I disabled my laptop touchpad and now can't enable it

I have a Toshiba Satellite A100-033 running Vista Home Basic. I mostly use
the laptop as a desk top replacement and, as I dislike using the touchpad, I
disabled it, and instead I use an external mouse via one of the USB ports.

On my laptop the standard way to disable the touchpad is by simultaneously
pressing the Fn key and the F9 key. However, to be honest, I am not sure
whether I did in fact disable the touchpad by this means, or whether I used
some other means (if it was by some other means then I have forgotten what
this was). Recently I wished to re-enable the touchpad so that I could use
the laptop outside the house without having to take my external mouse with me
as well. However, I found that pressing Fn + F9 did not re-enable the
touchpad and I now can't use the touchpad at all.

If I go into mouse properties (in control panel), this tells me that my
synaptics pointing device is enabled. If I go into device manager and look at
"mice", I am told that my touchpad is working properly.

All this makes me suspect that the problem is not a hardware fault but that
I have altered some setting, with the result that my touchpad is permanently
disabled until I change the setting back to its original state.

Any suggestions?

Something to try:

On the Start - Run line, type SERVICES.MSC and hit enter.
scroll down and look for touch pad,
If it is on the list, right click it and set it to automatic.

"rh0000" <rh0000@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:4CDE41CF-4D37-4666-9C9A-DC9E2B375CB4@microsoft.com...
> I have a Toshiba Satellite A100-033 running Vista Home Basic. I mostly use
> the laptop as a desk top replacement and, as I dislike using the touchpad,
> I
> disabled it, and instead I use an external mouse via one of the USB ports.
>
> On my laptop the standard way to disable the touchpad is by simultaneously
> pressing the Fn key and the F9 key. However, to be honest, I am not sure
> whether I did in fact disable the touchpad by this means, or whether I
> used
> some other means (if it was by some other means then I have forgotten what
> this was). Recently I wished to re-enable the touchpad so that I could use
> the laptop outside the house without having to take my external mouse with
> me
> as well. However, I found that pressing Fn + F9 did not re-enable the
> touchpad and I now can't use the touchpad at all.
>
> If I go into mouse properties (in control panel), this tells me that my
> synaptics pointing device is enabled. If I go into device manager and look
> at
> "mice", I am told that my touchpad is working properly.
>
> All this makes me suspect that the problem is not a hardware fault but
> that
> I have altered some setting, with the result that my touchpad is
> permanently
> disabled until I change the setting back to its original state.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
>

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I couldn't find any occurrence of a
touchpad under services.msc, so your suggestion didn't work. But I do have a
feeling that originally I may have disabled the touchpad by changing some
setting or other, so I feel your suggestion was on the right lines, even
though it didn't do the trick. Thanks once again for giving my problem some
thought.


"JerryM" wrote:

> Something to try:
>
> On the Start - Run line, type SERVICES.MSC and hit enter.
> scroll down and look for touch pad,
> If it is on the list, right click it and set it to automatic.
>
> "rh0000" <rh0000@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:4CDE41CF-4D37-4666-9C9A-DC9E2B375CB4@microsoft.com...
> > I have a Toshiba Satellite A100-033 running Vista Home Basic. I mostly use
> > the laptop as a desk top replacement and, as I dislike using the touchpad,
> > I
> > disabled it, and instead I use an external mouse via one of the USB ports.
> >
> > On my laptop the standard way to disable the touchpad is by simultaneously
> > pressing the Fn key and the F9 key. However, to be honest, I am not sure
> > whether I did in fact disable the touchpad by this means, or whether I
> > used
> > some other means (if it was by some other means then I have forgotten what
> > this was). Recently I wished to re-enable the touchpad so that I could use
> > the laptop outside the house without having to take my external mouse with
> > me
> > as well. However, I found that pressing Fn + F9 did not re-enable the
> > touchpad and I now can't use the touchpad at all.
> >
> > If I go into mouse properties (in control panel), this tells me that my
> > synaptics pointing device is enabled. If I go into device manager and look
> > at
> > "mice", I am told that my touchpad is working properly.
> >
> > All this makes me suspect that the problem is not a hardware fault but
> > that
> > I have altered some setting, with the result that my touchpad is
> > permanently
> > disabled until I change the setting back to its original state.
> >
> > Any suggestions?
> >
> >
>

Another thing to try is to Restore to an earlier date, if you have one old
enough.

Good Luck
Jerry

"rh0000" <rh0000@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:47DE5D3A-6C4A-4366-985E-45F5ECE3B59D@microsoft.com...
> Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I couldn't find any occurrence of
> a
> touchpad under services.msc, so your suggestion didn't work. But I do have
> a
> feeling that originally I may have disabled the touchpad by changing some
> setting or other, so I feel your suggestion was on the right lines, even
> though it didn't do the trick. Thanks once again for giving my problem
> some
> thought.
>
>
<Snip>

The last thing I can think of is to type SFC /SCANNOW on the start -run
line.
This will correct or replace any missing or corrupt files on your operating
system.

Jerry


"JerryM" <jerrym526@msn.org> wrote in message
news:OZpn18grIHA.4492@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> Another thing to try is to Restore to an earlier date, if you have one old
> enough.
>
> Good Luck
> Jerry
>
> "rh0000" <rh0000@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:47DE5D3A-6C4A-4366-985E-45F5ECE3B59D@microsoft.com...
>> Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I couldn't find any occurrence
>> of a
>> touchpad under services.msc, so your suggestion didn't work. But I do
>> have a
>> feeling that originally I may have disabled the touchpad by changing some
>> setting or other, so I feel your suggestion was on the right lines, even
>> though it didn't do the trick. Thanks once again for giving my problem
>> some
>> thought.
>>
>>
> <Snip>

I suggest typing "cmd" first to open a command window and running sfc there.
Just a suggestion.

"JerryM" <jerrym526@msn.org> wrote in message
news:uTTazDhrIHA.5580@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> The last thing I can think of is to type SFC /SCANNOW on the start -run
> line.
> This will correct or replace any missing or corrupt files on your
> operating system.
>
> Jerry
>
>
> "JerryM" <jerrym526@msn.org> wrote in message
> news:OZpn18grIHA.4492@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>> Another thing to try is to Restore to an earlier date, if you have one
>> old enough.
>>
>> Good Luck
>> Jerry
>>
>> "rh0000" <rh0000@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:47DE5D3A-6C4A-4366-985E-45F5ECE3B59D@microsoft.com...
>>> Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I couldn't find any occurrence
>>> of a
>>> touchpad under services.msc, so your suggestion didn't work. But I do
>>> have a
>>> feeling that originally I may have disabled the touchpad by changing
>>> some
>>> setting or other, so I feel your suggestion was on the right lines, even
>>> though it didn't do the trick. Thanks once again for giving my problem
>>> some
>>> thought.
>>>
>>>
>> <Snip>
>

Thanks, Colin,

My mind is a little bit forgetful,
Jerry

"Colin Barnhorst" <c.barnhorst@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:AF1DB96F-7D02-4757-84D1-D6867EA13C00@microsoft.com...
> I suggest typing "cmd" first to open a command window and running sfc
> there. Just a suggestion.
>
> "JerryM" <jerrym526@msn.org> wrote in message
> news:uTTazDhrIHA.5580@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> The last thing I can think of is to type SFC /SCANNOW on the start -run
>> line.
>> This will correct or replace any missing or corrupt files on your
>> operating system.
>>
>> Jerry
>>
>>
>> "JerryM" <jerrym526@msn.org> wrote in message
>> news:OZpn18grIHA.4492@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>>> Another thing to try is to Restore to an earlier date, if you have one
>>> old enough.
>>>
>>> Good Luck
>>> Jerry
>>>
>>> "rh0000" <rh0000@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>>> news:47DE5D3A-6C4A-4366-985E-45F5ECE3B59D@microsoft.com...
>>>> Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I couldn't find any occurrence
>>>> of a
>>>> touchpad under services.msc, so your suggestion didn't work. But I do
>>>> have a
>>>> feeling that originally I may have disabled the touchpad by changing
>>>> some
>>>> setting or other, so I feel your suggestion was on the right lines,
>>>> even
>>>> though it didn't do the trick. Thanks once again for giving my problem
>>>> some
>>>> thought.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> <Snip>
>>
>

Thanks for your further thoughts. I don't have a restore point going back far
enough. I've tried to run SFC /SCANNOW. However, if I have no space between
SFC and the slash, I'm told that Windows can't find the file. If there is a
space (as you have in your suggestion), then a black "DOS" type box flashes
onto my desktop for a brief moment, but too brief for me to be able to say
what it says. So that's drawn a blank as well. But again, my thanks for your
efforts.

"JerryM" wrote:

> The last thing I can think of is to type SFC /SCANNOW on the start -run
> line.
> This will correct or replace any missing or corrupt files on your operating
> system.
>
> Jerry
>
>
> "JerryM" <jerrym526@msn.org> wrote in message
> news:OZpn18grIHA.4492@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> > Another thing to try is to Restore to an earlier date, if you have one old
> > enough.
> >
> > Good Luck
> > Jerry
> >
> > "rh0000" <rh0000@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > news:47DE5D3A-6C4A-4366-985E-45F5ECE3B59D@microsoft.com...
> >> Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I couldn't find any occurrence
> >> of a
> >> touchpad under services.msc, so your suggestion didn't work. But I do
> >> have a
> >> feeling that originally I may have disabled the touchpad by changing some
> >> setting or other, so I feel your suggestion was on the right lines, even
> >> though it didn't do the trick. Thanks once again for giving my problem
> >> some
> >> thought.
> >>
> >>
> > <Snip>
>
>

Type "cmd" + Enter in the Start/Search box and then run "sfc /scannow" in
the command window. Close the command window with "exit" when done.

"rh0000" <rh0000@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:9D537319-AA5E-4044-98D1-3E9B411CB0A6@microsoft.com...
> Thanks for your further thoughts. I don't have a restore point going back
> far
> enough. I've tried to run SFC /SCANNOW. However, if I have no space
> between
> SFC and the slash, I'm told that Windows can't find the file. If there is
> a
> space (as you have in your suggestion), then a black "DOS" type box
> flashes
> onto my desktop for a brief moment, but too brief for me to be able to say
> what it says. So that's drawn a blank as well. But again, my thanks for
> your
> efforts.
>
> "JerryM" wrote:
>
>> The last thing I can think of is to type SFC /SCANNOW on the start -run
>> line.
>> This will correct or replace any missing or corrupt files on your
>> operating
>> system.
>>
>> Jerry
>>
>>
>> "JerryM" <jerrym526@msn.org> wrote in message
>> news:OZpn18grIHA.4492@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>> > Another thing to try is to Restore to an earlier date, if you have one
>> > old
>> > enough.
>> >
>> > Good Luck
>> > Jerry
>> >
>> > "rh0000" <rh0000@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> > news:47DE5D3A-6C4A-4366-985E-45F5ECE3B59D@microsoft.com...
>> >> Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I couldn't find any
>> >> occurrence
>> >> of a
>> >> touchpad under services.msc, so your suggestion didn't work. But I do
>> >> have a
>> >> feeling that originally I may have disabled the touchpad by changing
>> >> some
>> >> setting or other, so I feel your suggestion was on the right lines,
>> >> even
>> >> though it didn't do the trick. Thanks once again for giving my problem
>> >> some
>> >> thought.
>> >>
>> >>
>> > <Snip>
>>
>>

Also you can check in the laptops BIOS for a touchpad setting.
--
David Vair
CNE,CNA,MCP,A+,N+

"rh0000" <rh0000@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:47DE5D3A-6C4A-4366-985E-45F5ECE3B59D@microsoft.com...
> Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I couldn't find any occurrence of
> a
> touchpad under services.msc, so your suggestion didn't work. But I do have
> a
> feeling that originally I may have disabled the touchpad by changing some
> setting or other, so I feel your suggestion was on the right lines, even
> though it didn't do the trick. Thanks once again for giving my problem
> some
> thought.
>
>
> "JerryM" wrote:
>
>> Something to try:
>>
>> On the Start - Run line, type SERVICES.MSC and hit enter.
>> scroll down and look for touch pad,
>> If it is on the list, right click it and set it to automatic.
>>
>> "rh0000" <rh0000@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:4CDE41CF-4D37-4666-9C9A-DC9E2B375CB4@microsoft.com...
>> > I have a Toshiba Satellite A100-033 running Vista Home Basic. I mostly
>> > use
>> > the laptop as a desk top replacement and, as I dislike using the
>> > touchpad,
>> > I
>> > disabled it, and instead I use an external mouse via one of the USB
>> > ports.
>> >
>> > On my laptop the standard way to disable the touchpad is by
>> > simultaneously
>> > pressing the Fn key and the F9 key. However, to be honest, I am not
>> > sure
>> > whether I did in fact disable the touchpad by this means, or whether I
>> > used
>> > some other means (if it was by some other means then I have forgotten
>> > what
>> > this was). Recently I wished to re-enable the touchpad so that I could
>> > use
>> > the laptop outside the house without having to take my external mouse
>> > with
>> > me
>> > as well. However, I found that pressing Fn + F9 did not re-enable the
>> > touchpad and I now can't use the touchpad at all.
>> >
>> > If I go into mouse properties (in control panel), this tells me that my
>> > synaptics pointing device is enabled. If I go into device manager and
>> > look
>> > at
>> > "mice", I am told that my touchpad is working properly.
>> >
>> > All this makes me suspect that the problem is not a hardware fault but
>> > that
>> > I have altered some setting, with the result that my touchpad is
>> > permanently
>> > disabled until I change the setting back to its original state.
>> >
>> > Any suggestions?
>> >
>> >
>>