Touchpad works even if switched off

I have a HP nx9010 notebook. Since I use it as a desktop machine, I have a mouse attached to it, and use it instead of the touchpad.

There is a button above the touchpad, which can be used to switch it on / off. This button works, so if I switch the touchpad on, it moves the cursor, etc, and if I switch it off, it does not. The LED above the touchpad also indicates its status.

However, when I boot the machine, the touchpad works, even if the LED is not lit. When its on/off button is first pressed, it just lights the LED; the pad remains functional. From now on, the switcher works as intended.

Since I do not use the touchpad, it can be very annoying when I accidentally touch it during typing, as it moves the cursor to a different place in the document (or to another window), and the LED does not gives me feedback about the status of the device.

The LED and the touchpad should be in synch, and it should remember whether it was switch on or off before shutdown. Or, it should be switched off by default (if there is a mouse attached?).

This is reproducible under Xubuntu and Ubuntu Edgy as well.