“My laptop mouse/keyboard is not working in Windows7 after an update; but they still work fine in Safe Mode. What should I do?”

Sounds like driver trouble. Something in your regular Win7 drivers isn’t working with the new update; but when your PC falls back to generic drivers (as in Safe Mode), things apparently work OK again.

Option 1) Go to your laptop maker’s support site; download (but don’t yet install) the correct Win7 drivers for your exact model’s mouse/keyboard/trackpad; while you’re there, see what other drivers the manufacturer recommends (e.g. the USB subsystem; which is used internally by many laptops for the built-in keyboard, trackpad, etc.).

Note: DO NOT rely on third-party driver-update tools. They often simply default to the driver with the highest build number, which is NOT a reliable way to determine backwards-compatibility with older systems. Most PC manufacturer’s support sites offer tools or information that can help you identify exactly what drivers you might need, if any.

When you’ve saved local copies of the most-current drivers for your PC, use Win7’s Device Manager to uninstall the malfunctioning mouse/keyboard/whatever drivers. (Need help? See the Microsoft support article, “Using Device Manager to Uninstall Devices and Driver Packages.”) Then, install the freshly-downloaded drivers (usually, you just run an installation app provided as part of the driver download). Reboot, and you should be good to go.

Option 2) Uninstall the old drivers, as above; but then delete the associated, currently malfunctioning driver files. Some driver packages can be uninstalled via Control Panel’s Uninstall function; if you see your target drivers listed there, uninstall ’em!

Next, whether or not you can uninstall them via Control Panel, check the driver locations in Device Manager: Select and right-click the device of interest; select Properties; then select the Driver tab; then click the Driver Details button. You’ll see the names and locations of the associated files, if any — delete those, reboot, and the old drivers should be gone completely. (See Fig. 1, below.)

Windows should then use its default drivers, which should work the same way they do in Safe Mode. But if not, try Option #1 again, now that the old drivers are completely gone.

Permalink: https://langa.com/?p=3467

COMMENT / QUESTION on THIS ITEM? See the Comment box at bottom of this page!

NEW QUESTION? Ask here!

(Want free notification of new content? Click here!)