Karen from Opelika, Alabama writes:
I have a laptop computer and use a Logitech Laser mouse instead of the laptop touch pad. How can I shut off the laptop touch pad?
That’s a great question… anyone who connects a mouse to their laptop knows how annoying it is when you’ve accidentally hit the touchpad while using the keyboard.
I do it all the time, and I’ve found that disabling it really makes my work go faster and keeps my frustration level low.
So the question still stands – how do you disable the touchpad mouse?
Well – as you might have guessed we’re going to need to get into the Control Panel of your system. (Start Button / Control Panel)
While every version of Windows seem to vary slightly, you’re looking to find the mouse settings – often found under Devices and Printers. (This could be buried under another heading like Hardware and Sound, but basically you’re searching Device settings.)
Here’s a quick look at where I found my devices in Windows 7.
If you’ve got an older version of Windows and the option to view the Control Panel in a classic layout, then you could go straight to the Mouse icon.
At any rate – icon or link – you’re looking to click on the mouse to open its properties dialog box.
Once there, you need to locate the settings for the touchpad mouse.
I found a separate tab for the settings related to the built-in touchpad mouse in my computer.
I found a very convenient setting – “Disable when external USB mouse is plugged in” – but basically locate and select whatever disable option you may have and click OK.
Voila!
No more bumping the touchpad and finding your cursor in a completely different and unexpected location!
~ April
Tags: touchpad mouse
Rather than go through all that to turn off the touchpad. On a windows7 machine all you have to do is tap twice on the upper left hand corner of the touchpad and its off. A small orange light will come on to let you know its off.
I have a Dell laptop and this tip does not work in the Dell.
You may not want to totally disable the touch pad mouse. The batteries in my logitec mouse die on occasion (husband leaves it on) – and the touch pad comes in handy. I did lower the sensitivity alot so it doesn’t interfere with my typing.