Fix: ETD Control Center Not Responding

You might start to notice an icon appearing and/or blinking continuously in the task bar. Most of the users don’t really know when the icon started appearing and why is it blinking. For some, it might not blink and they might just look at an icon. If you click the icon, to close it or see the options it gives you, it will give you an error that it is not responding. If you open the task manager, you will see a process ETD control center running the process list as well. Even if you close the ETD control center from the task manager, the icon will come back after a while (or on a reboot).

ETD Control Center is a legitimate program and belongs to the ELAN Smart-Pads. These ELAN Smart-Pads are made by ELAN Microelectronic Corp. and the ETD Control Center is used to provide multi-touch features on your touch pad. The exact file associated with this is the etdctrl.exe (you might see this file in the task manager) and it allows the user to use multi-fingers and perform various gestures and fancy moves from the touchpad. This application is generally found on the ASUS devices. The icon that you are seeing is the ETD Control Center for your touch pad. It starts blinking whenever you start using the touch pad and it will always stay in the task bar to allow smooth usage of the touch pad. So, you don’t have to worry about it being a virus. This also explains why it comes back if you after a while.

Even though it isn’t a threat to your system and it should consume a lot of resources, some people might want to disable it. And, it can easily be disabled by following the methods given below.

Tip

If you are really suspicious of the ETD Control Center or you think the ETD Control Center is using a lot of resources then perform a full scan of the system. We will recommend using the Malwarebytes but you can scan with your choice of antivirus/antimalware program as well.

Method 1: Disable ETD Control Center

As mentioned above, it is a program associated with your touch pad drivers and is found on ASUS devices. However, if you find that icon in the task bar really annoying or you simply don’t use the multi-touch features of touch pad then you can disable the ETD Control Center. Disabling/closing the ETD Control Center will not cause any harm to your computer. It will simply disable the multi-touch on your touch pad which should be fine as long as you are using a mouse.

Note: Do not permanently remove the touch pad drivers. It is good to have a backup in case your mouse fails.

Here are the steps for disabling the ETD Control Center

1. Hold Windows key and press R
2. Type msconfig and press Enter

3. Select the Startup tab
4. Click Open Task Manager (Windows 7 users will have to skip this step)

5. Select the ETD Control Center from the list and click Disable

Close the window and you should be good to go. This will prevent the ETD Control Center from starting at the startup.

Note: If you simply want to close the ETD Control Center for the current session then press and hold CTRL, SHIFT and Esc keys (CTRL + SHIFT + Esc), select the ETD Control Center and press End Task

Method 2: Update Drivers

This method is for people who are seeing the not responding messages or who are experiencing high resource usage by the ETD Control Center. These things can be caused by an outdated driver.

So, go to your manufacturer’s websites and look for the drivers. If you aren’t sure which driver version you have then do the following:

1. Hold Windows key and press R
2. Type devmgmt.msc and press Enter

3. Locate and double click Mice and other pointing devices
4. Double click your touch pad

5. Select the Driver tab

6. Here, you will see the driver version. Compare it with the version available at your manufacturer’s website. If your version is the previous versions then download the driver from the website and follow the instructions of the setup.

Once done, check if the problem is resolved.

Method 3: Uninstall or Repair ASUS Smart Gesture

If you are seeing high CPU usage or not responding behavior then you can repiar the ASUS Smart Gesture as well. If you are certain that you do not want it at all then you have the option to uninstall it as well. This completely depends on what you want to do or how you use your touch pad.

Here are the steps for repairing/uninstalling ASUS Smart Gesture

1. Hold Windows key and press R
2. Type appwiz.cpl and press Enter
3. Locate and select the ASUS Smart Gesture
4. Select the Uninstall/Change option
5. Click Repair and follow the on-screen instructions. You can select Uninstall if you want. It depends on your requirements.

Once done, reboot the computer and you should be good to go.