Why is there 2 almost identical HID I2C devices with one of which not working in my laptop?

Nikita020945

I have had touchpad issues for a while with it randomly starting to work when booting the system. Looking for the origin of the problem, i have found it to be with one of HID I2C devices with Code 10 error. Furthermore there were 2 HID I2C devices in a device manager with one of which being hidden and not connected apparently (Code 45). All of its parameters were the same except for the device instance path (screenshot provided). It seems that one of them is randomly being launched when booting the system. When the one with ELAN in its path is on, touchpad is working properly, if another one with MSFT has been enabled, touchpad is not responding and all of the related HID devices become hidden. Is there a way to pick which device to start or any possible explanations to this case?

Accepted answers

Puraw

Windows installs the 12C HID device whenever it does not detect a valid touchpad driver, or it gets "confused". I recommend you boot to BIOS with F2 and check if Touchpad is set to 12C HID or PS/2. This should be set to 12C HID, save settings in BIOS and exit. Boot to Windows and uninstall all 12C HID devices, ELAN and/or Synaptics drivers in Mice and other Pointing devices. Just reboot and don't install any drivers, Windows will install the correct MS Precision drivers for your Touchpad.

All comments

Puraw

Windows installs the 12C HID device whenever it does not detect a valid touchpad driver, or it gets "confused". I recommend you boot to BIOS with F2 and check if Touchpad is set to 12C HID or PS/2. This should be set to 12C HID, save settings in BIOS and exit. Boot to Windows and uninstall all 12C HID devices, ELAN and/or Synaptics drivers in Mice and other Pointing devices. Just reboot and don't install any drivers, Windows will install the correct MS Precision drivers for your Touchpad.

naiya

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/702409/why-is-there-2-almost-identical-hid-i2c-devices-with-one-of-which-not-working-in-my-laptop

Unfortunately, there's no straightforward way to definitively pick which driver should start each time. However, here are some potential steps you can try:

Update touchpad drivers Go to the Acer support website and download/install the latest touchpad/input driver for your specific laptop model. This can help ensure the proper ELAN driver is used.
Disable the Microsoft driver In Device Manager, you can try right-clicking the Microsoft HID entry and disabling/uninstalling that device. This may prevent it from interfering with the ELAN driver.
Check BIOS settings See if there are any BIOS/UEFI settings related to touchpad configuration or input device options that you can adjust.
Use third-party driver tools Programs like Driver Booster or DriverPack Solution may be able to help identify and install the correct touchpad drivers seamlessly.
Perform a clean Windows reinstallation As a last resort, a fresh Windows install can sometimes resolve deep driver conflicts and force the correct driver to install cleanly.

The root cause seems to be the two conflicting drivers trying to control the same touchpad hardware. Properly updating/uninstalling drivers and checking BIOS options are the first steps I'd recommend.

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