Sticking Cursor

Question

Sticking Cursor

Wayne Hinton 5

I have a 2019 HP laptop that has been working great until I have encountered a strange thing. I had used a trackball type mouse for the first two years but then took to using the touchpad for moving the cursor and clicking. This worked fine until just a few days ago when I suddenly found that when I tried moving the cursor with the touchpad sometimes the cursor wouldn't move even after several attempts. Other times it would move but in a jerky stop and start motion and if I tried placing it somewhere when I released finger pressure on the pad the cursor would move on its own somewhere else. This usually happens after using the touchpad initially for a few minutes. If I unplug the trackball mouse from my desktop and plug it into the USB port on my laptop I can maneuver the mouse normally. I would appreciate any human help you can give me as I am mystified by this recent development. The computer itself seems to be working fine although also recently it sometimes seems to take longer to boot up than it used to. Thank you for your help.

Wayne

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Lester Bernard Reyes 84,815 Independent Advisor

Hi, thank you for replying. Based on the troubleshooting you've completed, it appears that the issue is with the touchpad itself, since the external mouse works properly. This suggests the problem is hardware-related rather than a driver or Windows issue. At this point, your best options are to have the touchpad replaced or continue using an external mouse. Since you've already tried different drivers and cleaning the touchpad without success, further software troubleshooting is unlikely to resolve the issue.

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Lester Bernard Reyes 84,815 Independent Advisor

Hi, I'm Bernard. I'm happy to help!

Based on your inputs, it seems that there is a driver-related issue or a hardware problem. Moreover, let us check the driver and software end first. I suggest rolling back the touchpad driver by following the steps below:

-Press the Windows key + X

-Go to Device Manager

-Expand Mice and other pointing devices

-Look for your Touchpad

-Right-click and click Update Driver

-Select Browse my computer for drivers

-Click Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer

-Choose an old driver or another driver name, then select it and hit Next until it installs.

-Restart the PC and check.

Note: If the issue persists, please download and install a touchpad driver and chipset update from your manufacturer's website.

Wayne Hinton 5 Reputation points

2026-07-09T13:33:36.75+00:00

I tried your instructions and got as far as choosing a driver. When I clicked on that I got three choices. 2 ELAN Clickpads and something about PS2. I have no idea what any of those choices mean. And you said to select an old driver. If the current one (original) is the one giving trouble wouldn't I want a new one? And why two choices for ELAN Clickpads? Also I don't think this is a hardware problem since the cursor moves normally with the trackball mouse both on the laptop and desktop. And why does the touchpad maneuver the cursor properly for several minutes when I first boot up before acting up? I look forward to hearing back from you or another tech person.
Wayne Hinton 5 Reputation points

2026-07-09T13:47:17.0166667+00:00

Did you get my reply?
Lester Bernard Reyes 84,815 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-07-10T01:27:18.2766667+00:00

Hi, thanks for getting back to me. You can try installing one of the older drivers from the list, such as the previous version. The latest driver isn't always the best fit for every PC, so rolling back to an older one may work better with your device. I recommend choosing the middle driver or the last driver from the list.

Since your trackball mouse is working normally, it seems the issue is isolated to the touchpad itself.
Wayne Hinton 5 Reputation points

2026-07-29T16:51:38.58+00:00

Dear Mr. Reyes,

I followed your instructions and successfully downloaded and installed an old driver. I had two choices an ELAN clickpad older than the one installed and something called a PS2 compatible mouse. I chose the former. I restarted the PC and checked but I still have the same problem. The touchpad works normally for a few minutes then starts sticking and jerking around again. I noticed that when this happens it seems like my fingers are not sliding over the surface of the touchpad normally free of friction but that there seems to be an increasing amount of friction and my fingers sometimes almost stop moving. I have tried making sure that my hands and fingers are clean (free of oil) and dry but the sticking still persists. Could there be a problem with the touchpad surface itself? I have tried cleaning it with distilled water and a clean cloth but this didn't seem to help. I took the laptop to a tech at the local Best Buy but he wasn't much help. He said he thought that the processor was getting weak (the machine is 7 years old bought in 2019), but it functions fine and does whatever I tell it to do, I just can't maneuver the cursor to where I want it unless I use the trackball mouse, which works fine. Any further thoughts? I travel with the laptop sometimes to check flights and book seats so packing my mouse pad and trackball mouse isn't really an option for me.