The Mouse Pad/Touchpad on HP Laptop Is Not Working - How to Fix This

Dave Miller – Tech Enthusiast & Security Expert – January 21st, 2022

The HP touchpad simply registers a finger’s motions and pressure and relates them to a pointer location on the screen, but it might be frustrating if the mouse pad on HP laptop is not working. Especially if you don’t have an alternative external mouse with you, don’t panic since you know you haven’t done anything to cause this problem.

Continue reading the article to learn about all the options you have to fix this issue of the HP touchpad not working, along with some handy tips to avoid the problems in the future.

Touchpad In General

A touchpad, sometimes known as a trackpad, is a standard laptop feature. The PowerBook 500 was a unique computer in 1994 since it was one of the first laptops to incorporate a touchpad, which gets still used today. A touchpad, an alternative to the mouse, has become an integral part of our daily lives. Apple was initially apprehensive that the pad would be challenging to use. Still, it turned out to be a hit, and major companies like HP incorporated the design into their products.

Reasons Why Your HP Mousepad/Touchpad Isn't Not Working

Mouse pad on HP laptop not working problem can get fixed in a variety of ways, But understanding the reason of the problem is the first step of solving the problem. Some of the reasons could be as follow

Your device’s unaddressed hardware issues make it possible that this is what’s causing the touchpad to stop working.
You might not have engaged the touchpad option in your HP laptop’s settings, or you might have accidentally turned it off. With the wrong settings, the touchpad may get disabled.
Your touchpad drivers have been corrupted or are out of the current versions.
You enabled an external mouse or other pointing devices, and now the old mouse drivers are interfering with the HP touchpad, and the BIOS motherboard’s trackpad has been disabled.
Any third-party software on your HP laptops might be creating issues for your touchpad to work correctly.

How to Fix the Mouse Pad/Touchpad On HP Laptop

Here are some solutions to help you get by until you can fix the mouse pad on your HP laptop that isn’t working.

Side Note

Before you try any of the solutions for troubleshooting HP touchpads, be sure it’s the touchpad that’s not functioning because sometimes your entire OS gets stuck, and a restart can be all you need. If the keyboard is responding, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to reach the security screen and restart the laptop from the bottom right menu; otherwise, if the keyboard is not responsive, press and hold the physical Power button to shut it down.

Solution #1: Enable Touchpad from Settings on Your HP Laptop

The touchpad on your HP laptop may get deactivated and reactivated as needed. There are a variety of ways to do this. Your laptop Touchpad will stop operating if the touchpad is deactivated. You must enable it to get your pointer moving again, whether you did it on purpose or by mistake. There are three options for re-enabling it.

Method#1: Using Keyboard Shortcuts

When some F-keys get paired with hotkeys, most computers include a key combination that turns the mouse pad off. The precise key varies on the type of your laptop, but it commonly looks like a square trackpad with an X next to it. The light on some keyboards indicates that the mouse touchpad is off, and try hitting the key combination of Fn with F-keys again to see if your trackpad responds.

Method#2: Dot on Track Pad

There is usually a dot in the upper left corner of the Touchpad region. To enable or disable it, double-tapping is the most common method. The touchpad isn’t working and switched off, as shown by a little bright orange light. To activate your touchpad, double-tap once more.

Method#3: Enable from Settings

The third way to reactivate the touchpad is to go to settings. follow the below steps

Step#1: Because the point isn’t working, hit the window key + X on the keyboard to access the context menu, then use the arrow keys to pick the settings label.
Step#2: To pick “devices,” use the tab key to move the selected selection. After clicking, a list of devices appears; click one labeled touchpad.
Step#3: Click on the additional settings and make sure your touchpad is enabled by going to the Touchpad tab.
Step#4: Restart the computer and see whether the touchpad is working now.

Solution #2: You May Have to Update Your HP Laptop's Driver

It’s conceivable that the drivers for your touchpad need to be updated. The HP laptop keyboard and touchpad not working might be caused by a lack of current touchpad drivers. You may upgrade your drivers using one of three techniques.

Method#1: Automatic Update

Step #1: Open the device manager by hitting Window + X and choosing Device management from the context menu.
Step#2: Select the Mouse and other pointing devices category from the drop-down menu. This section has multiple entries, as you can see. If you don’t have a mouse, use the down arrow and the tab key on your keyboard. Open the “Drivers” tab, search for “Synoptics,” and go to the Window tab.
Step#3: You may also try right-clicking and selecting Disable device, then Enable device again to see if this resolves the problem; alternatively, click the Update Driver label.
Step#4: Select the Automatically Search for Updated Drivers option, and your OS will automatically search for specific updates.

Method#2: Manual Update

If the OS cannot locate the driver, you may manually update the touchpad driver by looking for it on the manufacturer’s website.

Step#1: Visit the official Site of HP drivers download
Step#2: Search for appropriate drivers or use auto device identification from HP to get the exact options for drivers.
Step#3: Then download and install the driver into your computer by following the same method as in automatic update but this time, instead of selecting the automatic update label, you will choose the manual update label and browse for the drivers you have just downloaded

It takes effort and computer expertise, but it’s swift and straightforward to do. Reboot your computer after installing the Touchpad driver and test your HP laptop to determine whether the problem has got fixed.

Method#3: HP Support Assistance or Third-party Tool

HP Support Assistant is pre-installed on new HP laptops and may also get downloaded from the company’s website. It provides quick access to HP printers and PC support information and tools. It fixes many common problems, and if the problem can’t get fixed with these tools, it directs you to other support resources for your device.

Furthermore, several third-party programs assist you in automatically resolving driver difficulties; however, most of these apps are costly. They notice faults in the free version and may ask for subscriptions to address them. Some of the best driver assistants are

Don’t worry if your touchpad problem persists. Let’s move to the next solution

Solution #3: Fixing Hardware Issues

Another method for resolving the mouse touchpad not functioning on HP is eliminating any hardware issues on your computer. To address hardware difficulties, use the troubleshooting option on your HP laptop.

Step #1: Open the control panel by pressing Windows key + R, typing “control,” and pressing Enter.

Note: To make it easier to use the Control Panel in the future, pin the Taskbar for quick access.

Step#2: Next, pick “Hardware and Sound” from the troubleshooting category.
Step#3: A window will appear; follow the on-screen instructions and wait for the troubleshooting procedure to identify and address the issues.
Step#4: The wizard will automatically address any errors it finds and alert you of the results. Then restart your laptop and test your touchpad.

Bonus Tip: By conducting system checks on your device, you may leverage HP diagnostics. If you can’t locate the HP Hardware Diagnostics on your HP laptop, you can get the most recent version from HP’s official website.

Solution #4: Disconnect The External Mouse

When you attach an external mouse to your laptop, specific models automatically turn off the touchpad. Removing the external mouse device is an easy remedy for this. If it doesn’t work, try disabling or deleting the mouse driver from the device management.

Solution #5: BIOS Configuration

You may need to activate the touchpad from BIOS to repair the HP touchpad not working issue; take the actions outlined below

Step#1: Turn on your HP laptop and hit one of the following keys to access the boot setup menu: F8, F2, Del (depends on the model of your HP laptop).
Step#2: Double-check that the “Touchpad” option gets set on from the boot screen. The structure of the BIOS for different motherboards varies, but you should seek an entry in the advanced category that states Internal Pointing Device, Touchpad, and Trackpad.
Step#3: After you’ve verified everything, restart your computer and see whether the touchpad now works.

Bonus Solution:

Tablet input is available on 2-in-1 hybrid laptops. In tablet mode, this disables your trackpad and controls the touch capability. There’s a potential to cause problems with your trackpad while you’re using it usually. To determine the source of the problem, switch off the tablet mode.

Solution #6: HP Customer Service Center

Finally, if nothing else works, it’s always a good idea to contact HP customer care.

HP offers service facilities all around the world that are accredited. These service locations employ qualified technicians who properly diagnose and repair your HP computers. If a repair is required, you can contact HP to make an appointment with a registered HP service facility; repairs typically take 5-10 business days, including shipping.

Note:

Always back up your data before sending your HP laptop computer to HP for repair; as per the terms and conditions, HP will not be liable if data gets lost during the repair process. You can also check the status of your repair by using the HP repair status site.

Conclusion

HP laptops seldom have problems. However, even the greatest in the business might run into troubles from time to time, as consumers may experience issues with their touchpad or mouse pad for various reasons. However, I hope you will solve the problem in no time by using the mentioned solutions.

The most common problem as to why your mousepad or touchpad isn’t working on your HP laptop is most likely because it has an outdated driver, and It gets recommended to go to the manufacturer’s website and download the most recent driver for your laptop because most of the time, it fixes the issue. But, if that doesn’t work, try another method and always reboot the system after trying any solution. If it still doesn’t work for you, you can always call HP customer support and get it repaired by specialists.

**Onlinecloudsecurity.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a way for websites to earn advertising revenues by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate we earn affiliate commissions from qualifying purchases.**

Dave Miller

IT Consultant at Online Cloud Security

Dave Miller is an IT Consultant for Online Cloud Security and has over 7 years of experience in the Information Technology space. He also specializes in repairing laptops & computers. In his spare time, he loves to talk about new technologies and hosts monthly IT and Cyber Security meetings in the Houston area.

Share This Article with Your Friends!

Click any button down below to share this article on the following channels:

About Online Cloud Security:

Online Cloud Security is here to recommend you the most secure devices, from laptops to smartphones, we only want to provide you with products that we have tested and used ourselves for online security. Every product that we recommend is heavily inspected and tested for security against hackers, viruses, malware, and any other intruders that may want to steal your information.