dell laptop mouse pad not working

Diagnosing a problematic mouse pad on your Dell notebook can involve several factors that we are going to discuss here.  These problems can include; erratic mouse pointer movement, no response when tapped or clicked, no mouse pointer visible, and other mouse pad related problems.  To begin diagnosing the problem properly one should go directly the software, or operating system, itself.  Check for possible viruses, or driver conflicts in hardware properties.  Viruses are well known to cause problems to the touchpad.  If you have recently installed an operating system, check for drivers that may be missing.  On the other hand, check for possible driver corruption by removing installed mouse pad drivers and reinstalling them again. 

Once all possible software issues have been ruled out, you can safely say that it is a hardware related problem.  If this is the case, you will need to replace the palmrest and the touchpad (mouse pad) as well.  You may find vendors who sell just the mouse pad itself but in most cases they are sold with the entire palmrest as a whole unit.  When disassembling the laptop and removing the palmrest, be careful not to pull or tug on the cables that connect it to the motherboard assy.  Most of these connectors are fragile and, if broken, can damage the motherboard.  The palmrest in most Dell notebooks is held by a series of screws which are located underneath the laptop.  Some Dell laptop mark the screw holes with the letter "P" for "palmrest" and removing just these screws will allow you to easily remove the palmrest from it's assembly.  Once you have successfully removed the palmrest the mouse pad will be marked with a barcode followed by a part number.  Using this part number will allow you to properly procure the correct unit that your system needs.