Can't disable touchpad

The directions say "Click “Touchpad” and turn off the switch on the right side, then click “More Touchpad Settings” below." However, there is no "Touchpad" section showing in the settings the way it had on Windows 10 (which is what this computer had originally.) I had to replace the hard drive and since the OS was reinstalled, I'm stuck with the touchpad operating again. That means I'm constantly having the cursor jump. And worst of all, it will suddenly highlight large sections of what I've typed and then erase all the work I've done. I can turn off my mouse (which is essential to me) but not the touchpad.

I tried finding out from HP (who made my laptop) for which of the shortcut keys will do this, but it wasn't in their information. I've tried all the various keys and none of them will stop the use of the touchpad. Just like the original poster, I can't keep my wrists elevated so that they don't accidentally brush the touchpad.

Well, thanks, but I'm not sure you read my question before what I imagine was a possibly helpful but stock reply. I believe I said both that I'd already disabled touchpad in device manager and also that Windows seems to have removed a setting for this under Bluetooth and Devices. Indeed, since I had disabled the touchpad long ago as well, I assume a Windows update perniciously reset that setting as well as altered Settings. I've had an update mess up the font on most of my apps as well.

I did not say this, but I'd read that Lenovo function keys would also do so, but I don't seem to have one showing the icon for this. Strange, but maybe they just ran out of function keys.

Fortunately, the problem seems solved. My use of device manager the day I posted this question appears to have taken hold not on first shutdown or reboot, but the third of fourth. Go figure. Hope it lasts.

Glad to hear you resolved your issue. I did have a look at your problem. You have tried to disable your touchpad using Device Manager, so I didn't give a way to disable the touchpad using Device Manager. I also saw that you tried to find the touchpad settings in Settings, but couldn't find them, so I wrote out exactly where that option is located.

For Lenovo shortcuts, not all computer models of the same brand use the same shortcuts. So I can't tell you exactly if your computer has a shortcut to switch the touchpad on/off without knowing the exact model of your laptop.

If you are having problems with Windows, you are welcome to post in the Microsoft Community!

Best Regards,

Raylan-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Pardon me, "third or fourth."

Hi JohnHaber.

Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

According to your description, you want to disable the touchpad on your laptop. I understand where you are coming from, sometimes I also find the touchpad on my laptop quite inconvenient. Fortunately, the option to disable the touchpad you mentioned in your question has not been removed. And you can disable the touchpad in many ways.

First of all, the easiest way to disable the touchpad is to disable it using the physical keys reserved by the laptop manufacturer. All you need to do is press FN and F? on the laptop's own keyboard at the same time to disable or enable the touchpad. (F? is one of the F1-F12 keys, which has a square symbol on it)

Secondly, you can indeed disable the touchpad in the settings, you just need to do the following:

1. Open Settings by pressing “Win + i” at the same time, and then select “Bluetooth and Other Devices” on the left.
2. Click “Touchpad” and turn off the switch on the right side, then click “More Touchpad Settings” below.
3. Check the box “Disable external USB pointing device when plugged in”, and then click OK.

If you can't disable the touchpad in this way, you can use Powershell to disable the touchpad:

1. Open Device Manager (press Win + X, then select “Device Manager”).
2. Find your touchpad device in Device Manager, usually under “HMI Devices” or “Mouse and Other Pointer Devices”.
3. Right-click on your trackpad device and select “Properties”.
4. In the “Details” tab, select “Device Instance Path” from the drop-down menu. This is your device instance ID.
5. Press “Win + R” to open “Run”, in “Run” type “powershell In Run, type “powershell” and press “Ctrl + Shift + Enter” at the same time to open Powershell with administrator privileges.
6. Enter the following command and press “enter” to execute the command.

Disable-PnpDevice -InstanceId “Device Instance ID” -Confirm:$false

(Replace the device instance ID, keep the quotes)

If you want to enable the touchpad just replace Disable with Enable.

Hope this helps you to disable the touchpad.

Best Regards,

Raylan-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist