Change your old Synaptic laptop mouse into a Surface-like Precision trackpad

VPN » How To

Reading time icon 2 min. read

Calendar icon Published on

by Kareem Anderson 

published on

Share this article

Readers help support Windows Report. We may get a commission if you buy through our links. Tooltip Icon

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial team Read more

For those of us who are still stuck in 2014 or using a manufacturer PC which refuses to use Microsoft’s Precision Trackpad spec, there is still a way to change your cursor experience for the better.

With just a handful of steps and roughly 10 minutes of time, you can turn your aging Synaptic mouse into a full gesture complimented Precision Trackpad.

Thanks to some footwork by the Redditor 961955197 in a Windows 10 forum, we now have the simple 9 step process laid out for us.

  1. Precision drivers for Synaptics https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/mobiles/n1mgx14w.zip Precision drivers for Elan http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/Other-DRIVERS-TOOLS/Others/ELAN-Input-Device-for-WDF-Driver-161132-for-Windows-10-64-bit.shtml
  2. Go to devices manager, right click on the touchpad devices
  3. Click “Browse my computer for driver software
  4. Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer
  5. Click “Have Disk”
  6. Then browse the autorun.inf in your driver folder
  7. Choose the Synaptics Pointing Device and click Next
  8. Finished the driver installation
  9. Reboot and enjoy the Precision touchpad.

 

You may be asking yourself, why would you want to go through this process?

Well, to be honest, it’s not for everyone and it also carries its own set of risks. The converting process is by no means a faulty free endeavor (especially for Insiders who upgrade constantly), but if and when you come out on the other side, you’ll have a trackpad that makes better use of Microsoft’s vision for Windows 10.

Kareem Anderson

Kareem Anderson Shield

Networking & Security Specialist

Kareem is a journalist from the bay area, now living in Florida. His passion for technology and content creation drives are unmatched, driving him to create well-researched articles and incredible YouTube videos. He is always on the lookout for everything new about Microsoft, focusing on making easy-to-understand content and breaking down complex topics related to networking, Azure, cloud computing, and security.