If a device has stopped working and is no longer in the device manager, even as an unknown device, then it’s probably a hardware fault isn’t it?

it’s possible .. but are you sure it’s REALLY not in the list…

Yes.

It’s not where it used to be a couple of days ago (under Mouse and Pointing Devices) and it’s not in unknown. I can’t find it anywhere. It’s enabled in the bios.

Is it a mouse / pad / keyboard?

First guess is yes, a hardware fault. Have you rebooted the machine (off and on, not a restart) with the device unplugged and then plugged it back in? Have you tried the device in another USB port either on the same machine or on another machine?

What device is it? Is there anyway to see if it’s functioning ie. an infrared mouse would have the red light at the bottom.

Laptop, it’s the integrated trackpad and nipple combined.

You could try this to check the drivers are still installed and where in Device Manager.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315539

then try getting the latest drivers direct from the manufacturers website.

try downloading thr drivers from the laptop manufacturers support page sometimes they just need an update to get it working again.

Fixed it. The nipple started working for a bit then stopped but would work if I pressed hard. That says loose connection to me, so I took off the keyboard and pressed every connector I could find, and bingo, touchpad appeared in the device manager again with the right name.

Funny that it should cause it to still be detected, but not quite the right device..