Dell gives me two solutions to disable the touchpad. One is through the
mouse page, but it has no reference to touchpad. The other is through Fn + F6
(the function key). Neither solution works on my Inspiron 1720 upgraded to
Windows 7 from Windows Vista. Any solutions you can recommend, please?
In this excerpt from
Answercast #54, I look at an upgraded computer that is having difficulties
disabling the touchpad. An updated mousepad driver is the first (and maybe last) place to
look.
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Turn off the mouse pad
Unfortunately not. The ability to turn off the touchpad is a fundamental
function of the drivers that are installed for that device. Those drivers
expose the ability, or the functionality, in the Control Panel; in other words, on the mouse page in Control Panel that you’ve already looked at.
If that page doesn’t show you the track pad as something that can be
disabled, then I don’t know of a way to make it happen.
Check your drivers
What I would suggest you do is make sure that you’ve got the correct device
drivers installed for your mouse and track pad. Beyond that, assuming you’ve
got the latest and that functionality is still not exposed, then I’m afraid I
simply don’t know of a way to disable the touchpad.
Next from Answercast 54 – Microsoft Security Essentials says I’m at risk, but won’t scan because it’s out of date. What do I do?
Hi, I had the same problem with my Inspiron 1545. Leo is right about needing a driver. Google Inspiron 1720 touchpad driver and it will bring up a couple of links. Here’s the one from the Dell website. http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/04/DriverDetails/Product/inspiron-1720?driverId=XV8FK&osCode=WLH&fileId=2731100044 Then follow these instructions from an anonymous but helpful internet source:
1) Some tell you to go to Control Panel, Hardware, Mouse, etc. but when you get there, the touchpad option isn’t there.!!! It’s okay. You are not crazy.
Once everything downloads, and you restart your computer, NOW YOU CAN go to Control Panel , Hardware and Sound, Mouse, and voila!, there it is. Click on that huge fat arrow, and it will take you where you want to be. “Button Settings”, “Device Select”, “Disable Touchpad” (bottom left of that window).
Whenever I typed, my cursor would jump all over creation. And since I type fast, this was a huge pain. Disabling the touchpad should fix the problem. I hope this helps you! (And if you ever want to revert back, just do the same thing)
Sometimes reverting back to an older version of the driver will restore the lost functionality that has been ‘New and Improved” away …
If all else fails, there is is the Red Green fix – DUCT TAPE! Well, taping a piece of paper or thin cardboard (cereal box) so you can flip it on top of and off of the touchpad as needed. It it ain’t pretty, but it works.
Had the same problem on my husband’s brand new Dell Inspiron N5050. After he and I both searched on-line for fixes, finally found on a Dell forum the advice that you give to download the driver for the mousepad. After installing the driver, I didn’t have to disable the mousepad. Here is what I did and it worked: go to Control Panel, select Hardware & Sound, then, Devices and Printers, then Mouse, then Dell Touchpad. On that screen, click on the link that says, “Click to Change Dell Touchpad Settings”. One of the icons will be labeled, “Touchpad Settings”. Uncheck ” Tap to click”. This is in Windows 7 OS. Completely fixed the problem.
Yes, but you need to have the driver installed before it shows up on the control panel. Grrrrr.