What is Elantech ETDCtrl exe?

What is ETD Control Center? Should it be removed? Or how can we disable it? This post will show you the answers. In addition, you can also visit MiniTool to find more Windows solutions and tips.

ETD Control Center, also called Elan Trackpad Device Control Center, is a piece of software developed by ELAN Microelectronics. The ETDCtrl.exe or ETD control station file is a general software component of ELAN Microelectronic’s ELAN Smart-Pad which usually found on the laptop. The ETDCtrl.exe file is located in a subfolder of the Windows directory. In general, it can be found in C:\Program files.

The ETD Control Center is managed by the ETDCtrl.exe which is a configuration screen. In addition, the screen can provide types of options to change the settings of the ELAN intelligent touchpad.

The ETD Control Center can offer some additional functionality to your laptop’s touchpad. It also enables users to achieve the Multi Finger Operation similar to that of a smartphone.

However, the ETD Control Center sometimes can be regarded as a virus or it may lead to high CPU usage. The antivirus program will detect it and treat it as the ETD Control Center virus. So, some people would ask whether they can remove it or disable it.

Since sometimes it is regarded as the ETD Control Center virus, some users wonder whether it can be removed. In fact, it can be removed if you don’t want it. However, it is not recommended to do so.

If you still want to disable ETD Control Center, you can open Control Panel and choose Programs and Features to continue. Then select the ETD Control Panel and choose Uninstall to continue.

Meanwhile, besides removing the ETD Control Center, you can also choose to disable ETDCtrl.exe ETD Control Center. So, in the following section, we will show you how to disable the ETD Control Center Startup.

How to Disable ETD Control Center Startup?

Since disabling ETD Control Center is safer than removing it without losing the functionality of touchpad, we will show you how to disable ETD Control Center with the step-by-step guide.

Now, here is the tutorial.

Step 1: Right-click on the taskbar and choose Task Manager from the context menu to continue.

Step 2: In the pop-up window, go to Startup section.

Step 3: Then scroll down to find the ETD Control Center and select it. Then click Disable button at the right bottom of the window to continue.

After that, you can close the Task Manager window and the ETD Control Center has been disabled.

So, in order to solve the problem of ETD Control Center virus or ETD Control Center high CPU usage, you can choose to disable it rather than removing it. In this way, you can keep the functionality of touchpad.

Final Words

To sum up, this post has shown what the ETD Control Center is and also walked you through whether the ETD Control Panel can be removed. In order to keep the functionality of the touchpad, it is not recommended to remove the ETD Control Center from your computer. However, you can take the ways mentioned in the above part to disable it.

ETDCtrl.exe is the executable for its main program, ELAN Smart pad, produced by ELAN Microelectronics Corporation, Taiwan. It is basically a touchpad found in Asus laptop.  Instead of using a mouse, the ETDCtrl provides functionality for scrolling and zooming. If you are using the touchpad on your laptop, then it is not recommended to disable it.

It’s full form is Elan Trackpad Device Control Center.

What is it and its Uses?

ETDCtrl.exe is used for configuration ELAN Touchpad i.e. it provides various options for changing its settings.

This smart pad is available if you have a laptop like Lenovo ThinkPads, Samsung, etc. The driver in the laptop will facilitate multi-touch and gesture control functions like:

  • Scrolling
  • The two and three-finger gestures
  • Zooming in and out
  • Tapping
  • Rotating pictures
  • Windows switching and many more.

Some of its other uses are:

  • It manages many keyboard shortcuts on laptops from MSI ( Micro-Star International ). Some shortcuts include screen changing and brightness amongst others.
  • It is also a key and mouse logger since it saves inputs from both the keyboard and the mouse.

ETDCtrl.exe loads when Windows boots but is not its core application.

The trackpad that runs using the ELAN software, can run even in the absence of this software. However, the scrolling and tracking speed does become difficult. But, it can be deleted without compromising on the essential system functions.

Sometimes it is noticed that the CPU usage of ETDCtrl.exe is high. But it usually happens for a fraction of seconds.

File size and location

The location pathway of etdctrl.exe is  C:\Program Files\elantech\

Its average file size is approximately 2.53 MB on most of the Windows operating system versions.

Check similar executable files like Diaw.exe, atiesrxx.exe, and RtWLan.exe.

Is it Safe or a Virus?

ETDCtrl.exe is a legitimate, safe program. However, a malicious program may assume its alias to go undetected by the anti-malware or firewalls of the system.

There are two ways to check this:

  • If file Properties of the program like its file size, location or publisher do not match the specifications of the legitimate etdctrl.exe process, then it could be a virus.
  • If Microsoft Process Explorer is unable to verify the signer then the process is most likely to be a virus.

Errors

Some common errors corresponding to etdctrl.exe are:

  • exe is not a valid Win32 application
  • exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. 

How to Remove It?

If you want to delete etdctrl.exe even if it is a legitimate file, then use the uninstaller to uninstall ELAN Pointing Driver from your system. This can be done in two ways:

  • By going to the uninstaller’s location path C:\Program Files\Elantech\ETDUn_inst.exe.
  • By searching for ELAN Pointing Driver program in Control Panel and uninstalling it.

You may also use 3rd party uninstaller software to remove it from the system.

There have been many reports of an “ETD Control Center” popping up on users’ screens and there have been many inquiries of the functionality and the necessity of the application. In this article, we will guide you about the app and also inform you if it is safe to disable it permanently.

What is ETD Control Center?

ETD Control Center is sort of a “Driver” that provides some additional functionality to your laptop’s touchpad. The ETD Control Center helps the user to achieve the Multi Finger operation similar to that of a smartphone. The application is however suspicious because certain Antiviruses have detected it as a potential threat to the integrity of the computer.

What is Elantech ETDCtrl exe?
ETD Control Center

The ETD Control Center can be seen running in the background through Task Manager, the application operates under the guise of “etdctrl.exe” in the task manager. It was developed by “ELAN Microelectronics Corp” and comes pre-installed on most laptops with the company’s microchip for touchpads. There have been some reports of the “ETD Control Center isn’t responding” error when the application’s popup is clicked on.

What is Elantech ETDCtrl exe?
“ETDCTRL.exe” in the task manager

Should it be Deleted?

Although the application increases the touchpad’s functionality, it isn’t really necessary for the day-to-day operation of the touchpad. Therefore, it is safe to either completely remove the application from your computer or to disable it completely. However, it is recommended not to delete it just in case you need the additional functionality provided by it and disabling it at startup will do the job.

How to Disable the ETD Control Center?

Since it is completely safe to disable the application without losing any touchpad functionality, we will be preventing the application from starting automatically when the computer launches. For that:

  1. Press “Windows” + “R” to open the “Run” prompt.
  2. Type in “Taskmgr” and press “Enter“.
    What is Elantech ETDCtrl exe?
    Opening Task Manager
  3. Click on the “Startup” tab on the top.
    What is Elantech ETDCtrl exe?
    Clicking on the “Startup” tab
  4. Scroll down and click on the “ETD Control Center” entry in the list.
    What is Elantech ETDCtrl exe?
    Clicking on the “ETD Control Center”
  5. Select the “Disable” button in the bottom right corner of the window.
  6. Close the task manager and the program will be disabled from automatically launching at startup.