1.  I own a Dell Inspiron 8100 running XP-PRO; this 8100 has both a
Touchpad and the little eraser looking thingy.
2.  I can't stand Touchpads or eraser looking thingys so I attach a
mouse to the 8100's USB Port.
3.  What I have just told you is the SUM TOTAL of what I know about
computers.
4.  I want to disable the Touchpad and the eraser thingy so that the
external mouse (attached through the USB) is the only thing driving my
little cursor.
5.  Please give me step by step instructions, assuming it is possible,
rather than links.
6.  If the answer is "can't do it", that is a fine answer and will be
sadly accepted.
7.  Thank You!

---

Request for Question Clarification by huntsman-ga on 07 Jul 2002 17:39 PDT

Hello Weisstho! 

How does it feel to be on the other side of the counter?

Your Dell Inspiron 8100 is factory-equipped with "Dual Pointing": it
comes with a "Touch Pad" and a "Track Stick" (the eraser thingy).
Actually, you could say your 8100 has "Quad Pointing" since you can
also plug a mouse into its USB port or PS2 port.

It's nice that you have a choice of pointing devices, but you probably
can't disable the Touch Pad *and* the Track Stick at the same time,
even if you have a mouse attached. You might be able to disable one or
the other, but not both: the laptop's designers wanted to have at
least one onboard pointing device active at all times. What if your
mouse ran off?

Typically, you can change these device settings easily by opening the
"Mouse" icon in your windows "Control Panel" folder:

1. Click the Windows Start button, move your cursor up the Start menu,
and pause over the  "Settings" line.
2. A popup menu should appear: click on its "Control Panel" item to
open the Control Panel window.
3. In the Control Panel window, find the "Mouse" icon and double-click
it.
4. In the Mouse window are various tabs that control your pointing
devices and cursor settings. There should be some options here to
disable your Touch Pad *or* your Track Stick.

I wish I could offer more specific steps, but I have not been able to
find adequate Dell Inspiron 8100 documentation that explains pointing
devices. I downloaded several documents from Dell's Web site (see
below), but none of them are quite detailed enough.

The lack of specific information and detailed steps is why I'm posting
this as a Clarification instead of an Answer.

I have a Dell Inspiron 3800 at home (it's my significant other's
laptop). Although somewhat similar to your 8100, its operation may be
slightly different. Better to be safe than sorry, so you should check
the printed User Manual (or installed online documentation) that came
with your 8100. You should find information in them that specifically
explains how to control your Touch Pad, Track Stick, and Mouse
settings.

Thank you,
huntsman 


P.S. - You might also be able to change pointing device settings in
your laptop's "BIOS" (Basic Input Output System). This is your
laptop's core hardware operating system that controls things like the
display, keyboard, hard drive, and power modes.

You should learn how to change BIOS settings -- it's not really that
hard -- but it may be a bit over your head right now. Just be sure you
read and understand what's involved before attempting to change them.
This information should be under the topic "System Setup Program" in
your printed or online Dell Inspiron 8100 documentation.


References -

Dell Reference
Dell Inspiron 8100
Table of Contents
http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/ins8100/index.htm


Dell Reference
Dell Inspiron 8100
A Tour of Your Computer
http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/ins8100/tour.htm


Dell Reference
Dell Inspiron 8100
Documentation
http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/ins8100/docs.htm

---

Clarification of Question by weisstho-ga on 07 Jul 2002 17:53 PDT

Dear colleague,
It seems you had this locked forever, trying to devine the answer. I
appreciate your help, very much.

Please post your Request for Clarification as an Answer, and the 5*
that you so richly deserve will immediately be posted.

Thanks for your great effort.
Tom

Weisstho, thanks for your patience. 

With one minor edit, here you are...

----- 

Hello Weisstho!  
 
How does it feel to be on the other side of the counter? 
 
Your Dell Inspiron 8100 is factory-equipped with "Dual Pointing": it
comes with a "Touch Pad" and a "Track Stick" (the eraser thingy).
Actually, you could say your 8100 has "Quad Pointing" since you can
also plug a mouse into its USB port or PS2 port.
 
It's nice that you have a choice of pointing devices, but you probably
can't disable the Touch Pad *and* the Track Stick at the same time,
even if you have a mouse attached. You might be able to disable one or
the other, but not both: the laptop's designers wanted to have at
least one onboard pointing device active at all times. What if your
mouse ran off?
 
Typically, you can change these device settings easily by opening the
"Mouse" icon in your windows "Control Panel" folder:
 
1. Click the Windows Start button, move your cursor up the Start menu,
and pause over the  "Settings" line.
2. A popup menu should appear: click on its "Control Panel" item to
open the Control Panel window.
3. In the Control Panel window, find the "Mouse" icon and double-click
it.
4. In the Mouse window are various tabs that control your pointing
devices and cursor settings. There should be some options here to
disable your Touch Pad *or* your Track Stick.
 
I wish I could offer more specific steps, but I have not been able to
find adequate Dell Inspiron 8100 documentation that explains pointing
devices. I downloaded several documents from Dell's Web site (see
below), but none of them are quite detailed enough.
 
I have a Dell Inspiron 3800 at home (it's my significant other's
laptop). Although somewhat similar to your 8100, its operation may be
slightly different. Better to be safe than sorry, so you should check
the printed User Manual (or installed online documentation) that came
with your 8100. You should find information in them that specifically
explains how to control your Touch Pad, Track Stick, and Mouse
settings.
 
Thank you, 
huntsman  
 
 
P.S. - You might also be able to change pointing device settings in
your laptop's "BIOS" (Basic Input Output System). This is your
laptop's core hardware operating system that controls things like the
display, keyboard, hard drive, and power modes.
 
You should learn how to change BIOS settings -- it's not really that
hard -- but it may be a bit over your head right now. Just be sure you
read and understand what's involved before attempting to change them.
This information should be under the topic "System Setup Program" in
your printed or online Dell Inspiron 8100 documentation.
 
 
References - 
 
Dell Reference 
Dell Inspiron 8100 
Table of Contents 
http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/ins8100/index.htm 
 
 
Dell Reference 
Dell Inspiron 8100 
A Tour of Your Computer 
http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/ins8100/tour.htm 
 
 
Dell Reference 
Dell Inspiron 8100 
Documentation 
http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/ins8100/docs.htm

---

Clarification of Answer by huntsman-ga on 07 Jul 2002 19:40 PDT

weisstho,

I appreciate your generosity, but it seems that deadlychiapet has the
better solution. I'm afraid I did not read his comment until after I
posted the Answer.

Perhaps you want to reconsider those stars.

huntsman

Huntsman exhausted a large number of resources in helping with my
question; and, the answer was logically presented and nicely written.
Thanks, Huntsman. Also, the comment by deadlychiapet-ga was also right
on the money, and very much appreciated. Thanks, too, deadlychiapet!!

Hi there,

I was waiting to see if this would become unlocked, but seeing all the
effort huntsman-ga put into the question I'll post my answer as a
comment.

-----------

Good news! There is a easy and simple way to disable the touchpad on
your laptop.

First, turn on (or restart) your computer. When the Dell logo comes up
press F2 to open the bios setup program.

Press Alt-p three times to get to page 4. Near the middle of the
screen you should see an option called Pointing Device. Change it from
Touch Pad - PS/2 Mouse to just PS/2 Mouse (this should work fine for
your USB mouse). Then press ESc to exit the bios, making sure to save
the changes.

Hope that helps! If you have any further questions please feel free to
ask.

-Deadlychiapet-ga


References used:
http://support.dell.com/us/en/kb/document.asp?DN=1062439

Search strategy:
searched Dell's support knowledge base
(http://support.dell.com/us/en/kb/) for "mouse 8100" and clicked on
"System Setup (BIOS) Simulation for the Dell™ Inspiron™ 8100 Portable
Computer"

Hi

I used to have an inspiron 8000 and this problem used to really bother
me.

you need to download this utility from the support section of dells
websight, it gives u loads of option for the touchpad and lets u turn
of the tapping to double click!!

tp2aa09i.exe

hope it help

simon