Laptop no longer recognizes Touchpad or Trackpoint (not in Device Mgr)

My Touchpad and Trackpoint suddenly stopped working and disappeared from Device Manager, then started again, then disappeared again. I suspect the brand-new driver at the Lenovo site is the problem.

They don't show up in Device Manager or Control Panel > Mouse. I got the latest driver (for my exact model) and completely reinstalled Windows, didn't make any difference.

Sequence of events:

- Removed keyboard and bezel (touchpad is part of bezel, trackpoint is part of keyboard) in order to clean out dust
- Reattached connectors with extreme delicacy and carefulness
- After restarting, the computer stopped being able to find the touchpad and trackpoint
- Removed keyboard again, reconnected, restarted - did this several times; didn't help
- Got latest driver from Lenovo site; it went through installation process (sequence of typical program install screens) and looked like it was installing but in the end didn't show up in Device Manager or Control Panel > Mouse > Hardware
- did System Restore
- reinstalled Windows entirely, ran Windows Update, got latest driver

Next I did two things at the same time and then the Touchpad/Trackpoint started working again but only for half an hour, then they stopped again:

- Ran Device Doctor (program for finding drivers) which found and installed driver 19.3.4.214 from 7/25/2018. (May be wrong driver, see below)

- Disconnected/reconnected connector but this time put it in about 1/2 to 3/4 millimeter LESS deep i.e. less "seated" instead of as far down as it would go.

Now the Trackpoint and Touchpad worked for half an hour, then suddenly while I was sitting there using it and not making any changes, they stopped. The driver still shows up in Programs and Features, but not Device Manager or Control Panel > Mouse > Hardware

Note that when you search for that driver number you find this page which says its only for Lenovo Yoga, which mine isn't and no other Lenovo models Synaptics UltraNav Driver for Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit) - ThinkPad Yoga 12 - US

Wouldn't the first thing to do be to find an older driver? Because there is zero evidence of physical damage. The latest driver (for my exact model and serial number) at the Lenovo site is dated December 2018 and is for Win 7 through 10, which sounds very likely to malfunction on a 7 year old computer running Win 7.

Hi catalogue, did you try an external USB keyboard and mouse to see if they work?
Re-check the connections thoroughly!

Hi catalogue,

catalogue said:

I tried an external mouse and it works. Didn't try keyboard; everything on the internal keyboard works apart from the Trackpoint.

Have you tried what Megahertz07 has suggested below?

Megahertz07 said:

If it doesn't show on device manager the hardware isn't connected to the computer.
It's probably the ribbon cable that isn't well inserted. Remember: the ribbon cable has two ends. Check both.

I hope this helps!

Hi catalogue,

catalogue said:

I suspect the brand-new driver at the Lenovo site is the problem.

Have you tried installing the driver prior to the brand-new driver at the Lenovo site?

Hi catalogue,

catalogue said:

Do you know some way to find old versions of drivers?

Find the version number of the Touchpad and Trackpoint driver that you currently have installed. Then you will be able to Google for a previous driver!