Dave-H

Trying to install 11.5.2.1 with the INF from 11.5.20.3 doesn't work, the install fails. Incidentally, all of these drivers when they are uninstalled, the uninstall routine does not remove ETD.sys (or AsusTD.sys) from the system32\drivers folder. Rather sloppy I would have thought! I've taken to always removing it manually, to make sure that it does get replaced. Anyway, I'll give that other driver you've found a try.

OK, I tried on 8.1 with 11.5.2.1 again. A normal unmodified install appeared to work OK, but the the control panel cannot be invoked using the system tray icon, which is "dead" (it doesn't show any animation when a finger is moved on the touchpad or the buttons pressed, as it should do). I tried with Device Manger and changed the mouse from "Elan PS/2 Port Smart-Pad" to "Elan PS/2 Port Input Device", which is what makes 11.5.20.3 work IIRC. No difference. "Elan Service", "ETD Control Center", ETD Control Center Helper" and "ETD Gesture" are all running in Task Manager. Directly editing the settings in the registry makes no difference. I then tried again with the INF file modified, just replacing "NTx86.6.2" with "NTx86.6.3". Same result. Version 11.5.20.3 has a much bigger equivalent section in its INF file, with separate sections for 8, 8.1, and 10 (which it amusingly calls "NTx86.6.4" of course!) I wonder if 11.5.2.1 would work with that INF file?

Well I'm pretty sure that I only ever got two versions of the "normal" Elan driver working on 8.1 (disregarding the later Asus Smart Gesture versions, which work of course). Originally it was just 15.14.4.1 (and even that only when installed through Device Manager, not by the normal installation process) and later we found 11.5.20.3, which also installed, which was quite a breakthrough at the time I'd pretty much given up on any version 11 working on 8.1. I'll give 11.5.2.1 another go with the INF modified to see if I get the same result. It could be that it failed on a normal install the first time, and I hadn't realised then that installing via Device Manager could still work.

I only uninstalled it and reinstalled it because I thought it might produce a different result if I replaced the files in the installation source folder rather than directly in the Program Files folder. Clutching at straws of course, and it didn't do any good! Anyway, I've now copied those files from the 11.5.2.1 installation folder to the Program Files folder, and restored the original unmodified ETD.sys. Still no difference I'm afraid, still the same error in Device Manager, and a dead touchpad. The uninstall routine works again now anyway!

I removed the driver just by rolling back the registry to the "clean" version, and manually deleting all the files. The reason it wouldn't uninstall is because the uninstall routine needs to run ETDUn_inst.exe, which is not XP compatible and throws the same error as ETDCtrl.exe did when the uninstall string is run manually. Why it didn't show the error when invoked from Add/Remove Programs I don't know. Anyway, I reinstalled with the substitute ETDCtrl.exe, and having modified ETD.sys with CFF Explorer. No difference, exactly as before,

Found something puzzling now trying to uninstall the driver in XP. Selecting "Remove" on its entry in Add/Remove Programs now does nothing! Also, the OS version on ETD.sys hasn't been changed, it's not marked to be changed in the spreadsheet. Should it be?

ETDCtrl.exe is now running in the background, and there are no error messages popping up now. The touchpad is still dead though and the Device Manager still shows the error. Should I uninstall and reinstall again with ETDCtrl.exe replaced in the installation folder? Incidentally, I meant to say that the option to disable tap to click is called "Select", under the "One Finger" options on the Asus control panel.

OK, I've done the install on XP. The first thing that pops up on the reboot is from ETDCtrl.exe "The procedure entry point InitializeCriticalSectionEx could not be located in the dynamic link library Kernel32.dll". The mouse is an "Elan Input Device", but says "The driver may be corrupted or missing (Code 39)." The touchpad is dead.

LOL! I think I can see why! ETDSimpleUI_Win8.exe, which was included with the Samsung driver 4.9.0.0 does work, and can change all the settings just as the Asus control panel does. I'm running in "high" DPI mode as otherwise everything is tiny on the screen, and DellTpad.exe is one of those programs which doesn't cope with that, the interface is cropped and distorted and some buttons are hidden, so would really rather not carry on using it. I'll report back on what happens with XP very soon!

There was a Samsung (?) control panel in one of the other drivers IIRC, I could try that but I suspect it will be the same. Asus_UI_Win8.exe changes all the settings fine on 8.1, but whether it will work on XP I don't know.

Yes, that's almost certainly it!

Sorry, our posts crossed, I added the information about Sensepoint.exe to my last post. Running it brings up a window with a picture of a keyboard with some sort of round device between the G, H, and B keys. It must be some hardware device which I haven't got. DellTpad.exe runs but doesn't seem to change the settings.

Sorry, the control panel that runs when it's invoked on 8.1 is Asus_UI_Win8.exe. The only background program that seems to be running according to Task Manger is ETDCtrl.exe. I will try installing it on XP the same way I did on 8.1 and report back. Sensepoint.exe says it's "ETD Point Stick Control Panel Extensions". I guess "Point Stick" is some sort of hardware, perhaps like a laser pointer or somesuch. Whatever it is, I haven't got it!

OK, I did that, using Device Manager, and it worked, so the modified version of 11.5.20.3 is installed and fine on 8.1. I noticed that many of the files had the Major and Minor Image Version set to zero. I changed them all to 5/1. The INF offered two "Elan Input Device" options, I used the first one, I don't know if the other one would have been any different. The system tray icon and the control panel are the Asus Smart Gesture ones, not the Elan ones, and there is no extra tab on the Mouse Properties, so this is an early version of Asus Smart Gesture.

Wow, thank you so much @jaclaz! That spreadsheet must have involved a huge amount of work! OK, I will try your "proposed approach" and report back. I will try to give as much detail as I can on what the result is. Cheers, Dave.

OK, both Windows 8.1 and Windows XP are completely cleared of all touchpad drivers now, at least as far as I can see, both files and registry entries. The touchpad is just using the basic Microsoft PS/2 mouse driver on both of them. I have driver versions 11.5.0.9 and 11.5.20.3 ready to go, and the rest hidden away. 11.5.20.3 was one of the two that I've had working on 8.1 (the other being 15.14.4.1). Off to bed now, but ready to take up the fray again tomorrow! Cheers, Dave.

Thanks for the heads up!

OK, I won't delete any of the downloaded installers I've still got. I'll put those that I doubt we'll be using again away in a backup folder which I can delete when we're done.

Even the Asus Smart Gesture versions which are based on MSI and CAB files?

Thanks @jaclaz. I'm sorry if I haven't been detailed enough in my failure reports, but apart from saying that I can't change any settings that actually change the behaviour of the touchpad, and reporting what Device Manager and the Mouse Properties tab (if it's present) are reporting as to the status of the device, I don't see what else I can say. I'm sorry if I'm being thick, but it would definitely be a great help if you could tell be exactly what feedback you need. I will now uninstall all the touchpad drivers from XP and 8.1, and make sure there's no traces of them left on the system, get rid of all the installation files I've been collecting again, which is getting very confusing, and I'll just keep the 11.5.0.9 and 11.5.20.3 versions of the Elan driver. I'm sure you're right that there is certainly no point in pursuing any of the later Asus Smart Gesture drivers. Unlike the earlier versions which seem to be just customised versions of the Elan drivers, the later ones seem to have been completely repackaged. Thanks, Dave.

Back again! I've been working with @daniel_kvia PM, and I was doing other things yesterday (other computer problems, but I won't bore you with them here! ). I want to thank Daniel publicly for all his help, we tried several more options, but unfortunately ultimately didn't get anywhere. At one point we had the same version of Asus Smart Gesture apparently installed happily on 8.1 and XP, but of course it worked on 8.1 but not XP. One background program running on 8.1 (QuickGesture.exe) would not run on XP, and as far as I could see that was the only obvious difference. That may have been a fatal difference of course! So, @jaclazand everyone, where from here?

Thanks!

Sorry! There are two copies, one in D:\Program Files\Asus\Asus Smart Gesture\AsTPCenter\x86, and another one (presumably 64 bit) in D:\Program Files\Asus\Asus Smart Gesture\AsTPCenter\x64.

OK, SmartGesture_Win7_64_Z1027 appeared to install OK on Windows XP, which is a first as the MSI installers have always failed and rolled back before. However, on boot I'm now getting "The procedure entry point ChangeWindowMessageFilter could not be located in the dynamic link library USER32.DLL", from QuickGesture.exe, followed by "The procedure entry point PowerSetActiveScheme could not be located in the dynamic link library POWERPROF.DLL" from AsusTPCenter.exe. The Asus control panel will run, and the settings can be changed, but again this does not actually change the behaviour of the touchpad.

I did try that driver, it also didn't work on 8.1. I didn't try it on XP, but I can if you like! Your new download, should I try it on XP or 8.1? We must be careful not to get confused here. Recently we've been concentrating on finding drivers that work on 8.1 that can then possibly be ported to XP. I think if a driver won't work on 8.1, there's very little hope of it working on XP.