My touchpad stops working and my Cursor Vanishes

Question

I am unable to use my touch pad for scrolling the mouse cursor has also vanished, it comes back after some time.

Answer 1

Hi, I'm Bernard, a fellow Windows user. I'm happy to help!

Based on your inputs, it seems that there is an incompatibility with the Touchpad driver. Moreover, kindly follow the steps below for us to sort out the issue:

-Press the Windows key + X

-Go to Device Manager

-Expand the Mice and other pointing devices

-Look for your touchpad driver

-Right-click and click Update Driver

-Select Browse my computer for drivers

-Click Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer

-Choose an old driver or another driver name, then select it and hit next until it installs.

-Restart the PC and check.

Note: If the issue persists, please download and install a touchpad driver from your manufacturer's website.

Answer 2

The issue is typically caused by touchpad driver or firmware problems, or by a known Windows bug where the touchpad stops responding and the cursor disappears, then returns later.

Try these steps in order:

1. Update touchpad drivers via Windows Update
   1. Open Settings > Windows Update.
   2. Select Check for updates and install all available updates, including optional driver/firmware updates.
   3. Restart the PC and test the touchpad.
2. Update or reinstall the touchpad driver in Device Manager
   1. Right‑click Start and select Device Manager.
   2. Look for the touchpad under Human Interface Devices or Mice and other pointing devices.
   3. Right‑click the touchpad entry and select Update driver, then follow the prompts.
   4. If updating does not help, right‑click the same device and select Uninstall device (do not delete the driver software if prompted), then restart the PC so Windows reinstalls the driver automatically.
3. If the device is a Surface or laptop with a precision touchpad
   1. Make sure all firmware and driver updates are installed through Windows Update.
   2. If the problem occurs after sleep or startup, check for known fixes (for example, Windows 8.1/8 had specific rollups that fixed touchpad/touch issues after sleep or fast startup). Ensure the system is fully patched.
4. Test hardware
   1. Connect an external USB mouse and verify the cursor behaves normally.
   2. If the external mouse also fails intermittently, this points to a broader system/driver issue; if only the touchpad fails, it may be a hardware fault.
   3. If updating/reinstalling drivers does not help and the issue persists, contact the device manufacturer for hardware diagnostics or repair.

These steps address the most common causes: outdated or corrupted touchpad drivers and known OS issues that affect touch/touchpad after sleep or startup.

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References:

• Fix touchpad problems in Windows
• Mouse and keyboard problems in Windows
• Precision Touchpad stops working when your Windows 8.1 device wakes from sleep
• Touch function does not work after fast startup on a computer that is running Windows 8 or Windows RT
• Surface touchpad use and settings