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The amazing vanishing mouse cursor!

TrollheartTrollheart Posts: 5,093
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in PC & Mac Hardware and Software #1
It seems this is an old problem, so odd there's no thread for it but ... every so often in Firefox and also Torch my mouse cursor just stops, vanishes. Like if I click in say Google to search there is no cursor. The text will type ok, but if you make a mistake and there's no cursor it's very hard to get back as it's basically guesswork. There are some few discussions about it but no solutions offered.

Anyone experiencing this? Anyone know of a way to stop it happening? Right now, when it happens I have to close the browser and reopen it, then the cursor is back. It's a right pain.

Any help or advice appreciated.

Thanks
TH

Comments

  • Thine WonkThine Wonk Posts: 17,190
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    #2
    Mac? Windows? Linux? which version XP, Win 7, Win 8.1?

    There's lots of Mac Mavericks users reporting the same
    https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=firefox%20cursor%20disappears

    One of the top results in Google says to do this:
    Try this work around:

    Navigate to Firefox>Preferences>Advanced>General
    Check 'Always use the cursor keys to navigate within pages'.
    Hit okay.

    Some are blaming it on add-ons, so you could try disabling some add-ons and seeing if it goes away.
  • evil cevil c Posts: 7,833
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    #3
    I guess you have Windows and that next time you start the computer the cursor problem is gone. This could be an intermittent Windows problem that I have encountered, and for which MSoft have issued no hotfix. There was a thread about this I have seen on this forum although it was some time ago and I don't remember the exact details.

    Try this. Start/Control Panel/Mouse. Click the Pointer Options tab. In the Visibility box enable Display pointer trails, it doesn't matter where the slider is positioned so suit yourself on this. Click Apply then OK. This should reveal some kind of cursor that you can use. Next time you restart the computer go into Mouse and disable pointer trails. If this works for you remember for next time.
  • TrollheartTrollheart Posts: 5,093
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    #4
    Thine Wonk wrote: »
    Mac? Windows? Linux? which version XP, Win 7, Win 8.1?

    There's lots of Mac Mavericks users reporting the same
    https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=firefox%20cursor%20disappears

    One of the top results in Google says to do this:



    Some are blaming it on add-ons, so you could try disabling some add-ons and seeing if it goes away.
    Thanks but if I do this is this going to mean I can't scroll through pages? I'm Windows 7 by the way on a decent AND Phenom II x 6 PC with 8 gig ram. The computer doesn't have to be shut down for the fault to go, just the browser. It's just annoying if you're in the middle of something (I write a lot in Google Docs) and suddenly you have no cursor any more.

    I'll try both your suggestions. Thanks.
  • StigStig Posts: 12,446
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    #5
    Trollheart wrote: »
    Thanks but if I do this is this going to mean I can't scroll through pages? I'm Windows 7 by the way on a decent AND Phenom II x 6 PC with 8 gig ram. The computer doesn't have to be shut down for the fault to go, just the browser. It's just annoying if you're in the middle of something (I write a lot in Google Docs) and suddenly you have no cursor any more.

    I'll try both your suggestions. Thanks.

    Try changing the Mouse Pointer settings in Control Panel back to default, or use another scheme.

    I seem to remember the mouse pointer is actually generated by graphics hardware. You could try updating your graphics drivers.
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