How can I shut off the laptop touch pad?

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!