MacOS – unload kext when it is in use or retained (cannot unload)

driverhardwarekernel-extensionsmacostrackpad

I want to disable the trackpad on my laptop without a mouse connected. I need this strange functionality because I use synergy (https://symless.com/synergy/) and game with my desktop.

This is what I have tried so far,

kextstat -kl | awk '{print $6}'| grep -i multi

which gave

com.apple.driver.AppleMultitouchDriver

Thus I went ahead and ran

sudo kextunload -b com.apple.driver.AppleMultitouchDriver

which gave the error

(kernel) Can't remove kext com.apple.driver.AppleMultitouchDriver;    services failed to terminate - 0xdc008018.

Failed to unload com.apple.driver.AppleMultitouchDriver - (libkern/kext) kext is in use or retained (cannot unload)

To be sure, I also tried another way (which was floating around stack exchange)

sudo kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/AppleMultitouchDriver.kext

which produced the same error message.

Thanks in advance! I am a new user so please excuse my poor formatting.

For reference, I am using Sierra and the latest version of MacBook Pro 13 inch (no touchbar).

In addition, these are the links I have looked at,

Best Answer

I resolved this issue by resetting the PRAM on my MacBook.

How to reset NVRAM/PRAM

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You can unload kernel modules with kextunload either specifying the whole path to the kernel extension as a parameter (they reside in /System/Library/Extensions/) or by specifying the bundle identifier displayed by kextstat, e.g. if you want to unload Fuse for OS X:

sudo kextunload -b com.github.osxfuse.filesystems.osxfusefs

You can then use kextload for loading extension in the same way.

Bonus hint: If you only want to see 3rd party kernel extensions that aren’t from Apple you can use inverse grep:

kextstat | grep -v com.apple

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After contacting their support they responded with the following which solved the problem.

When this happens open the System Preferences and go to the Security & Privacy settings panel. On the General tab, at the bottom right corner, there should be a message, saying that the use of system software was blocked with an Allow button next to it. After clicking on allow, there should be a dialogue to allow the use of software signed by Fabian Jaeger. If you don't see such a message do this alternatively:

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