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

2015-01-20T18:29:34+00:00

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!

OK, with all do respect to everyone who has posted here and elsewhere about this cursor disappearing problem.......none of the suggested fixes worked for me at all. If this happens to you try this, the only thing that worked: (copied from another post)

SOLVED: Disappearing cursor on Asus touchscreen PCs

Good news — at least for owners of an Asus Ultrabook like the Zenbook UX301.

With all due respect for various tip in this thread, the problem is not addressed with a display driver, a mouse setting, or thetouchpad gesture feature. It is not solved via Control Panel or Device Manager. That’s not it at all...

SYMPTOM:

Cursor disappears after some bootups and not others. The touch pad and mouse are still usable, but it is difficult to tell where the cursor is, because the user can only see its affect on icons as they are passed over and buttons when they are clicked.

The problem sometimes clears with logout/login, but it is frustrating, because there is no apparent cause or distinction between success and loss of cursor.

SOLUTION (for Asus PCs, or possibly just Asus notebooks):

When powering, do not swipe the wallpaper up with a finger. Instead, click it with your mouse or touch pad (either will do). Then use the mouse again by clicking in the password field. (Do not simply begin to type the unlock code. Use the mouse first!).

Windows will launch into the desktop with a visible cursor. No more problem.

ANALYSIS:

I don’t work for Asus or Microsoft. But I am a computer engineer and a systems architect. In my opinion, the symptom is a result of coding in the BIOS (probably not a bug within Windows). At least for us Asus notebook users, the PC sets a flag that presumes touch-pointer operation and not use of a mouse or track pad.

CONCLUSION:

The problem is resolved by “asserting” the mouse with the steps described above: Click to roll up the boot wallpaper and again before typing a password or unlock code. By doing this, the PC will switch between mouse and touch pointer control throughout the Windows session.

I have owned my PC for one month. It has been a very frustrating month...that is, until I stumbled upon this solution.

Ellery Davies

AWildDuck.com (My Blog)
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