I upgraded an old Toshiba L45-S7423 laptop from Windows XP to Windows 8 Pro recently via CD/DVD. A couple of days later, the touchpad stopped working, but a USB mouse works just fine. The touchpad issue might be related to a Windows update that occurred about the same time. The laptop has been running Windows XP for several years without issues other than slow boot and shutdown. Of course, I know very little about Windows 8. Any ideas on how to proceed. Thanks!

Interestingly, it looks like the L45-S7423 is not on the list of laptops supported by Toshiba for upgrade to Windows 8.  However, before upgrading to Windows 8, I ran the stand-alone Windows 8 compatibility checker from Microsoft and it found no issues with the laptop.

Be careful because Microsoft's compatibility checker may not identify all the problematic hardware.

So, I will have to investigate if this laptop will run Windows 7.  If not, I guess I am stuck with a dead end Windows XP operating system or will have to move to a Linux variant.

Hi,

It seems the issue is more related to the driver update from Microsoft site. I recommend performing System Restore first. Then, you may prevent installing the hardware driver updates from Microsoft right now.

Its better to buy the laptops which are fully compatible for Windows 8.1 upgrade with signed drivers. Few laptops can be found here for 300$ and 500$.

http://www.tinylaptop.net/buy-brand-new-laptops-under-300-dollars-windows-os/

http://www.tinylaptop.net/best-laptops-under-500-dollars-with-windows-8-1-or-8/