Disabling touchpad mouse?

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dave_s

Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by dave_s »

In Mint 7 it was possible to disable the touchpad mouse. Is there a reason why it can not be included in the Mint 8 options?

I believe it can be disabled via the terminal but this has to be done on every reboot.

Thanks

Dave
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
rich_roast

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by rich_roast »

It's strange that there's only the option to disable the touchpad while typing through preferences->mouse.

One fix is to install gpointing-device-settings using Synaptic package manager. It didn't make a menu item straight away when I installed it, but you can just run

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gpointing-device-settings
from terminal or Alt+F2 run dialogue. It has a drop down list on the opening tab for switching touchpad off.
dave_s

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by dave_s »

Thanks for that, works a treat.

Much appreciated :D

Dave
dave_s

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by dave_s »

Actually, spoke too soon.

It does not retain the setting and the touchpad turns itself back on again after a while.

So I suppose back to the original question. Is it possible to include the original setting from Mint 7 ?

Dave
rich_roast

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by rich_roast »

Dug out this bug, comment #2 fix doesn't work for me and the problem I'm experiencing is more serious; settings do not even persist for one session (more like about five minutes), never mind persisting between logins and logouts. I've tried everything I can think of in gconf-editor too, to no avail. I might get around to submitting a report but this seems entirely broken to me and I don't know where in the stream that breakage is.

Try installing gsynaptics using Synaptic (do not confuse the two! The name of the former is based on a touchpad manufacturer, I think); this will introduce a "Touchpad" item in your preferences section of mintMenu; the checkbox to enable/disable touchpad is on the first tab. I'm not having a great deal of joy with it, either, but then I'm fiddling around something awful with gconf trying to figure this out :?

Very irritating.

[update] Gah, not even completely removing gpointing-device-settings and rebooting has fixed this, something seems to persistently turning the touchpad back on. I suspect gnome-settings-daemon or a problem with a gconf key but can't confirm. :x

[second update, should "solve"]Gah, I give up. This'll "fix" it:

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sudo mv /usr/lib/xorg/modules/input/synaptics_drv.so /somewhere/safe
Xorg won't be able to load the touchpad driver. The touchpad will therefore not work. Xorg still runs normally, I've tried :mrgreen:
Marshmellow

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by Marshmellow »

Thank you very much, rich_roast

I almost gave up. Knowing the offending file helped fix my problem. I was unable to perform your command, recieving an error stating no such directory existed. Instead, I opened /usr/lib/xorg/modules/input folder as root. I just renamed the file a nasty word. I believe the same result is achieved.
Xorg won't be able to load the touchpad driver. The touchpad will therefore not work. Xorg still runs normally, I've tried :mrgreen:
Thank you very much . I am a complete newb, and am on my 3rd try in regards to migrating from a 15 year addiction to Windows. Feels good man. Thanks a bunch. :? & :D
I registered here in order to thank you for your diligence. 8) :idea:
rich_roast

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by rich_roast »

Thanks for the kind words, glad to have been of use. That makes the exercise worth it. 8)

Happy hacking.
bartonlp

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by bartonlp »

I have just installed Linux Mint 11 over Ubuntu 11.04. I use to be able to do 'rmmod psmouse' and stop the touchpad. Now that hangs the machine. I have a Dell Inspiron 1545. I can't find the package mentioned here (gpointer-device-settings) with apt-get etc. Does anyone know why the rmmod does not work or where I can get gpointer-device-settings? I am still looking but some help would be appreciated. Thanks
Aging Technogeek

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by Aging Technogeek »

Your problem is that you are looking for the wrong thing. The file you want is gpointing-device-settings, not gpointer-device settings. It is available in Package Manager, just enter gpointing-device-settings in the Quick Search box.
bartonlp

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by bartonlp »

I'm sorry I meant "gpointing-device-settings". I just typed it wrong. I can run the app but nothing to turn off the "ImPS/2 ALPS GlidePoint".
Aging Technogeek

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by Aging Technogeek »

Insead of "rmmod", you might try "modprobe -r" to remove the module. This is the more commonly used command in Mint.
bartonlp

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by bartonlp »

Yes I thought so also and tried that as well with the same results -- hang, no keyboard, no mouse; reboot via power off. The interesting thing is it use to work with Ubuntu 10.10 just fine. Only when I upgraded to Ubuntu 11.04 did the problem exist. Then I installed LinuxMint 11 over Ubuntu 11.04 (not a full clean install mind you) and Mint has the same problem. I spent yesterday googeling with no useful results. If I don't get some help soon I may reinstall LinuxMint 11 from scratch and see if the problem had something to do with the Ubuntu 11.04 installed previously. I hate to do that but I really don't have a lot of stuff on the laptop and everything is backed up to my desktop machine anyway.

Thanks
Aging Technogeek

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by Aging Technogeek »

Something else to try before you reinstall. A little app called "Touchpad Indicator". In spite of the name, it can control the touchpad and automatically disable it when a USB mouse is plugged in.

http://www.webupd8.org/search?q=touchpad+indicator
bartonlp

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by bartonlp »

That sounds like a possible. Where would I find this app? Is it part of the apt-get and if so what is it called for installation?
Aging Technogeek

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by Aging Technogeek »

Open a terminal and enter these three commands

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sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao

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sudo apt-get update

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sudo apt-get install touchpad-indicator
Touchpad indicator will be found under Accessories in the menu. When launched, it will display a small icon of a touch pad in the notification area of the panel. Click on the icon and click Preferences to set it up to autostart and disable the touchpad when a mouse is plugged in, or, if that choice is not selected, you can toggle the touchpad on and off from the same dropdown menu. You can also add a keyboard shortcut if you want.

To read more about it, click the link in my previous post.

It works quite well. I install it every time I install a Gnome distro on any of my laptops.
bartonlp

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by bartonlp »

Thanks for the instructions I will try it our on Monday.
kjkrum

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by kjkrum »

Good info, thanks! I'm using Mint 11, and turning off my Synaptics trackpad with gpointing-device-settings seems to have worked. It's stayed off for a few hours now. I'll try touchpad-indicator later.
Cariboo

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by Cariboo »

@AgingTechnoGeek....
Thanks for the instructions.
Works great on my HP g6-1B67ca Notebook (Dual boot System LM11 + Windows7)...
One minor issue: the indicator lamp is not ON in either condition.
Under Windows7 the DISABLED condition is indicated by an orange light. :wink:
Aging Technogeek

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by Aging Technogeek »

There should be a red X in the icon when the touchpad is disabled. I guess this is easier to do than turning on the touchpad disabled light (which not all computers are equipped with).
Cariboo

Re: Disabling touchpad mouse?

Post by Cariboo »

Aging Technogeek wrote:There should be a red X in the icon when the touchpad is disabled. I guess this is easier to do than turning on the touchpad disabled light (which not all computers are equipped with).
Yes, there is a red X. I locked it to the panel. I agree, to be universal, this is the better way.
Locked

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