Disable TouchPad When USB Mouse Is Plugged In

Every laptop has a touchpad that acts as a ‘mouse’ compared to traditional desktops. Despite recent improvements and advancements in touchpad technology, it still cannot replace the functionality of an actual mouse.

In this article, we will explore several different methods for automatically disabling the touchpad when a USB mouse is plugged in, and vice versa. The methods listed here greatly depend on the type of hardware or touchpad you have installed.

Method 1: ELAN Properties.

1. Go to the Control Panel (press Windows + R, type ‘control’, and then press Enter).

2. Click on the mouse or search for “mouse” in the search bar located at the top right corner.

3. Select the mouse and open it.

4. Click on the tab called ‘ELAN‘.

5. Select the touchpad devices from under ‘Device’ and place a checkmark next to ‘Disable when external USB mouse is plugged in’

Method 2: For Synaptics Touchpad.

If you have a Synaptics touchpad, the method is slightly different. Since Synaptics doesn’t support this option by default, we need to make some changes to your computer’s registry. Ensure that you are logged in as an administrator before proceeding.

Note: Manipulating Registry values about which you have no knowledge can harm your computer or even render it useless. Make sure to back up your registry before proceeding.

1. Download the registry files listed below, and run them separately with administrator access:     Synaptics Registry 1.
    Synaptics Registry 2.
2. Restart your computer after running the registry files, and see if the issue is resolved for good.

If the registry files do not run automatically, you can manually import them into the registry editor itself. Here are the steps:

1. Press Windows + R, type ‘regedit‘ in the dialog box, and press Enter.
2. Once in the registry editor, navigate to File > Import.
3. Now, import the downloaded registry files, restart your computer, and check if the touchpad is disabled properly.

Download the two registry files below and run them. Once the registry is updated, restart your machine, and the touchpad will be disabled when a USB mouse is plugged in. Before you do this, make sure to back up the registry. If double-clicking doesn’t register them, then open the registry editor, click File, and then click Import to import them into the Registry Editor.

Method 3: Windows 8.1.

Even though the previous methods might work perfectly for all versions of Windows, there is also another way.

Hold the Windows Key and press C to open the Settings charm.

2. Select ‘Change PC Settings.‘

3. From the left pane, click on ‘PC and Devices.‘

4. Select Mouse  and Touchpad

5. Look for the option titled “Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected,” and turn it off to automatically disable the touchpad when you connect a mouse to your Windows 8.1 device.