Touchscreen Troubleshooting

Touchscreens can malfunction for several reasons, including

• Display problems common to any monitor (loss of signal, incorrect colors, and so on). See Chapter 22, "Troubleshooting Principles," for details.

• Software problems such as corrupted or incorrectly configured drivers or applications.

• Video alignment problems (you touch the screen but the wrong menu item or action takes place or the cursor moves in the opposite direction of your finger or stylus).

• Hardware problems caused by the touchscreen itself, the controller, cabling, or power.

To troubleshoot hardware or software problems, use the diagnostic programs supplied with the touchscreen to verify that the hardware is working. If the hardware is working correctly, the driver software used to interface the operating system and the touchscreen must be checked. See the documentation for the touchscreen monitor for details.

To solve problems caused by misalignment, realign the video using the utilities provided with the touchscreen.

To troubleshoot hardware problems, use the diagnostic features provided with the touchscreen controller to determine if it is working correctly. The controller might use LEDs or onscreen messages to indicate problems. Next, use utilities provided by the touchscreen vendor to determine if the controller is transmitting touch data.

If constant touch data is being sent by the controller when you aren't touching the screen, the controller might be defective, the monitor bezel might be touching the screen, or the touchscreen or cable has a short. If no touch data is being sent by the controller when you touch the screen, check the controller, cable, power supply, or controller setup.