How to Disable Touchpad in Windows 7: Turn Off Your Laptop’s Internal Mouse

If you’ve searched and searched for how to disable the touchpad on your Windows 7 notebook computer, but haven’t found an answer, you’ve come to the right place. When you’re writing an e-mail, a book report, or an article on your laptop or netbook, there’s not much that is worse than having to continually stop typing in order to move your mouse/cursor out of the way after hitting the touchpad by mistake.

In earlier versions of Windows, it was easy enough to disable the touchpad on a laptop, but it might be difficult for some to locate in Windows 7. If so, read on for simple instructions to point you in the right direction.

Step 1: Click the Start button on your computer screen (bottom left corner), then type main.cpl in the search box. When you are finished typing, click Enter on your keyboard.

Step 2: In the new window that opens, click the Device Settings tab at the top. It should be the last one on the right.

Step 3: While in the Device Settings section, make sure the name of your touchpad is highlighted (it should be already), then click the Disable button. Click OK, then click OK again when the warning box pops up. That’s it. Now, whenever you have an external mouse plugged in, your touchpad will automatically turn off. A simple solution for a gets-old-quick problem.

Step 4: If you’re still having trouble disabling your laptop’s touchpad, you might need to download a new driver. Try this link for Synaptics Drivers. You could also download and install the TouchFreeze program (you must be signed in with Google to download), which turns off the touchpad while typing.