Windows 8 mouse pointer disappeared

Anonymous

Hello...

I am using a 1 month old Toshiba laptop, running Windows 8 (upgraded from Windows 7, which was installed when purchased)

Until now, everything was working fine, but today, the mouse pointer just froze while browsing the internet.

I restarted the laptop(eventually after working out the keyboard shortcuts), and now the mouse pointer does not appear at all - I can only control things from the keyboard - which is very difficult.

When I shut down the laptop(the first time, with the frozen pointer), it installed updates, and when it came back on it configured those updates - so maybe this is something to do with it?

Please help - thank you!

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Anonymous

Thanks for sharing your experience. It worked for me. FN + F9 for Asus.

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Anonymous

Thank you for the very simple answer!! I have searched everywhere.

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Anonymous

Thank you so much. Mine disappeared and I pressed FN F9 and voila it's back! Windows 8.1 it is right next to F10 which is sound mute, which I meant to hit. Microsoft community is great.

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Anonymous

Thanks for this- just helped solve a problem I've been grappling all afternoon.

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Anonymous

You saved me from more hours of searching for this solution. I use the F5 button to refresh a program and would have never put the two issues together. Thanks for sharing your "embarrassing" find.

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Anonymous

Hello...

Thanks for your reply - it is much appreciated.

I have, however, recently resolved the problem - and the solution is a little embarrassing - but I'll share it here for the benefit of anyone else with the same issue.

Quite simply, one of the function keys on the laptop has a 'switch the mouse pointer on or off' feature. This is something I have never seen before, despite having used laptops since they were practically first available.

On my particular laptop (Toshiba Satellite L855) the F5 key does this. It has a picture which is hardly identifiable as a mouse with a line through it.

Press this (or press FN+F5 depending on you configuration), and hey presto... the cursor returns.

Thanks again - and hope this helps someone else.

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458 additional answers

Anonymous

2014-03-29T17:22:32+00:00

Q.: Windows 8.1 - the mouse loses focus and the cursor disappears - not just mouse lag - what do I do?

Does ANYONE know how to get the mouse to respond in a timely fashion, without the cursor disappearing, getting lost, or taking a vacation for 5, 10, 15, or even 30 seconds at a time?

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John: use a different flavor of cheese

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Windows Support: You may have accidentally pressed the Fn key which toggles the mouse off and on. That key varies by make and model of computer, but F5 is most common, or else F9, F6, or F7. Press the key once to toggle the mouse on again.

If your laptop does not have separate Function keys, you will need to hold down the Fn key when you press the dual-purpose key that is labelled F5, F9, F6, or F7.

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Windows 8.1: Your cursor has probably migrated to Display 2, and you have Display 2 turned off.

Start -> Control Panel -> Appearance and Personalization -> Display -> Screen Resolution -> Multiple displays -> Show desktop only on 1

Click Apply and OK.

It may also be worthwhile for you to disable Display 2 in Device Manager.
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