I have a trackpad issue that is driving me to distraction. If anyone can help, I would really appreciate it. I am also prepared to pay for repair if it actually fixes the problem.
I have an Acer Aspire V3-112P Notebook that I bought from America. I imported it because I could not find the same model here. I chose this computer after extensive research. It was the only one within my budget that had all the features I wanted and I chose it for a reason, so please, no unhelpful disparaging comments about Acer quality. This is the machine I have and it is the one I need to get fixed.
Not long after I got it, the trackpad started acting up. At first it didn’t happen often, and because the computer came from the USA, I didn’t want to get involved in warranty issues. For a long time the problem wasn’t too bad and I decided to live with it. Occasionally the trackpad would just suddenly stop responding. No cursor movement and no mouse clicks. Rebooting fixed it.
Over time it has gradually gotten worse. Now it freezes several times a day, sometimes several times an hour. I have tried different things but the only thing that fixes it is rebooting. After that it works normally again until it freezes. The computer came with Windows 8.1 installed, which I later upgraded to Windows 10. It has the latest updates. The trackpad issue has existed with both OS versions.
I assume (don’t really know) that this is a driver problem rather than a hardware one. I think this because of some things I have read on Acer forums and because rebooting always fixes it. I have checked the Acer site for driver updates but there aren’t any. I don’t know what else to do.
Sometimes (not always), the cursor behaves erratically before it freezes. It may make a few random movements. Or it may partially freeze, then work briefly again before completely freezing. I cannot find any pattern to the freezing. It seems to be completely random, not affected by any software I am using or any actions I am performing. Sometimes it happens more than once within a few minutes, sometimes it goes hours without a problem (though it is getting more frequent). It does not affect the keyboard or touchscreen so I can continue using the computer. An external USB mouse also works.
There are two touchpad drivers for this model on the Acer site. I think my touchpad must be the Synaptics one because of the reduced settings it offers. A Synaptics HID device is also listed under Human Interface Devices on my machine, as well as HID-compliant touch pad and other devices. Under mice it only lists HID-compliant mouse.
Any help with this would be very much appreciated.