Correct touchpad driver for older HP notebook?

[netzer1]

Foreword: I'm just an average user with some degree of practical routine, thus nowhere near semi expert status, as my question will show. In fact, due to the experience made I normally shy away from doing anything with this machine where I feel I cannot gauge the consequences.

That said, here are the details: Since I bought my HP ProBook 440 G4 new, I have had trouble with the Synaptics SMBus ClickPad (touchpad). I didn't expect more than a touchpad with basic functions, yet throughout all these years this device has kept overwhelming me with uninvited, often erratic actions of its own.

During this time, I managed to gradually learn and adapt to its quirks, and almost forgot the issue. Recently however, I came across it again, in a thread I saw by coincidence: There I found that most probably, the driver is to be blamed. Updating it through the Win10 function just refers to other sources more close to the maker. Going there, I cannot understand what their tech jargon means for me, so cannot take a decision.

Would someone knowledgeable feel sufficient pity with poor me

.)

and help me out of this mess? This is really the only thing about this machine that I can't praise...

[BeemerBiker]

I am guessing that your laptop has touchpad calibration

Windows Users: In Windows 10, open Settings > Devices > Touchpad and change Touchpad sensitivity in the drop-down menu. For Windows 11, go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad and open the Taps menu to change touchpad sensitivity.

Possibly this article may help.

[netzer1]

Thank you - if I remember properly, 'all' these options have been checked, and more than once.

After reading the thread that I quoted (actually, it was more than one, many users seemed to have comparable problems), I really think I would now like to have checked if the 'proper driver' is being used; and in case it's not, where I would get it. Could anyone with the necessary knowledge and readiness to assist hear me?

[BeemerBiker]

All of the software for your 440 G4 is here

The only driver I see for touchpad is the Synaptics mouse / input driver 19.3.8.32 Rev.A

It is dated Jun 12, 2019.  That is the proper driver for the year 2019

Synaptics makes changes in their chip design.  There are newer drivers here, over 1000, 

If Synaptics released a newer driver for the 2019 chip design that is in your laptop, it would have been nice if it was given to HP so it would be available for you or the latest HP Support assistant to download.  I see other drivers that are newer.  Unfortunately there are no newer synaptic.  I am not very good at pulling drivers out of thin air. Possibly we could find one with help.

Try the following 

1 - Find the mouse / touchpad drive, and update it as described here where you see Update specific drivers in the Device Manager

---if 1 does not work---

2 - Post the Dev and Pid of the mouse / touchpad driver so I can try to find a driver.

This shows how to find the Dev and Pid
You can use the Dev and Pid to (sometimes) find a newer driver at this site

Let me know what you find out.

[netzer1]

Oh, this looks interesting. Please give me some time such that I can deal with it properly. Will get back!

[netzer1]

Here's an update. After what has been said you will appreciate that I'm in a bit of an enervated mood. It doesn't mean that I would not continue to persevere, but if there is an easier way, I will probably try to go it first.

So what I did was visit the driver page @ HP, then download and install the driver that you found. Let's see how it works. I expect to get back with the details within a few days - if we're lucky, then this is already what was needed...

------------------

PS

Fairly good news, I would say: Since my last message, I've used the laptop without longer breaks. Maybe I've not been in all the usual work situations yet, but in quite a lot. And the impression is, the new driver has finally made the touchpad pointer act normally - no more unexplained hops to other parts of the screen.

So in order not to extend this mystery more than necessary, I will consider it solved. As glad as I am that I resisted your attempt to make more changes of the settings, as much I am that you then gave me exactly the info needed that I was looking for.

Cheers!