Open the Control Panel, then go to System > Device Manager. There is even an option to disable the touchpad only if an external mouse is attached. On my Dell Latitude E6430s, the option is POST Behavior > Mouse/Touchpad. The touchpad can often be disabled in BIOS.
SuperUser contributors Steven and Scott have the answer for us. What is the best (or easiest) way to permanently disable the touchpad on a laptop? The Answer I really do not care if I need to keep disabling it each time I restart my laptop, but does anyone know of a way to permanently disable it? I installed the appropriate driver in order to manage my touchpad preferences and successfully disabled it, but once the machine was rebooted, the touchpad was active once again.
I own a Dell Inspiron N5050 laptop with Windows 7 Home Premium installed on it and have been trying to permanently disable the touchpad.
SuperUser reader toriloukas wants to know how to permanently disable the touchpad on a laptop:
