The problem I had wasnt that I didn't know how to do it, it was that it couldnt be done. I went to control-panel --> mouse and there was no "touchpad" setings. Nor could I disable it in device manager. So I looked up which touchpad I had and it apparently was a Synaptics, so I downloaded the appropriate driver and installed. Now I could adjust the touchpad, but only the buttons, not the pad itself!! Turns out that Acer shipped my moded (D255) with 2 different touchpads. So I downloaded the drivers for the other one (Elan) and now I have the ability to go in to settings and disable.
I was reading posts and replies and it seems some helpers misinterpreted the problem as users not knowing where to go to disable it. Because I had the same problem, it was clear that it wasnt a case of the user not knowing where to look, they (we) knew where to look, but the option wasnt there. I'd say the only fix for this would be to find a driver that gives you that option. I'm not sure if its possible to install a driver for a touchpad other than the one you have, but if so, this Elan one works well for me.
-Rick - Acer D255 w/ Windows 7
PS. I agree with the earlier comment that I think the 'tap-to-click' feature is the most annoying ever. I'd like to see manufacturers default it to 'off' and let users turn it on.
Edited by rickjames8, 09 October 2010 - 11:00 AM.