Newest Synaptics Driver Fails To Install, Won't Work?

Anyone else having problems with this driver?

Drivers | Synaptics



I also tried this "force driver" method, which failed as well:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/582539-synaptics-drivers-installation-failed.html

Our Alienware Synaptics touchpads have a horrible issue with not being able to filter out palm touches in a user friendly way, I'm hoping this update fixes that.

I don't think it's a Synaptics hardware issue because the L702x has a Synaptics touch pad as well and never had issues with unwanted "palm scrolling"

 

I've noticed some Dell computers use what seems like custom Synaptics drivers and utility/app. Did the OEM Synaptics driver prove useless? Or are you simply looking to update? I've worked on some computers that reject the generic drivers from Synaptics directly.

 

I had the same problem with my Vaio S. 3 failed installation attempts then it just worked...

 

Had the same issue with the m17x drivers fail to install, I think I might have the previous version which worked installed, but I'll check the version number when I can.

The zip folder unpacks weird and installing throws up the same error message for me as well. I guess you have touch/palm check up to the maximum? and the touch sensitivity to heavy touch or something?

 

Yea, the Dell drivers will randomly stop working and the cursor will jump to the top right corner of the screen when you touch the touch pad. This is on Windows 8 Pro x64. It also happens on my GF's M14x R2. She also has the same OS.

 

Here's the issue in more detail: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-hit-touchpad-causing-unwanted-scrolling.html

I've tried turning the sensitivity down to really low and the palm check to max (just below red). However, if the base of my thumbs barely touches the pad, it will do a fast scroll up or down.

This never happened on my old L702x, which had a touchpad made by Synaptics as well.

It's really too bad that this touchpad prevents Alienware from being a nearly perfect machine. I don't want them to start using ALPS because ALPS touchpads don't have Momentum feature. At least the 2012 Dell Latitude E6430 we have in the office don't have Momentum, they use ALPS touchpads. I thought about trading in this m17x R4 for a M6700, but it uses ALPS, which is worse than Synaptics.

If Dell could bring the matte screen, JBL 2+1 speakers and touchpad from the L702x to the m17x R5, it would be a 99.99% perfect machine. There would be no equal in any class above or below it.

As for now, I just live with the annoyance of the screen scrolling almost everytime I type and the drivers stopping at random times. The only fix for random driver stops is full reboot. Logging off and on doesn't even fix it.

I've already tried re-installing the OS 3x following the guide on here carefully.

 

I'm thinking it's due to a lack of a "digital signature" for the driver, can't get it installed no matter what on my L502x either. I'm looking for some bug fixes in Windows 8 x64. Guess we have to wait for Synaptics to fix it.

 

Why not try temporarily disabling Driver Signature Enforcement in Win 8 and they might install then....I hated DSE whilst I was running Win 8 Pro. Back to Win 7 Ult. for me...

 

Yeah, DSE really sucks under Windows 8. That's a good suggestion, Stevie. It could easily be DSE that is preventing the installation. The "security" features of Windows 8 in general blows chunks and unnecessarily complicates things. There is no need for a digital signature or WHQL certification for that matter. A driver either works right or it doesn't, and the certification doesn't guarantee quality or proper functionality.

 

Disabling DSE worked perfectly. I was able to install with no issues.

 

The download link:

http://www.synaptics.com/resources/drivers

 

Same here. I must have been working in the cmd prompt incorrectly, but booting with advanced options worked.

 

Guys don't blame windows on this, because Driver Certification prevents drivers damaged by virus or rootkits to be redistributed and installed. I am definitely not installing this driver, because it is signed, but signature was tampered. Synaptics should bloody fix this, but obviously they don't even test their own releases. If you look at the change log - they have so many bugs in those drivers - some programmers are working for them or something...

 

It also prevents enthusiasts like me and others from tweaking our systems in whatever manner we chose. I mod my own video drivers to enhance performance, and DSE stops me from installing those drivers unless I turn it off. Multiple reboots to do that are inconvenient. I haven't needed DSE to protect me for the past 25 years of computing and don't need it now. My belief is that it has little to do with security and more to do with control and money. Microsoft WHQL certification is not free... it comes with a price tag, and not all driver developers can or want to pay Microsoft to certify their work product. I don't blame them. I wouldn't either. Many of the device drivers that I find to deliver the best performance are not certified by Microsoft.

Here's how I have circumvented Windows 8's draconian features and taken back control of my computers.

 

hey guys, did the new driver solve the problems with the touchpad?
I am having the same problem already stated here by other user, where the touchpad stops working sometimes (when I have heavy disk I/O) and also sometimes the cursor goes to the top right corner of the screen by itself (and really quick, which causes me to close programs unadvertedly).

I am not sure that I want to enter testing mode just for this driver, if it does not fix these problems.

 

I managed to solve this problem using a slightly earlier version of v17. Please see details (including download link):

Fixed: Cannot install Synaptics Touchpad Driver Windows 8.1 - RyuKent on Technology and Life

Note that I had to run the install which had two components and only installed one the first time. I then restarted and ran the setup utility again. The second time it worked fine. I was running setup as Administrator. The file came from the Acer website but is generic and should work on all Synaptic touchpads.