touchpad problems on laptop

December 20, 2005 11:14 AM

I have a Sony PCG-GRX700 laptop. When I type an email, suddenly the cursor jumps to the top of the page and deletes all that I have written. Can I turn off the touch pad to just use a mouse?
posted by DOM1 to computers & internet (11 comments total)

Usually a setting in the BIOS.
posted by ori at 11:28 AM on December 20, 2005

To get to the BIOS setup menu, press the F2 key when you see the Sony logo on power-on. Poke around there. Most laptops have an option to disable the internal pointing device.
posted by ori at 11:33 AM on December 20, 2005

Yes, you can turn off at least some of the touchpad functions. Go to the Sony support site. Also see this thread, where I asked a similar question.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:35 AM on December 20, 2005

Look for a setting in the Windows Control Panel that disables the touchpad while typing. I think my Sony had that.
posted by reverendX at 11:41 AM on December 20, 2005

FWIW, my Sony did not offer any obvious place to shut off the touchpad. I eventually found an option buried in some unlikely place and was able to turn off the buttons, which solved my problem. Sorry I can't be more specific, but the Sony is at home, and I'm not. If you haven't found it by the time I get home, I will post again.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 12:14 PM on December 20, 2005

Can you not just Control Panel -> Mouse -> Device Settings -> Disable?

(I don't have a Sony)
posted by solotoro at 12:22 PM on December 20, 2005

I had a laptop years ago that I swear I could not find this option for. So, I taped a piece of thin cardboard over it.
posted by RustyBrooks at 12:22 PM on December 20, 2005

My crappy old Compaq with a touchpad has an option to reduce sensitivity to accidental deployment (called anti-palm-touch or something). If you have any interest in using the touchpad, it may be worth looking for something similar on your machine under the Control Panel, as it cleared up a similar problem I was having.
posted by exogenous at 12:22 PM on December 20, 2005

My Fujitsu has the option to turn it off as well. It is under the "Tapping" tab in the Mouse Control Panel. "Turn off when Typing" it is called.

(I just found this option and it has made my life sooooo much easier!)
posted by stew560 at 3:32 PM on December 20, 2005

DOM1, this is where the touchpad controls are on my Sony, which is a different one from yours, but maybe . . .

Control Panel > Sony Notebook Setup > Device tab > double-click "Pointing Device" to open the Mouse Properties window.

Some of the tabs in the window control the mouse, and some control the touchpad. (And some only pretend to make a difference, like "Tap off when typing".)
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:55 PM on December 20, 2005

Thank you for the suggestions as to how to disable the touchpad. I found the disable setting and it works great...the problem is that it re-sets each time I turn the laptop off or hibernate. How do I find a place to change the default setting? TIA DOM1
posted by DOM1 at 9:09 AM on December 27, 2005