How to fix touchpad-related issues on Windows 10
I've recently found out that some people have been having problems getting their touchpads to work after upgrading to Windows 10. I personally prefer using a USB mouse as I find it much easier to control, but for a lot of people this could be a real issue. This is why I've decided to write this short guide and show you a few ways to fix these touchpad-related issues. Of course, these aren't the only possible fixes, but they're the ones that work in most cases.
Let's begin with the easiest problem: your touchpad may simply be deactivated. This can happen either because you accidentally pressed the wrong key on your keyboard or due to some freak bug during the Windows 10 setup. So, the first thing that I recommend is to try to activate the touchpad using your keyboard. If you don't know how to do that, the bad news is that it depends on the model of your laptop, so your best bet is to look over your keyboard, search for a symbol that looks like a touchpad with a diagonal line and pressing it. On my Toshiba, I can activate and deactivate the trackpad using the Fn+F9 key combination, but as I said, it depends on the device. Some of them work with the F5 or F6 key, others with Fn + F4, etc. If you can't figure it out, try finding it in your laptop's manual or Google your laptop model along with "touchpad key".
Additional mouse options
In case this didn't work, your next step is to make sure that your touchpad is activated from the Windows 10 settings. To do this, you will need to click the Start Menu button (presumably by using an USB mouse), then press Settings. In the new window that shows up, click on "Devices, Bluetooth, Printers, mouse", then go to the "Mouse & touchpad section" and press the "Additional mouse options" button. This will open another new window called "Mouse properties". Go to the last tab (the one after Hardware), which should be named "Device Settings" or ELAN, and if your touchpad is disabled, click the Enable button to get it working again. Bonus tip: in case you don't have a mouse, you can perform all these actions using your keyboard, but it's a bit harder. Press the Win button, then type "Settings" without quotes and press Enter. Now, follow the steps above using Tab and the arrow buttons to navigate your way across the windows.
If none of the previous solutions worked, your last clear solution is to manually update the touchpad drivers. In order to do this, you will need right-click the Start button and open the Control Panel. Now, go to "Hardware & Sound" and then click on the "Device Manage" button (the small blue button with a shield icon in front of it). In the new window that opens up, expand the "Mice and other pointing devices" category, find your trackpad, then right-click it and select the "Update Driver Software..." option. In case Windows 10 can't find the right driver online, and the update doesn't start automatically, you will need to visit the laptop maker's website, manually download the driver and install it.
Now that you know how to fix your touchpad issues, you might also want to find out "How to fix Homegroup-related issues on Windows 10" or read about "Recovering programs deleted by a major Windows 10 update".
