# Accidentally disabled my touch pad - need answer fast! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-disabled-my-touch-pad-need-answer-fast/579710 "2011-04-25T21:22:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-disabled-my-touch-pad-need-answer-fast/579710/1 "2011-04-25T21:22:34Z")
Gaaaaaaaaaaaa! I accidentally disabled the touch pad on my dell laptop (the lap top was falling off my lap and I grabbed it and must have hit the exact keys required to turn it off) and I can’t get it back on and don’t have a mouse. Being as you guys are the smartest in the world someone must know how to enable it. Help me Obi-wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope! ETA I’m running Windows 7 ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-disabled-my-touch-pad-need-answer-fast/579710/2 "2011-04-25T21:27:39Z")
What kind of Dell laptop is it? The only way I know of is through Control Panel. ---
**Author:** ![Sofis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Sofis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofis)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-disabled-my-touch-pad-need-answer-fast/579710/3 "2011-04-25T21:29:11Z")
Likely the function (Fn) key plus one of the F-keys. Look on your keyboard: is there any key with an icon that seems evocative of a touchpad (likely resembling a rectangle with a hand on it)? ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-disabled-my-touch-pad-need-answer-fast/579710/4 "2011-04-25T21:33:36Z")
It’s an Inspiron N5030. I managed to get to the control panel and it says the touch pad is on but the pointer won’t move and the icon on the bottom right has an X on it. I there’s a key that _maybe_ looks like a touch pad but when I do the function key with it, nothing happens. Arg! ETA Just found out that X has nothing to do with the touch pad. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-disabled-my-touch-pad-need-answer-fast/579710/5 "2011-04-25T21:35:49Z")
Maybe a Restart would help? ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-disabled-my-touch-pad-need-answer-fast/579710/6 "2011-04-25T21:37:17Z")
Restart was the first thing I tried. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-disabled-my-touch-pad-need-answer-fast/579710/7 "2011-04-25T21:39:37Z")
Can you call Dell customer support? My roommate in college had a Dell laptop and she was on the phone with them every couple of weeks and it didn’t cost her anything. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-disabled-my-touch-pad-need-answer-fast/579710/8 "2011-04-25T21:41:23Z")
I may have to try that but I thought I’d check here first rather than sitting on hold for an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-disabled-my-touch-pad-need-answer-fast/579710/9 "2011-04-25T21:44:27Z")
**Sofis** , I found the relevant key - it works without hitting function which was why it wasn’t working when hit fuction. Thanks!! Yes, I am a complete Luddite… ---
**Author:** ![shellofmyformerself](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@shellofmyformerself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shellofmyformerself)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-disabled-my-touch-pad-need-answer-fast/579710/10 "2011-04-26T00:16:58Z")
For future reference, if you look at your touchpas kinda sieways (so you have a slight glare on the surface) you’ll see a dot in the upper left-hand corner of the touch pad. If you tap that dot, you can disable/enable the touch pad. Not that I found that out the hard way…:smack: