FZ190 mousepad just stopped working, HELP!

At some point last night, my computer shut down & restarted (windows update I guess).....so I log in and now the mousepad + left/right buttons are all nonfunctional. Completely dead, for no apparent reason.

The mouse cursor is on screen, but doesn't respond to the mousepad/buttons. However, plugging in a USB mouse does work normally.

Another thing, the mousepad does not show up under either the MOUSE PROPERTIES window or DEVICE MANAGER. I downloaded/installed the ALPS driver and still nothing (still doesn't show up, doesn't work).

What the hell happened? My laptop wasn't misshandled, I swear it.

I'm no longer covered under a warrenty, and Sony support is going to charge me $$ just for talking to them, and a google search got me nowhere, so.....this is my last ditch effort for help. Any Sony users have this problem? Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

INFO: FZ190E, VISTA SP1 (fully updated)

 

Restart your laptop. It happened to me a couple of times.

 

Restarted several times now. Still nothing.

 

Hello,

Something similar happened to me some time ago on a Vaio, after I uninstalled the preinstalled Norton AV software.

After much research, I used the System File Checker (sfc.exe). To do this go to the Run box on the Start Menu and type in:
sfc /scannow
This command will initiate the Windows File Protection service to scan all protected files and verify their integrity, replacing any files with which it finds a problem.

It did the trick for me. I hope it does for you.

 

Okay, I've attempted to start sfc.exe and when I click on it, a small window flashes on my screen (as if the program opens, or attempts to open) then closes in less than a second.

Is that normal?

 

Try right clicking of the app and select "Run as Administrator". Or open a CMD prompt with Admin rights and run sfc.exe from there.

Gary

 

Right clicking>Run as Administrator....and the same thing happens: The window flashes on screen for a split second, then vanishes.

When executing sfc.exe in command prompt I get this message:
"You must be administrator running a console session in order to use the sfc ability."

Which is strange because, as far as I know I am logged in as the administrator. How can I be sure?

 

Did you try reinstalling the Alps touchpad driver?

 

Yes, see original post. EDIT: Actually, this may help... after installing the driver I get a window warning saying it may not have installed correctly. So I click, "re-install using windows recommended settings" I then got another warning saying that the device driver was meant for Windows Vista, and wouldn't install.

I'm running VISTA Home Premium SP1

 

Actually no you aren't. Even a user account with Admin rights under Vista is not REALLY an administrator. There is a hidden Administrator account, but that is the ONLY one with FULL admin rights.

Click on Start | All Programs | Accessories and then RIGHT CLICK on the "CMD Prompt" icon. Select "Run as Administrator" notice that the default directory you will start in is NOT the same as you get from a regular CMD prompt (without using the "Run as Administrator"). Now you will be able to run SFC.EXE.

This behavior is part of the security model of Vista. Certain functionality requires an explicit invocation as an Administrator. This is not unlike the way Unix and its Linux derivatives have behaved for years. 'Tis a safety thing!

Gary

 

Gary, thank you for being so informative. I just ran a scan, and no integrity violations were found. What's next?

By the way, each time I attempt to install the ALPS driver I get a pop up saying, "This can only be installed on windows VISTA" then it quits.

 

Is the device showing up in device manager? If not make sure you select the "View | Show hidden devices" option turned on. Delete the Alps device and reboot. That should force a reinstall. It MIGHT install the default Microdoft drivers. But after that try running the installer you have.

Gary

 

UPDATE: I did exactly what Gary did above, rebooted and the mousepad still did not work.

While I was away for the past few days I left my laptop powered off. When I returned home and started the computer up the mousepad/buttons worked normally, and I noticed a window notifying me that an ALPS driver was installed.

I have no idea what fixed it, but it's fixed. Gary, I appreciate all of your help.