Sony Support

Article ID : S700023664 / Last Modified : 26/06/2012Print

How to troubleshoot touchpad problems

    this article gives a general overview of typical problems which can occur on a touchpad, and explains how to troubleshoot them.
    difficulty rating Difficulty rating:
    Intermediate    		 time needed Time needed:
    10 - 20 minutes activity

    Types of problems

    1. The touchpad does not function at all.
    2. One or both buttons are not responding.
    3. The cursor is moving in the wrong direction, and behaving erratically.
    4. There is physical damage on the touchpad.

    First off: a quick touchpad functionality check

    A quick way to determine if your touchpad is actually suffering from a hardware failure, is to test its functionality in the recovery environment.
    If you have not removed the recovery partition, start the VAIO while pressing the F10 button multiple times. Otherwise you can also boot the system with the recovery disc inserted.

    Once you see the recovery options, your touchpad and left touchpad button should have basic point and click functions.
    If not, your VAIO requires service.

    If this test shows no hardware issue, you can find further troubleshooting steps below, depending on the type of issue.

    1. The touchpad does not function at all.

    In order to troubleshoot this situation, you will need to connect a USB mouse.
    If a USB mouse works, just removing it may revive the touchpad again.
    If not, reconnect the USB mouse, make sure the touchpad is enabled.
    1. Click Start, type VAIO Control Center, and press Enter.
    2. Expand the section Keyboard and Mouse
    3. Double-click 'Built-in Pointing Device'
    4. Make sure it is set to Enabled.
    Reinstall the touchpad driver
    • On older models, you may need to look for the driver in the folder C:\Drivers or C:\Windows\Drivers.
    • On recent models, you can run VAIO Recovery Center - Reinstall Programs and Drivers.
    Reset BIOS defaults
    1. Reboot the VAIO, and press F2 multiple times until you access the BIOS Setup screen.
    2. Press F9 followed by Enter.
    3. Press F10 followed by Enter.
    If the problem started recently, use System Restore to restore your system to a day when the problem did not occur yet.

    2. One or both buttons are not responding.

    If only one of the buttons is not responding, your touchpad settings may be corrupted, or some functionality may have been disabled in the configuration panel.

    Reinstalling your touchpad driver may solve the issue.  
    • On older models, you may need to look for the driver in the folder C:\Drivers or C:\Windows\Drivers.
    • On recent models, you can run VAIO Recovery Center - Reinstall Programs and Drivers.
    If that does not solve it, go to Start - VAIO Control Center - Keyboard and Mouse - Built-in Pointing Device - Settings.  Check the Mouse Properties panel, whether different  functions have been assigned to specific buttons.  The Default button will reset your touchpad settings to original settings.

    3. The cursor is moving in the wrong direction, and behaving erratically.

    Check if other pointing devices are connected to the VAIO, and disconnect them to make sure they are not interfering.

    If that does not solve the issue, follow the troubleshooting steps for '1. The touchpad does not function at all' starting from 'Reinstall the touchpad driver'.

    If your cursor stays visible, and is moving when you are typing text, please go through the following steps:

     For Windows 8:
    From the search bar, type "mouse", then select "mouse", "pointer options", then "Hide pointer while typing".

    Alternatively, from the Control Panel, select "mouse", then  "pointer options", then "Hide pointer while typing".

    		  For Windows 7:
    Click on Start button
    Select VAIO Control Center from the All Programs list
    Expand Keyboard and Mouse
    Select Pointing Device 
    Click on Advanced
    In the tab Pointer Options, tick the option 'Hide pointer while typing'    		  For Windows Vista:
    Click on Start button
    Select VAIO Control Center from the All Programs list
    Expand Keyboard and Mouse
    Select Built-in Pointing Device 
    Click on Open, followed by Settings...
    In the tab Pointer Options, tick the option 'Hide pointer while typing'

     

    4. There is physical damage on the touchpad.

    Physical damage requires service, which is not covered by warranty.