If your Touchpad driver is missing or not showing up in the Device Manager of Windows 11/10, then this guide will show you how to fix the issue. A lot of Windows users have reported being unable to view their touchpad driver in the Device Manager app. This issue becomes frustrating when your touchpad stops workings and you are not even able to locate and fix the device in Device Manager. If you are one of those users facing the same issue, try the fixes we have mentioned in this post to resolve it.
Why is my touchpad not showing up in Device Manager?
There can be different reasons why you might not be able to view your touchpad device in Device Manager. Here are some potential causes of the issue at hand:
- The device might be hidden in Device Manager by default. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, you can try using the Show hidden devices feature in Device Manager to display your touchpad driver.
- If your touchpad driver is outdated or not installed correctly, you are likely to experience this problem. So, you can try updating your touchpad driver manually or automatically to fix the problem.
- Your touchpad might be disabled in BIOS settings due to some unknown changes and thus, you are unable to view it in Device Manager. If the scenario is applicable, you can reset your BIOS settings to default to fix the issue.
Now that you know the scenarios that trigger the issue at hand, you can try a suitable fix to resolve the issue.
Touchpad driver not showing up in Device Manager
Here are the fixes you can try if the Touchpad driver is not showing up in your Device Manager of Windows 11/10:
- Run Hardware and Devices troubleshooter.
- Show hidden devices in Device Manager.
- Update the touchpad driver.
- Restore BIOS to default.
- Run an SFC scan.
Let us check out the above fixes in detail now!
Device Manager not showing Touchpad driver
1] Run Hardware and Devices troubleshooter
The first thing you should do to fix this issue is run Windows built-in Hardware and Devices troubleshooter. If there is a generic issue due to which the touchpad is not showing up in Device Manager, it should be able to detect and fix the problem for you.
In the latest Windows, you can’t access the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter from the Settings app like other troubleshooters. So, you will have to use the Command Prompt to use the troubleshooter. Here is how you can run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter on Windows 11:
- Firstly, run the Command Prompt with administrator privilege.
- Now, type the below command in CMD:
msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic
- Next, press the Enter button to launch the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter window.
- After that, press the Next button and it will start detecting problems associated with hardware and devices.
- It will display all the issues with your hardware and device and recommend you apply a suitable fix. Just apply the fix and then close the Hardware and Devices window.
- Finally, go to Device Manager and see if the touchpad driver shows up or not.
If you still face the same issue, try the next potential fix to resolve the problem.
Read: Touchpad getting disabled automatically in Windows 11/10.
2] Show hidden devices in Device Manager
You might not be able to view certain devices including touchpad by default. Or, it might be the case that Windows has failed to detect some specific devices’ drivers. So, if the scenario is applicable, you should be to fix the issue using the Show hidden devices feature in Device Manager. See if you are able to view your touchpad device driver in Device Manager after enabling this feature.
Here are the steps to show hidden devices in Device Manager:
Firstly, press the Windows + X hotkey to open up the shortcut menu and then select Device Manager.
Now, go to the View menu tab and choose the Show hidden devices option.
Next, navigate to the Action menu tab and click on the Scan for hardware changes option.
After that, reboot your PC to let the changes take place. On the next startup, check if the issue is fixed or not.
If you are still not able to view the touchpad in Device Manager, try the next potential fix to get rid of the issue.
See: Fix Touchpad error This device cannot start (Code 10)
3] Update the touchpad driver
Outdated device drivers might cause the problem at hand. If the scenario applies to you, try updating your touchpad driver either manually or automatically.
To update the touchpad driver manually, you can visit the official website of your device manufacturer and download the latest version of your touchpad driver from there. Other than that, you can also check for available driver updates in the Settings app. Just open the Settings app using Windows + I hotkey and navigate to the Windows Update tab > Optional Updates section. If available, download and install the recent driver updates from here.
You can also try updating your touchpad driver automatically using a free driver updater. Just download and install a device driver updater software like WinZip Driver Updater, IObit Driver Booster Free, or whichever one you prefer. And then, launch the software and let it detect and install driver updates automatically.
Once done updating your drivers, reboot your PC and then check if the touchpad shows up in Device Manager or not. If not, move on to the next solution to resolve the issue.
Read: Laptop Touchpad is locked, disabled, gets stuck or scroll not working.
4] Restore BIOS to default
You might not be able to view the touchpad driver in Device Manager if it is disabled in your BIOS settings for some unknown reasons. In that case, you can try restoring your BIOS configurations to default to fix the issue. Here’s how to do that:
- First of all, reboot your PC, and as soon as the Windows logo is displayed on the screen, press and hold the hotkey assigned to open up the BIOS settings.
- Now, go to the Security (or Exit) tab and find and click on the option that lets you reset the BIOS settings. Based on the motherboard you are using, you will get reset options like Reset to Default, Load Optimized Defaults, Load Factory Defaults, Load Setup Defaults, etc.
- On the confirmation window, choose the Yes option.
- After that, save the changes and exit the BIOS settings.
- Finally, let your computer restart and see if the problem is now fixed or not.
Still, getting the same issue? Try the next potential fix to resolve the problem.
Read: Two finger scroll not working in Windows 11/10.
5] Run an SFC scan
If none of the above solutions worked for you, try running an SFC scan. As the problem might also be caused due to corruption in your system. If the issue is indeed caused due to damaged or corrupted system files, this method should be able to fix the issue for you.
SFC which stands for System File Checker is an inbuilt utility tool that you get in Windows. It is a command-based tool that enables users to scan and repair corrupted or broken system files. So, we are going to run an SFC scan to fix the problem at hand. You can follow the below steps to perform an SFC scan on your Windows PC:
Firstly, launch the Command Prompt with administrator rights.
Next, in the elevated Command Prompt, write the following command:
sfc /scannow
Now, press the Enter button to run the command. The command will take about 15-20 minutes to finish. Once it is finished, restart your PC. Hopefully, on the next startup, the problem would be fixed.
That’s it!
How do I find my touchpad in Device Manager?
To find your touchpad in Device Manager, first, launch the Device Manager app from the Win+X shortcut menu. After that, under your PC name, locate the Mice and other pointing devices category and expand it by clicking on its drop-down button. Here, you can view your touchpad driver. You might also view your touchpad under the Human Interface Devices category.
Why can’t I find touchpad settings in Windows 10?
If touchpad settings are missing from your PC, try updating your touchpad driver from Device Manager. At times, the issue could be caused due to a recent driver update. In that case, you can try rolling back your driver to the previous version and see if it fixes the problem. Also, try updating your Windows to fix the issue.
How do I reinstall my touchpad driver?
To reinstall your touchpad driver, open Device Manager and scroll down to the Mice and other pointing devices category. Expand this category and right-click on your touchpad driver. Now, select the Uninstall device option to uninstall the driver. Next, reboot your PC and Windows will attempt to reinstall the missing driver automatically. Or, you can manually download and install your touchpad driver from the official website of the device manufacturer.
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