume that is what you were suggesting). Thanks
...See More
cboy
20 years ago
I found this in Help and Support.
In the Control Panel open Accessibility Options Icon and click Mouse Tab and than Setting.

To move the mouse pointer by using MouseKeys
If you have not already done so, turn on MouseKeys.
To turn on MouseKeys, open Accessibility Options, click the Mouse tab, and then select the Use MouseKeys check box.

Use the buttons on the numeric keypad to move the mouse pointer. If MouseKeys doesn't function, press NUM LOCK, and then try MouseKeys again.
To move the pointer horizontally or vertically, press the arrow keys on your numeric keypad.
To move the pointer diagonally, press HOME, END, PAGE UP, or PAGE DOWN on your numeric keypad.
Notes

To open Accessibility Options, click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Accessibility Options.
To specify whether NUM LOCK must be on or off for MouseKeys to function, on the Mouse tab, click Settings, and then for Use MouseKeys when NumLock is, click On or Off.
To change the pointer speed and acceleration when using MouseKeys, on the Mouse tab, click Settings, and then move the sliders to adjust the pointer speed and acceleration.
To temporarily increase or decrease the pointer speed, on the Mouse tab, click Settings, and then select the Hold down Ctrl to speed up and Shift to slow down check box.

cg
marthapartha
20 years ago
cboy, that was a lot work to uncover the mouse keys.

I have tried the mouse key option out of curiosity, and my experience was awful. You permanently lose your arrow keys, even on a plug-in computer keyboard. Try editing your typing without them. The accuracy is next to non-existent, and it is very clunky...everything has to be reached with right angles. Frustrating as all get out.

If the touchpad has bit the dust, which they often do. A USB trackball or mouse is a better solution.

I could be wrong. My notebook is 3 years old. Maybe the mouse keys are better than they used to be.

I have to credit cboy for finding them. Even after I found them and turned them on, I couldn't remember where I found them and subsequently I couldn't switch them off for days. That took an effort.

marf
computergirl
19 years ago
I know exactly what you were referring to Chris, my friend just had the same problem. She clicked something, and suddenly, the touch-click was gone. It has nothing to do with the keypad dying, it is infact a setting.

In order to fix this, you go to control panel > mouse
the last tab is called "Device Settings" click it and make sure you have "static tray icon in taskbar" selected.
(You can always remove this later.)

Apply the changes and click the red coloured icon in your task bar. An option will be available called "Tap to click." Clicking it will enable you to tap with your mouse pad instead of the keys!

Hope this helps you out, I know it helped my friend.

Mary
KDRspud_yahoo_com
19 years ago
I am having a problem - my left click button does not work on my laptop. My scroll pad and right click work just fine. And I can left click w/ my mouse. I also can not click by tapping on the scroll pad.

It started once I installed software for my Microsoft Wireless Keyboard & Mouse.

I can not figure out what is going on Â any ideas?

DonÂt really want to uninstall the software for the keyboard/mouse (if I can help it)

Thanks!!
exploder9_hotmail_com
17 years ago
im having a problem:when i put my arrow above a item(program , pasts ,ect)my touchpad and my mouse assumes that as one click and when i do another(past 5 or 7 sec)my computer assumes as 1 click doing a double click
what is happening?its a system problem ,a hardare problem?

P.S:ive scam my pc over 10 times with different ati- virus(avg,avast,kaspersky and panda) the only thing that catched my attention was this:

"C:\Users\lucas\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\erkahmye.default\cookies.sqlite:\doubleclick.net.bf396750";"Found Tracking cookie.Doubleclick"

please help
logan_j
17 years ago
I had this problem for many weeks and I even thought it was a hardware problem because I couldn't find information about this problem.

Thank you very much ComputerGirl!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Project

Laptop touchpad problem

Comments (8)

genes

marthapartha

Related Discussions

cboy

marthapartha

computergirl

KDRspud_yahoo_com

exploder9_hotmail_com

logan_j

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US