• 0

Windows 8 Touchpad gestures not working. Help.

Asked by david,

 Share

Question

Grand Master

david

Posted
Posted

I recently purchased and updated my laptop to Windows 8 Pro. The touchpad works just fine but noticed gestures are not working. I did a Windows update, gestures still do not work.

?

I then went to Synaptics website and downloaded and installed the lastest Windows 8 driver. I'm still not getting any gestures.

?

Under mouse settings in the control panel, my only options to configure buttons are left/right. No gesture settings. Please help as I really want gesture support for my Windows 8 laptop.

?

If any other info is needed that I didn't already explain, please ask. Thanks!

?

?

?

Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5518

Windows 8 Pro

See attached screenshot for more info.

http://db.tt/fodF6WAP

7 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0
Grand Master

Aergan

Posted
Posted

I have had the same issue with my Dell L702X which also uses a Synaptics multi-touch device.

I found that the drivers supplied by Synaptics themselves don't enable a lot of features by default and are for reference purposes. To get the extra features like gestures you really need updated drivers from your OEM or try another OEM's package e.g. Dell, HP.

  • 0
Grand Master

LUTZIFER

Posted
Posted

Control Panel/Mouse Properties/Hardware Tab. Click on the one for your touchpad.

Or may be another Tab there, I can't remember.

If it's not there, look in you Tray and see if there's something for the touchpad in there, or I guess you could look there first too.

If there's nothing in either spot for the touchpad, it's not installed.

My touchpad doesn't show in Mouse Properties cuz it's a driver that I probably shouldn't be using, but in shows in the Tray, and does all gestures.

  • 0
Grand Master

david

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I have had the same issue with my Dell L702X which also uses a Synaptics multi-touch device.

I found that the drivers supplied by Synaptics themselves don't enable a lot of features by default and are for reference purposes. To get the extra features like gestures you really need updated drivers from your OEM or try another OEM's package e.g. Dell, HP.

The two drivers from Toshiba are Synaptic and Elan. Both are dated 2/14/2011. I would guess that they don't have Windows 8 gestures. Anyway to pull the drivers Windows 8 Release Preview had? My gestures worked then.

Control Panel/Mouse Properties/Hardware Tab. Click on the one for your touchpad.

Or may be another Tab there, I can't remember.

If it's not there, look in you Tray and see if there's something for the touchpad in there, or I guess you could look there first too.

If there's nothing in either spot for the touchpad, it's not installed.

My touchpad show in Mouse Properties cuz it's a driver that I probably shouldn't be using, but in shows in the Tray, and does all gestures.

Hardware tab shows a Synaptic device. The tab next to it shows Device Settings with the Synaptic icon. However, the device shown in the list here doesn't say Synaptic. Also, nothing in this tab lets me configure gestures, only Left/Right buttons. I've seen screenshots of this window showing the gesture settings, but mine only shows Left/Right configuration. I don't know why it's not showing gesture settings. =(

I also cannot disable "tapping" as my palm accidentally taps the touchpad and moves my cursor. So annoying.

RLdvb5AQpowcrzCA3sV5f0Yb6UVE1BORjiTNU2ZCqsU

  • 0
Grand Master

LUTZIFER

Posted
Posted

Wow, does seem messed up alright. I guess your best bet is to uninstall the drivers and try other versions till it works properly

At least with mouse/touchpad drivers, installing wrong ones doesn't seem to screw up your system, lol.

I'd do a search since there's always newer drivers other than what's listed on the manufacturers site.

Most of the drivers I have for stuff on my computer are different than what the manufacturer of my laptop or the driver manufacturer suggests.

  • 0
Neowinian

buzzman

Posted
Posted

Just tried Lenovo and HP drivers. Still not working. Ugh, this is so disappointing. :(

 

Hi David

 

I just got a new ultrabook with Windows 8 (coming from a MacBook) and I have exactly the same problem, no matter what drivers i use. I got myself an Acer S7-392 ultrabook.

 

Could you resolve the problem somehow? There are a few people out there in the www having the same problem, but I couldn't find a solution so far...any help would be appreciated!

thanks!

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to question listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Linux 7.1 arrives with an NTFS overhaul and major hardware performance boosts

      By Max Norris · Posted

      Nice, hope they *finally* fixed the issue with the NTFS driver where the system would completely brick during large file copies using the built in driver. It's been broken for years requiring me to use the older, slower, NTFS-3G FUSE driver.
    • Windows 11 KB5094126 BSODing, freezing, forcing BitLocker lockout, breaks OneDrive, and more

      By hellowalkman · Posted

      Windows 11 KB5094126 BSODing, freezing, forcing BitLocker lockout, breaks OneDrive, and more by Sayan Sen Microsoft released Windows 11 KB5094126 and KB5093998 last week as the latest Patch Tuesday updates. Following that the company also published the accompanying dynamic updates under KB5094149, KB5095971, and KB5094156. While Microsoft has so far not acknowledged any major problems with the release, some users online are running into problems. These range from OneDrive and Dropbox access issues, BitLocker recovery lockouts, to blue screens and BSODs. The most common one seems to be happening with HP systems wherein affected users say they hit 0xc0430001 BSOD (blue screen of death) error code after the KB5094126 update. We wonder if this could be related to the recent bug we covered on HP devices wherein the ongoing Secure Boot certificate updates are leading to similar issues. While we are not certain, users affected by this issue likely need to ensure that the boot.stl file is included on the installation media (such as a USB installer or ISO), if the above-mentioned dynamic updates are deployed. If this file is missing, computers may fail to boot from the installation media and could display the error 0xc0430001. This STL file is used by Secure Boot to verify that the boot files are trusted, so it must match the same Windows version and system architecture. To ensure the file is included, Microsoft recommends using the Update WinPE script, which automatically updates the image and handles the required files. Alternatively, you can manually copy the boot.stl file from the Windows\Boot\EFI folder on a Windows device and place it in the matching folder on your installation media before deploying the updated image. Aside from blue screening some users also note their systems have been freezing following the update. This could be happening to Lenovo PCs specifically. In the case of the OneDrive and Dropbox access issues, a user figured out that there could be a conflict with UAC. He explained: "Okay, so I did some digging, and in our environment KB5094126 breaks OneDrive and Dropbox in Explorer. I went through all our GPOs and found out that the combination of disabling UAC and having my user being a local admin breaks OneDrive in Explorer. ... If I enable UAC again, then it works, even with KB5094126 still installed." Hopefully, Microsoft will look into these issues. Source: Microsoft forum (link1, link2, link3, link4), Reddit (link1, link2, link3, link4)
    • Here is how I fixed Windows 11 not booting after clean installation

      By rseiler · Posted

      It is when it's a desktop in my house though for a PC that's lightly used and not really important when it is. If it was a laptop, it would be a different story. The real solution is varied and begins starting at post #22 in that thread.
    • Microsoft hides these secret Windows 11 performance boost settings available on every PC

      By hellowalkman · Posted

      well that's the plan
    • Win11Debloat 2026.06.14

      By Copernic · Posted

      Win11Debloat 2026.06.14 by Razvan Serea Win11Debloat is a lightweight, easy to use PowerShell script that allows you to quickly declutter and customize your Windows experience. It can remove pre-installed bloatware apps, disable telemetry, remove intrusive interface elements and much more. The script also includes many features that system administrators and power users will enjoy. Such as a powerful command-line interface, support for Windows Audit mode and the option to make changes to other Windows users. All changes made by Win11Debloat can be easily reversed, and most removed apps can be restored via the Microsoft Store. A full guide on how to undo the changes is available here. Win11Debloat features: Below is an overview of the key features and functionality offered by Win11Debloat. Please refer to the wiki for more information about the default settings preset. Remove a wide variety of preinstalled apps. Click here for more info. Disable telemetry, diagnostic data, activity history, app-launch tracking & targeted ads. Disable tips, tricks, suggestions & ads across Windows. Disable Windows location services & app location access. Disable Find My Device location tracking. Disable 'Windows Spotlight' and tips & tricks on the lock screen. Disable 'Windows Spotlight' desktop background option. Disable ads, suggestions and the MSN news feed in Microsoft Edge. Hide Microsoft 365 ads on the Settings 'Home' page, or hide the 'Home' page entirely. Disable & remove Microsoft Copilot. Disable Windows Recall. Disable Click to Do, AI text & image analysis tool. Prevent AI service (WSAIFabricSvc) from starting automatically. Disable AI Features in Edge. Disable AI Features in Paint. Disable AI Features in Notepad. Disable the Drag Tray for sharing & moving files. Restore the old Windows 10 style context menu. Turn off Enhance Pointer Precision, also known as mouse acceleration. Disable the Sticky Keys keyboard shortcut. Disable Storage Sense automatic disk cleanup. Disable fast start-up to ensure a full shutdown. ...and more. Once you’ve downloaded the Win11Debloat file (Get.ps1), just follow these quick steps: Locate the Get.ps1 script file. Right-click the file and select Run with PowerShell from the context menu. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), select Yes to grant the script the necessary administrative permissions. Win11Debloat 2026.06.14 changes: This is a minor release that hopefully addresses the false positives in Windows Defender and Bitdefender that prevented users from downloading and/or running Win11Debloat. Refactor Get-RegFileOperations.ps1 to address false positives by @Raphire in #626 Add logging around WinGet app retrieval and increase timeout to 20s by @Raphire Download: Win11Debloat 2026.06.14 | Open Source View: Win11Debloat Home Page | Screenshots 1| 2 Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware

  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Jeroen Wilms earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      rolfus earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Leroy Jethro Gibbs earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Conversation Starter
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • One Month Later
      AndreaB earned a badge
      One Month Later

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      508
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      198
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      138
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      90
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      81
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!