Vocal Voices

You may remember that about six months ago the touch pad on my Laptop stopped working
and, even with the help of my learned friends here, I was unable to get it mobile again.
Well, surprise, surprise, today it suddenly sprang into action again. I had not done anything
out of the ordinary, and have not downloaded anything, so, as my mother would have said,
I'm completely muck-struck. Any thoughts on how this could have happened?

Aggers, remember us saying to go Control Panel>>>Mouse>>>and in the new window you should see Buttons; Pointers; Pointer Options; Wheel and Hardware tabs, well you should also have an UltraNav Device settings tab. If that is there and is Enabled then that is why the touch pad is now working.

I still suspect the W7 update malarkey.

Workingman wrote:
I still suspect the W7 update malarkey.

Me too.

I was on the tram on my mobile. I hate typing on a mobile...

I suspect that WU deployed a new driver which fixed the issue. This is not unknown.

Workingman wrote:Aggers, remember us saying to go Control Panel>>>Mouse>>>and in the new window you should see Buttons; Pointers; Pointer Options; Wheel and Hardware tabs, well you should also have an UltraNav Device settings tab. If that is there and is Enabled then that is why the touch pad is now working.

Yes, I do remember, but when I go to Control Panel, there is no link to Mouse, Buttons, etc. that you mention.
Anyway, that problems seems to have cured itself now.

I also have another slight problem: You may remember that some time ago I asked about using a storage hard drive, and you advised me how to go about it. Firstly, I am now unable to access some of the files I wished to copy from the storage hard drive, but get the message 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC could not open document because it is not a supported file type'. I could choose to lose these files but I am also unable to wipe the storage hard drive clean. When I right-click after plugging it in as you suggested, no menu with 'Format' on it appears. Any suggestions? I don't think backing-up will be a problem once I can clear the external hard drive. Sorry to be a pest.

Aggers, the Mouse link is well hidden in the Control Panel home screen. You get about eight catgories starting with System and Security and ending with Ease of Access. At the top pf that dscreen you will also see Adjust your computer's settings and at the top right View by: Category with a drop down arrow. A left click on the arrow gives you Large icons and Small icons. A left click on either will bring up all links in one page and that is where you will find Mouse.

I cannot find the other thread so this is how I see things. I take it from what you say that you can see the HD and the files on the it in Windows Explorer/My Computer. If that is the case you should be able to transfer one, many or all to your laptop using the good old Copy and Paste method. Staying with Windows Explorer, if you right click on the storage drive the Format... option near the bottom.

As for viewing a particular file, if you right click on one the menu offers Properties at the bottom. A click on that brings up a new window and near the top is Type of file: with a brief description and the file extension such as .doc .rtf .exe .pdf .txt and so on. If the file is, say, a .doc and Adobe Reader is trying to open it there is the possibility that the default program has somehow changed. Right click the file and from the menu choose Open with. The new menu offers a selection of what Windows 'thinks' will open the file. For a .doc the choice should be word, for a .txt it could be Notepad, and so on. You also get the chance to Choose a default program. If that is the case and you browse for one make sure the option Always use the selected program to open this kind of file is ticked.

Frank - I can get up a list of the files on it, but cannot access them, so copying them is impossible.

Never-the-less I am prepared to abandon them altogether, if I can manage to wipe clear the
storage hard drive. To be honest though, I don't want to run the risk of wiping out everything
on my lap-top hard drive. I think it might be best to abandon the idea, and back-up anything
important on my laptop by using DC-R discs.

Hang on, John, I do not understand this: " I can get up a list of the files on it, but cannot access them, so copying them is impossible."

If the files on your storage HD, or normal HD, are visible in Win Explorer/My Computer then they are alive and kicking. You should be able to right click on a file(s) or folder(s) and Copy it (them) and then Paste it (them) to any other place on your computer. It matters not if you can read them with a particular program/app.

Right, Frank. I'll try that.

Edit, 12.05pm - I've tried everything, with no success. I give up.

Aghhh! Another long-forgotten thought springs to mind: Is your backup drive security protected and are you on the laptop with your account and with admin privileges? Any of those might be preventing access.

Right click on the backup folder or a file in it and in the new menu look at the Security tab. Only some of the users will have full control over files.

Sounds like security. Since Vista it has been difficult to take over all the permissions. Best bet is to change the owner first... More if it turns out to be security. This can be done in a command prompt with icacls and multiple commands can be put in the prompt to save extensive clicking.