Touchpad not Showing in Device Manager: 5 Ways to Bring It Back

All Dell, Lenovo, and HP laptops come with the appropriate drivers installed out of the box. This includes touchpad or trackpad drivers too. You can manage, update, uninstall, and reinstall these drivers in the Device Manager.

However, you may sometimes notice the touchpad not showing in the Device Manager issue. If the touchpad driver in Device Manager is missing, it is most likely a driver-related problem.

You may also need to install a whole different edition of Windows to resolve the error in some instances. 

This article shows you how to fix the touchpad driver missing in the Device Manager problem in your Windows laptop.

Why is my Touchpad not showing in Device Manager?

The main reason the Touchpad is not showing up in Device Manager on Dell, HP, Acer, and Lenovo is missing or outdated drivers. You can fix this effectively by updating your driver with a dedicated tool.

Wrong BIOS configuration can be another reason the Touchpad is missing. Regardless of the cause, rest assured you will find a proper fix in this guide.

Moreover, here are some error variations that you may encounter, but nonetheless, fix with the solutions below:

• Touchpad not showing in Device Manager HP (Synaptics in particular) Lenovo (Ideapad 330 in particular), Dell, Acer, Asus, Elan
• Touchpad not showing in Device Manager (Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 11)
• Mice and other pointing devices missing touchpad
• Touchpad driver not showing in Device Manager
• Touchpad not showing in settings

How do I know if my touchpad drivers are installed?

The Device Manager is where drivers are managed. You can update, manage, uninstall, and reinstall your drivers from there.

So, to know if your touchpad drivers are installed, just check the Device Manager under the Mice and other pointing devices section. To show hidden devices in Device Manager, do the following:

1. Right-click the Start icon then select Device Manager.
2. Click the View button then select Show hidden devices.
3. Next, expand the Mice and other pointing devices section to see your touchpad drivers.

Without further ado, let’s see what you can do if the touchpad drivers are not showing in Device Manager. Follow along!

What do I do if touchpad is not showing in Device Manager?

1. Update touchpad drivers with a specialized tool

Outdated and missing drivers are one of the reasons why Device Manage may fail to detect and show your laptop’s Touchpad. This can happen due to an outdated or corrupt driver.

You can update device drivers from the Device Manager. However, this can be cumbersome if a few devices miss driver updates. Driver update utilities can help you update device drivers automatically with a single click.

2. Configure BIOS 

1. Shut down your PC.
2. Next, you need to boot into BIOS. To do this, press the Power button to restart and F2 as soon as your laptop manufacturer logo appears.
   
3. Once in the BIOS menu, open the Main tab.
4. Locate the Touchpad and set it to Advanced from Basic.
5. Save the changes and exit BIOS.
6. Restart your PC and check if the Touchpad not showing up in the Device Manager on Dell issue is resolved. 

Selecting the Advanced option in the BIOS touchpad setting should help you fix the touchpad drive missing in the Device Manager issue. 

If changing the touchpad setting in BIOS did not help, try resetting the BIOS configuration to default. This will remove any issues that may occur due to BIOS misconfiguration.

Then, restart the computer and check if the Touchpad is working without any issues.

3. Uninstall the touchpad device and drivers 

1. Press the Windows key and type Device Manager in the search.
2. Click on Device Manager to open the applet.
   
3. Double-click the Mice and other pointing devices option to expand it.
   
4. Right-click on your touchpad driver and select Uninstall device.
   
5. Click the Uninstall button to confirm the action.
   
6. Finally, click Scan for hardware changes icon at the top to reinstall the driver.
   

In Device Manager, check if your Touchpad is shown in the Mice and other pointing devices category. Also, restart your computer to apply the changes.

Uninstalling the device driver can help if Windows fails to detect your Touchpad due to a corruption issue or a glitch.

4. Use the Windows generic device driver 

1. Press the Windows key + R, type devmgmt.msc, and click OK.
   
2. Expand the Mice and other pointing devices option.
   
3. Right-click on your touchpad driver and choose Update driver.
   
4. Next, choose Browser my computer for drivers.
   
5. Click Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
   
6. Choose the PS/2 Compatible mouse and click Next. Windows will install the generic driver.
   

Restart your computer and check if the Touchpad is not showing the Device Manager Lenovo issue is resolved. Windows generic device drivers can help you get your mouse back to work if the proprietary touchpad drivers are missing.

5. Hard reset your laptop 

1. Shut down your Dell, Lenovo, or HP laptop. 
2. Disconnect all the peripherals and cords connected to your computer, including the power cable.
3. Remove the battery of your laptop.
4. Press and hold the Power button for about 15 seconds to drain any residual electric charge from the capacitors.
5. Next, reinsert the battery pack and put together the back panel.
6. Connect your power cord and power on your PC.

After the restart, check if the Touchpad not showing up in the Device Manager HP problem.

NOTE

Hard Reset involves removing and reinstalling your laptop battery. Some batteries need to be unscrewed, while others are easy to remove. So, proceed at your own risk.

How do I fix the Touchpad not showing in Device Manager on Windows 11?

The Touchpad not showing in the Device Manager issue is a generic problem with the same set of causes. So, the reasons are the same on Windows 10 and 11.

To fix the issue, you can apply any of the fixes provided in this guide, as there is little to no difference in the menu structure of Windows 10 and 11.

The Touchpad driver missing in Device Manager is an issue that outdated device drivers usually trigger.

If updating the driver did not help, check your BIOS configuration. Additionally, reinstall the device driver, choose Windows generic driver, or hard reset your laptop to fix the issue.

Note that it’s essential to back up your drivers constantly. So do not hesitate to use only the best driver backup software for Windows 10 to make that happen.

You can also disable Palmcheck if it is a nuisance by turning off or adjusting the Touchpad sensitivity settings.

So, these are some of the confirmed solutions for touchpad driver missing issues. Tell us more in the comments below if you know any other tips.