Cursor/pointer disappeared

[solushouse]

Hi,

My cursor has vanished! Poof! Gone! It started intermittently freezing and disappearing, but it occasionally came back. Now I can't see it at all. I've tried cleaning the connections as suggested on a Microsoft page somewhere. It didn't work. When I checked the Device Manager - Mice and other pointing devices, the only thing listed is HID-compliant mouse, which appears twice in the list. There is no mention of the mousepad/touchpad, whatever it's called. In the keyboards section, I've got HID Keyboard Device and Surface Type Cover Filter Device.

Can anyone - pun coming - give any pointers as to what I should do about this?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[sharpuser]

Welcome to the forum, @solushouse ,

Let's start trying to resolve this problem:

It may be that you somehow have two mice connected, or the touchpad and mouse are in conflict.
When you (Cortana) search for "Touchpad settings", make sure you have chosen to "Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected".
Also, elsewhere on this site, a user found that a mouse was being used for a different computer in their household, and the Bluetooth or RF protocol was paired with both.

Let us know about any progress ...

 

[Paul W]

Hi,

My cursor has vanished! Poof! Gone! It started intermittently freezing and disappearing, but it occasionally came back. Now I can't see it at all. I've tried cleaning the connections as suggested on a Microsoft page somewhere. It didn't work. When I checked the Device Manager - Mice and other pointing devices, the only thing listed is HID-compliant mouse, which appears twice in the list. There is no mention of the mousepad/touchpad, whatever it's called. In the keyboards section, I've got HID Keyboard Device and Surface Type Cover Filter Device.

Can anyone - pun coming - give any pointers as to what I should do about this?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Paul W]

Hi,
I have this problem also. Cursor just freezes and keyboard stops working. MS won't do anything to fix it because there is no money in it for them. This problem occurred with the S3, but they still have done nothing.
This forum is not actually here to help. Most of the advice given is the basic kind of stuff we all try anyway. This forum is here to make even more money out of us suckers. Look how many adverts there are on this website. They are making money from their own incompetence. Aarrgghh!!

 

[ScottyS]

I couldn't disagree more. Though many of the suggestions to problems are the basics, you have to start with the basics first, and I, for one, have had many problems solved by the advise of the moderators and other users on this forum.

I don't know who the "they" are you refer to as making money. This is a user forum and has no affiliation with Microsoft.

As to the OP's problem, @sharpuser 's advice is good. Sounds like the device thinks it's in tablet mode with no mouse attached. The best way to troubleshoot a mouse problem is to plug in a USB mouse (if you have one) so that Bluetooth or wireless USB dongle is eliminated as the issue.

 

[Paul W]

You may have had many problems solved through advice from this forum, but I only mentioned one specific problem. And you can disagree all you like, but the facts speak for themselves:
1. This is an old problem.
2. This is a widespread problem
3. Microsoft have not resolved it.

My comment about MS (and other firms) not bothering to fix known problems because it costs money came from a discussion with a member of the Know How team at PC World.

Also, I have tried all of the suggested advice, but nothing works. Will just have to return it and wait several weeks while they try to fix it.

 

[solushouse]

Welcome to the forum, @solushouse ,

Let's start trying to resolve this problem:

It may be that you somehow have two mice connected, or the touchpad and mouse are in conflict.
When you (Cortana) search for "Touchpad settings", make sure you have chosen to "Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected".
Also, elsewhere on this site, a user found that a mouse was being used for a different computer in their household, and the Bluetooth or RF protocol was paired with both.

Let us know about any progress ...

Hi.

Thanks for your reply.

There are definitely not two mice connected, so no conflict. It doesn't matter whether I'm in the house, the car, or a location away from home, there's no cursor. I could be miles away from the nearest mouse, or in an area with no internet connection... basically, nothing for miles, but there's no cursor. I could be using the Surface with the keyboard attached or not... no cursor. Sometimes it might appear for a second, but instantly disappears. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, how many windows are open, what software I'm using, or whether or not I have IE, Chrome, Firefox or whatever in use.

Someone said to use Reimage software to rectify the problem, but surely, if it's a common problem, Microsoft should have a free downloadable fix/patch or something. It's in their interests for their customers to be able to speak highly of MS products, so common problems should have an easy fix. Basically, if someone else's software can fix it, how come MS can't provide software to fix it?

I appreciate your help because I'm totally stumped. Thanks.

 

[sharpuser]

Okay, try these keyboard combinations:

Fn + F3 or
Fn + F5 or
Fn + F9 or
Fn + F11

 

[solushouse]

Okay, try these keyboard combinations:

Fn + F3 or
Fn + F5 or
Fn + F9 or
Fn + F11

Thanks, but what should happen when I use them?