Touchpad stopped working after I spilled a drink on it
Another touchpad problem here – I stupidly spilled a drink over the touchpad and keyboard on my Toshiba Satellite A60 a few days ago, and since then the touchpad isn’t responding. I switched the computer off straight away after the spill, and opened it up to check it was dry inside and that there was no corrosion damage. There was no damage visible, and very little liquid inside the machine (just a few drops on the black plastic underneath the keyboard, but nothing on the motherboard itself as far as I could see).
Once I powered it back up, however, the touchpad wasn’t working at all, though the keyboard and everything else seems to be working OK. I checked the connection (which was a bit loose) and reattached it, but no luck. The lights at the front of the computer near the touchpad work fine. Any suggestions as to what the problem could be? Is it possible to replace the touchpad if all else fails?
Before you go inside the laptop try enabling the touchpad by pressing Fn + F9 keys. Maybe it was disabled somehow.
I think you’ll have to remove the laptop top cover and take a closer look at the motherboard. Even though you cannot see any liquid damage under the keyboard, it still could be on the motherboard.
Here are instructions for taking apart Satellite A60 or A65 notebooks, could be helpful.
Remove the top cover and check out the motherboard. If it looks clean and there is no liquid damage, probably you’ll have to replace the touchpad. Yes, it’s possible but you’ll have to remove the top cover first.
September 19th, 2007 at 3:27 am
Thanks for the speedy reply. The touchpad started working erratically last night, as if the left mouse button were stuck. This morning I took it apart completely, and on part of the circuit board under the touchpad there’s a slight discolouration. I had a good look at the whole motherboard and there’s no evidence of damage anywhere (and a thick layer of dust covering everything to boot!), so I’m fairly certain it’s just the touchpad that’s affected.
Sorry to trouble you again but I just had a few more questions: first, is it worth trying to clean the touchpad circuit board? It doesn’t look too serious visually, though that’s probably not a reliable diagnosis! Second, if it is damaged beyond repair, is it safe to go on using the computer with an external mouse, or could that cause further damage? And last, how easy is it to replace the touchpad? It seems to just be screwed on to the front cover from what I can see. Thanks again for your help.
September 19th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Catherine Wilson,
If the touchpad is damaged you cannot repair it. You’ll have to replace the touchpad.
You said:
Maybe there is nothing wrong with the touchpad itself and you have a problem with the button board? Maybe this board has liquid damage?
Just in case I’ll give you part numbers:
- touchpad: V000040420
- button board: V000040150 (without infrared)
- button board: V000040440 (with infrared)
I believe these parts will fit all Satellites A60/A65. Search on Google by the part number and you’ll find it.
You can unplug the touchpad/button board from the motherboard and use an external mouse instead.
Can the touchpad damage the motherboard overtime if you keep it plugged in? I don’t know, probably not.
If you know how to remove the top cover, replacing the touchpad shouldn’t be a problem. I believe, all you have to do is remove one screw, remove the touchpad bracket and unplug one or two cables.
November 9th, 2007 at 7:51 am
Whenever liquid and electronics meet, here is a tip that has saved me a few times (ok, I am clumsy).
1. DO NOT TURN IT ON.
2. Remove battery and power connections ASAP.
3. Remove any surface moisture with towel.
4. Place item in a ziploc bag and fill with uncooked rice, and leave for as long as you can or 24 hours.
The rice will remove the moisture from the internal component without damage. If you can then take it apart to clean it, great. If not, you can now try connecting it to power/batter and turning it on.
I have used this trick to save a cell phone, cameras (great for moisture in lenses during travel), PSP, and a Zen Vision media player. Beer in the media player caused it to work strangely for a while, even after the rice. It eventually sobered up and works like new now.
August 24th, 2008 at 9:30 am
My touchpad doesn’t work properly when i put my laptop(dell inspiron 6400) on charging..it starts moving on its own..it was fine till last week..it works fine when i unplugged my charger..no other problems with laptop..
March 12th, 2009 at 5:42 am
While making lunch for my daughter a kids thermos fell from the cabinet and hit the touchpad on her Dell Latitude D410.. It dented the touchpad just about in the center and now the touchpad doesn’t work… She is going to be so upset when she realizes the touchpad doesn’t work. A mouse works and the touchpad works only up & down when using the extreme right side of the touch pad (up and down only)… Any suggestions?
June 13th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Id imagine, due to the sensitivity of the touchpad device, any form of liquid between the pad and the pad board would render the contacts shorted. I found this out after wiping with spray and wipe suface cleaner. I also believe grounding of the pad may also be an issue. Look out for any technical bulletins relating to your laptop’s touchpad.
February 5th, 2010 at 9:16 am
i have problem with my laptop toshiba vista the touch mouse not working sinse two weeks.
February 20th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Hi,
I am hoping someone can help me. I have a Gateway laptop, I believe it is an M6841, it is the garnet red one. I am not totally sure what happened but I was on my laptop on my bed last night and had a wine cooler in my hand. I fell asleep, and when I woke up it was empty and my hand and bottle was on the keyboard. The keyboard itself did not seem wet or anything although there was some residue between the keys. Under my computer there was a large wet spot from the spill. I have no idea if the liquid went into the computer or if it spilled next to it and a little bit on it, or what. It was powered off. I wish I had checked these sites first, but I didn’t. Anyway, I tried turning it on in safe mode and it powered up and it worked okay but when I typed in my password it said wrong password. I then tried opening it in regular windows and I saw this weird pattern on my screen. I turned it back off and back on in safe mode again, and tried to type in my password and that was when I realized it didn’t recognize my password because the “t” was not functioning. Neither was the key on either side of it and the one below it and the number key above it. All other keys working fine. The other thing that would not work at all was the touch pad– no sign of a cursor whatsoever. I turned it off and came to work where I looked up this site and found out that I should have unplugged it and taken the battery out right away. Since I didn’t do that, what can I do now to minimize the damage? I had accidental insurance on this laptop but I have owned it now for just over 2 years so not sure it is still in effect. I have read about taking off the keyboard and making sure the motherboard is not wet or sticky– I do not know what a motherboard is or how to recognize it. Can anyone help me? I am totally broke, only working on call and cannot afford to replace this and I need my computer for job searches. Thank you!!
February 20th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
Maggie,
Remove the battery and keep the laptop off for a few day. Let the liquid to evaporate.
Hopefully the laptop will turn on after that. That’s the only thing you can do without taking it apart.
July 25th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Not sure where to post this,
but i have a Dell Inspiron 1564 and i spilt about 1-2 drops of milkshake onto the touchpad, i turned the laptop off and mopped as much up with toilet paper as i could but the Right touch-pad button does not work at all, the left one is fine even tho liquid was split onto both of them.
Anything i can do to fix the issue?