Turn off touchpad in windows 11

[cjmorry]

I have been here before with this problem but there was no solution found that worked for me. I cannot turn off the touchpad and this is causing many errors in data entry on the built in keyboard. When at home it is not a problem because I use an external keyboard but when away this is a serious problem and neither HP nor Microsoft seem to be interested in providing a work around. It only began with Windows 11.

Anyone with recent experience in finding a way to disable the touchpad on the HP Laptop 15 da00xxx?

[ub6424]

Hello @cjmorry 

Sorry to hear that you are having problems ... I would like to help you.

Let me check your current system configuration before we talk about the touchpad ...

(1) Run    msinfo32

- Select <System Summary>:

--->>> Copy/screenshot/paste following key/value pairs:

OS Name

Version

System Model

System SKU ( equals HP product number (p/n) )

Processor

BIOS Version/Date

(2) Please report your results

[ub6424]

Hello @cjmorry 

Reference --->>> User Guide

Page 8 Chapter 2 Getting to know your computer

(1) Open touchpad settings

(2) Click each tab and create screenshot

(3) Please report your results

[cjmorry]

[cjmorry]

This is ancient history. That feature has not been available since before Windows 10, let alone Windows 11. Probably this would work for people who never update their operating system from the one that comes installed on their computer when they buy it. But this is a five year old computer and I would not want to operate in such an old operating system even if I could roll back.

[cjmorry]

[ub6424]

Hello @cjmorry 

(1) Connect external <USB wired> mouse

(2) Start Windows <device manager>

- Locate both devices

- Right click -> disable

(3) Touchpad should be disabled, please test

(4) Please report your results

[cjmorry]

Tried that before I posted my message here. The Symantec drivers keep coming back once they are deleted or disabled.

[ub6424]

---

@cjmorry wrote:

Tried that before I posted my message here. The Symantec drivers keep coming back once they are deleted or disabled.

---

Hello @cjmorry 

(1) I wrote "disable" not uninstall. 

(2) Did you check BIOS for touchpad related settings ?

[cjmorry]

Hi again:

Worked on this a bit on my own while you were looking at different options. It occurred to me that there was probably a link between my having two drivers installed (one for my wireless mouse which I use all the time, and one for the touchpad, which I never use. I could not uninstall the touchpad drivers because every time I did, the system would restart and they would reappear. It then dawned on me that there was a Synaptics Touchpad app on the computer that was not running. When I would try to start it, it would fail. So I took out the dongle which enables my wireless mouse and low and behold the Synaptics Touchpad app ran OK. One of the options there is to disable to the touchpad. Which I did, leaving me with no touchpad and no mouse. But when replaced the dongle the mouse came back and the touchpad did not.

I am not saying this is the solution. The whole thing may reverse itself again when I next restart the computer. But it is certainly indicative of the fact that the work around for Windows 11 that Synaptics came up with, to provide this app which allows the touchpad to be turned off, only works when there is no other mouse installed. As logical as that might sound, it is very confusing for users since they never informed us of that fact.

I'll try this out for a day or two to see if it is a recurring event.

Thanks for your ideas.