Hello! I don't know where else on the internet to ask this, again, as elsewhere I got no answers. I hope it's not too out of place. I have an older (2010) Sony VAIO laptop (F13 series) with an integrated Alps touchpad. Laptop came with Windows 7 and a bunch of VAIO software, one program was VAIO Control Center, where the touchpad could be set to eihter Enabled (the default mode - it was enabled when I bought it and it's the default setting in the program) or to Disabled. Soon after I got the laptop (that's now over 10 years ago), I set the touchpad to disabled because I was always using an external mouse. The laptop does not have a Fn key to enable/disable the touchpad. And now it gets interesting. I didn't really need the old laptop anymore since I got a new computer, but I formatted it and installed Windows 10 on it anyway. But, the touchpad stayed disabled. I went in the BIOS but there's not settings there for the touchpad, I've upgraded the BIOS to the latest version and also reset BIOS to default settings, of course nothing helped - touchpad was still disabled when I booted into Windows 10. So I tried all the driveres I could find, but that didn't help either. Then I did a "low level format" (filled with zeroes) of the laptop's HDD. Then installed Windows 10 anew. Installed drivers. Nothing, touchpad is still dead. Then I installed Linux on the laptop, but the touchpad was still dead, always had to use an external mouse. And now, not long ago, I found the old drivers CD which came with the VAIO when I bought it. This time I installed Windows 7 on the laptop, then all the drivers from the CD, also the VAIO Control Center software. But the touchpad still didn't work! Then I run the VAIO Control Center. When it opened up I went to the touchpad settings section and the setting was already set to default - Enabled. And yes, NOW the touchpad started working, after years of trying to make it work. I then removed Windows 7 and installed Windows 10 on the laptop again - lo and behold, the touchpad was working, with the default drivers that Windows 10 installed, without the VAIO Control Center software (which is not even supported for Windows 10 anyway). Then I zeroed out the HDD again and booted from a Macrium Reflect (disk imaging software) USB - and the touchpad worked there too. I bet it would work on Linux now too, but didn't try it. So this made me think, if the setting of the touchpad being enabled or disabled was not saved anywhere on the HDD (I zeroed it out) or in the BIOS (no such setting + I reset the BIOS to defaults anyway), where does the touchpad enabled/disabled setting get saved to? Could it have it's own memory of some sort (like EEPROM)? I'd really like to know more about this, but I can't find any info about Alps touchpads in VAIO laptops with own memory, or anything on any laptop touchpads with own memory. If anyone knows where I could leanr more about this or just ask about it and get answers, I'd really appreciate it! TL DR I disabled the touchpad of a VAIO laptop via VAIO software, then formatted the HDD and reset the BIOS, but after installing Windows anew, the touchpad was still disabled. I suspect the touchpad has it's own memory to store the setting. Please read above to find out more!
It sure seems like this would be a BIOS setting somewhere. Other than a standard keyboard buffer, I don't believe there is a separate EEPROM or similar device to store that enable/disable function. That seems like an unnecessary expense. I am also surprised there is no Fn + F-Key combination to enable/disable the touchpad. I have worked with dozens of laptops over the years and frankly, I hate touchpads. I have never been able to properly train my thumb to keep from brushing the touchpad, sending the cursor to parts unknown. So I routinely disable the touchpad and use a mouse. I do not recall any laptop that did not have a Fn + F-Key combination for this function. Unfortunately, there is no industry standard among laptop makers for which keys to use. Nor is there a standard for the icon on the key. So, for example, on my Toshiba laptop, it is Fn +F9 and the icon looks like two, upside down, 2-button mice, one with a circle with a line through it. And on my newer MSI laptop, it is Fn + F4, and the icon is an image of a single laptop with a line through it. Point being, neither really looks like a touchpad. Without knowing the exact model of your Sony, I don't know what model number to search to find your manual, but I think you should look in your manual, if you can find it or download a copy. Otherwise, you may just need to try all the Fn + F-Key combos.
Hi, thank you for the reply. It is not a BIOS setting, my VAIO BIOS (updated to the latest version) only has a few settings: boot menu, C3/C6 state enable/disable (this feature was added in the only BIOS update that was released for this laptop), Vanderpool technology enable/disable, date/time and password. That is all. Plus, as I have written above, I have reset the BIOS to defaults anyway - and that did not change the touchpad behaviour. This laptop does not have a Fn key to enable/disable the touchpad (link to the manual is below). And even if it did, I have zeroed out the HDD (which is the only disk drive in the laptop) before instalaling Windows anew (that means removing all the settings, drivers, OS... - everything), as I have written above - and the touchpad did not work after the disk formatting either. Exact model of my VAIO: VPC F13S0E/B The specs: https://icecat.biz/p/sony/vpcf13s0e-b/vaio-notebooks-vpc-f13s0e-b-5926631.html The manual (from page 36 onwards, the note about the touchpad at the bottom of page 39 is interesting too): https://filebin.net/ubulrheewte5ager So it is established that the "touchpad = disabled" (which is NOT the default setting) was not saved to either the BIOS or the HDD. Edit: Googled some more and found this link - in nicely describes the problem, but doesn't tell where the setting is saved or what kind of memory has the touchpad - what si really going on. https://www.instructables.com/Disable-Touchpad-on-Sony-Vaio-Laptop-after-Clean-W/
Yeah, I can only suggest connecting a mouse, then try to get the touchpad to work with the mouse connected. Otherwise, there may just be a fault in there. It is a 12 year old computer, after all. The instructions on page 166 are just as vague. For the record, zeroing out the HDD "should" not matter. This is because the drive is not touched until well into the boot process - well after the prompt to enter the BIOS Setup menu is offered. That said, I realize "should" is a loaded word here. Sorry I don't have anything more to offer.
As i've written in the original post, the touchpad works now - I have enabled it, so I'm not trying to fix that. What I would like is to know where the setting is saved/stored exactly. I'm very curious about it, I'd like to read something official or some explanation on where this setting is saved on this Alps touchpad. The instructions are on pages 36 - 39. Zeroing out the HDD would of course matter if the setting was saved on the HDD. If it was saved in BIOS, then not, but it is NOT saved in the BIOS (nor on the HDD). Thank you anyway. As a side note, I also mess everything up when typing if I have a touchpad enabled. I remember an ASUS laptop from a while ago which had a great auto-disable feature: when the mouse was connected, the touchpad was auto-disabled. And when the mouse was removed, the touchpad was auto-enabled. But this is unrelated to the VAIO "problem" above. So, if anyone knows of a special forum or place where I could ask about this and (probably) get an answer, I'd really appreciate it!
Well, keyboards and mice (which share a lot of I/O processes) are programmed. This is how only a few wires can support dozens of keys and functions. So there may be chip in the keyboard or elsewhere. Without a schematic, probably will never know.
