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How to Install a Synaptics Touchpad Driver

Most touchpads on laptops and notebooks are using a Synaptics device. For the touchpad to work, Windows will need a Synaptics touchpad driver to be installed. The driver ensures the touchpad is recognized as a pointing device, replacing the need for an external mouse.

But even if you prefer an external mouse, it is good to have the touchpad working so that you have a working pointing device in case you forget the mouse. And don’t forget about all the extra features modern touchpads offer (e.g. multi-finger gestures, area taps, etc.).

Install a Driver Using the Device Manager

Depending on the Windows version you’re using, support for many devices is included. As such, it’s possible to use the Windows Device Manager to install the Synaptics touchpad driver.

It is not guaranteed that the driver will be the latest version from the manufacturer, nor may it offer all features. However, in many cases, a working pointing device can be achieved this way.

For Windows 10:

Right-click the Start button.
In the popup menu that appears, click Device Manager.
In Device Manager, locate the entry called “Mice and other pointing devices”, and then click to expand that category.
The Synaptics pointing device should be listed here as something called “Synaptics SMBus Touchpad”.
Note: If the Synaptics SMBus Touchpad is not listed in this category, check if a category called Other devices exists, and then open that (1). The device will be listed here with a different name, most likely as Unknown device. Just click that and then follow the next steps.
Right-click the device and then click Update driver (2).
Next, select the option to Search automatically for drivers.
Wait for Windows to search for the driver and install it.

Enabling the Synaptics Touchpad Driver

If no device is shown in the Device Manager at all, make sure you haven’t disabled the touchpad on your laptop.

Some laptop manufacturers have incorporated special function keys to disable and enable the touchpad (Asus laptops use FN + F9, Dell uses Fn + F3, Lenovo uses F6, etc. – see your laptop manual for details).

Check if the touchpad is enabled in Windows 10, by using the Windows search bar and then typing “touchpad settings”. Click Touchpad settings under the best match results, and make sure that Touchpad (1) is set to On.

In addition, check whether the setting for ‘Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected‘ (2) is enabled or disabled. If it is disabled, and an external mouse is connected, the touchpad will also be disabled.

How to Manually Install a Synaptics Touchpad Driver from the Manufacturer

To manually install a Synaptics touchpad driver, you first need to download the driver installer from the laptop manufacturer. Using the specific touchpad driver from the manufacturer will guarantee that all functionality is available. Manufacturers often offer features beyond the standard Synaptics touchpad driver, even though it is not always the latest version of the Synaptics driver.

Locate the support website for your laptop brand.
Look up the laptop model.
Download the touchpad driver.
After downloading, run the driver installer and follow the on-screen instructions.

Here are some of the more common support sites for laptop manufacturers:

Lenovo (For the Synaptics UltraNav Driver for Windows)
Hewlett Packard (HP)
Asus
Toshiba
Samsung

How to Automatically Install a Synaptics Touchpad Driver

If you’re not sure about the exact brand and model of your laptop, or you find manually installing a touchpad driver tedious. You can use DriverFinder to automatically locate the driver for you.

The DriverFinder program scans your laptop for all hardware devices that are present. Using its own device driver database, it locates the appropriate driver for the devices. This includes Synaptics touchpad drivers.

Note: Drivers in the DriverFinder database are sourced DIRECTLY from hardware manufactures so rest assured that the right driver update is recommended.

Download the DriverFinder program.
Get a license and Activate the program.
Run a Scan using the program.
Download the driver(s) from the scan results.
Run the driver installer.

Another benefit of using DriverFinder is that you can update ALL the drivers for your laptop (including sound drivers, video drivers, etc.), and not just the Synaptics touchpad driver.

Windows PCI Simple Communications Controller Driver

Microsoft Windows uses device drivers to communicate with hardware devices in the computer. One of the important devices in a computer is the PCI simple communications controller. If the PCI simple communications controller driver is not installed, the device will show an error. In addition, it can result in other devices depending on this device failing or not being recognized by Windows.

What is a PCI Simple Communications Controller?

PCI is short for Peripheral Component Interconnect and it is a bus that is used to connect hardware devices to a computer. The bus is inside the computer, on the motherboard, so you will not see it, like a printer or mouse. But it is a critical component to enable communication between the CPU and hardware devices. The PC simple communications controller is a controller chip that is part of the motherboard chipset. The device manufacturer is Intel.

PCI Simple Communications Controller Driver Errors

If the right driver for the PCI simple communications controller is not installed, this will be visible in the Device Manager in Windows. The device will show an error or warning.

PCI Simple Communications Controller Error

The device will be shown in the Other devices category instead of the System devices category. When you right-click the device and check the Properties, the error will often show “The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)”.

Apart from this, other devices might not be recognized and show up as Unknown devices in the Other devices category as well.

Once the right driver for the PCI simple communications controller is installed, the other devices can be recognized by Windows as well and drivers for them can also be installed.

Download PCI Simple Communications Controller Driver

Solving the problem with the PCI simple communications controller is a matter of installing the right driver. The driver needed is the Intel Management Engine driver, which is a chipset driver.

To download the driver from the Intel support website, make sure you have a working Internet connection and visit the Intel download page.
In the search box, type “management engine driver” and then click the appropriate entry for your Windows version in the result list.
In the next page, select the driver that is right for your Windows version and click the link.
This will bring up the download page. Click the Download button to download the ZIP file to your computer. After agreeing to the Intel Software License Agreement, the download will start.
Unzip the downloaded file to extract the driver files.
Navigate into the extracted folder (ME_SW_2216.16.0.2805 in this example) and then into the subfolder named ME_SE_DCH.
Install the drivers by executing the SetupME.exe file.

Once installed, restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Any devices depending on the PCI Simple Communications Controller should now also be recognized and their drivers installed.

Update the Driver from the Device Manager

Instead of manually downloading and installing the drivers for devices like the PCS Simple Communications Controller, you can also use the Device Manager to update the driver. Especially in later Windows versions, many drivers are automatically installed.

Open the Device Manager from the Start menu, or type devmgmt.msc in the Run box after pressing the Windows + R keys.
In the Device Manager, open the Other devices category.
Right-click the PCI Simple Communications Controller, and in the popup menu click Update driver (or Update Driver Software depending on your Windows version).
Choose the option to let Windows Search automatically for drivers (or Search automatically for updated driver software, again, depending on the Windows version).
Wait for the driver to be installed and then click Close to finish the driver update.

After this, reboot your PC to have the changes take effect and let Windows find any other hardware devices that may now be detected.

If the automatic update fails, make sure you have an active Internet connection. If that is the case, the other option is to choose the option Browse my computer for drivers in step 4 and select the path where you manually downloaded the latest driver for the device.

For finding the right drivers for your computer system, we recommend you use the DriverFinder utility. It scans your hardware devices and allows you to download the latest drivers for all devices.

Install a Driver in Windows Compatibility Mode

When drivers are being installed, it’s important that they MATCH the Windows operating system (OS) that is installed on the PC. However, when Microsoft releases a new OS (e.g., Windows 11), it’s impossible for ALL hardware manufacturers to simply comply and have new drivers immediately for the new OS.

To solve this issue – and to prevent your devices from simply stopping functioning when you upgrade to a new Windows OS – Microsoft has the Windows Compatibility Mode feature. It can be used to execute programs, including driver installation programs, in a mode that is compatible with an older version of Windows.

Here is how to use the Windows Compatibility Mode to run a driver installer:

Right-click the driver installer file for the driver you want to install and then select Properties in the popup menu.
Select the Compatibility tab.
Under Compatibility Mode, select the checkbox named Run this program in compatibility mode for:
Click the down arrow and select the Windows version of the driver.

Tip: If needed, you can also select the option to Run this program as an administrator. Many driver installers require this option if the user account does not have administrative privileges.
Click OK.
Install the driver by double-clicking the driver installation file to execute it.

If you are not sure which version of Windows the driver is compatible with, you can also use the option to let Windows check it. In that case, click the Run compatibility troubleshooter button in the properties window.

After this, Windows will analyze the driver installer file and try to determine the best compatibility mode.

You can then click Try the recommended settings or click Troubleshoot program. The first option will run the driver installer with the suggested settings. In the second option, a wizard will ask you for details about the program execution to try and solve the issues.