Resolve Apoint.exe Error

Apoint.exe – File Information

This file is an essential component of Alps touchpad drivers and is used for recording input from mouse or touchpad (when using a laptop). As this is an essential process, you should not terminate it. Disabling or removing this file may prevent you from using your laptop’s touchpad.

Error

You may receive the following error when you start Windows:

Apoint.exe-Bad Image. The application or DLL C:Windows/system32/VXDIF.DLL is not a valid Windows Image.

Solution

To resolve the issue, we recommend you perform the following actions in the sequence they appear below:

Step 1 – Uninstall and reinstall touchpad drivers

Use the Windows built-in utility, called Device Manager to uninstall and reinstall touchpad drivers.

To open Device Manager in Windows 7/Vista/XP, perform the following steps:

  1. Click Start.
  2. Click Control Panel to open its corresponding window.
  3. Double-click Device Manager.

After you have reinstalled your touchpad drivers, restart Windows to check if the above-mentioned error message is still appearing at startup. If it does, move to step 2.

Step 2 – Update your touchpad drivers

You can update your drivers either by manually downloading the latest available Alps touchpad drivers from the Internet or with the help of a reliable driver update tool.

Apoint.exe high CPU usage issue

Although, normally this process is not known to consume a large amount of CPU resources, in some cases you may find the process is recording high CPU usage (to know CPU consumption of individual resources, press Ctrl+Alt+Del, and click Processes).

Many Windows users have reported that this process frequently consumes high CPU resources after they upgrade to Norton Internet Security (NIS) 2010. This behavior occurs not because of some problem with your Alps touchpad drivers, but is understood to be a Norton problem.

To rectify the issue, we recommend that you perform the following steps:

  1. Open NIS 2010.
  2. Click Settings in the Network pane.
  3. Click Configure under Smart Firewall.
  4. Browse through the Program column until you locate Apoint.exe.

    5. Note: If you are able to locate Apoint.exe, go to step 17. If you are unable to locate the file go to step 5.

  5. Click the Add button.
  6. Browse and select Apoint.exe.
  7. Click Open.
  8. From the drop-down list select Manually configure Internet access (Recommended), and then click OK.
  9. Click Allow.
  10. Click Next.
  11. Select All types of communication (all ports, local and remote), and then click Next.
  12. Select Any computer, and then click Next.
  13. Select All types of communication (all ports, local and remote), and click Next.
  14. Click Create a Security History log entry, and then click Next.
  15. Feed in a description for this rule, and then click Next.
  16. Click Finish.
  17. Now, change the Access to Allow, and then click OK.
  18. Click OK in the Settings window.
  19. Exit NIS 2010.
  20. Restart Windows.

If the above steps fail to resolve the issue, you may consider contacting Norton Support for further help on this issue.