Laptop Cursor not Working: How to Fix the Cursor Issue Quickly?

Recoverit Editorial Team

Oct 23, 2026 • Filed to: Windows Computer Solutions • Proven solutions

TL;DR:

A frozen or disappearing laptop cursor is typically caused by accidental function key presses, driver conflicts, or heavy background processes, and can be resolved without an active mouse by using keyboard commands to navigate system settings.
    ● Press Fn + F6 or F9 to immediately toggle the trackpad status, or use the Windows key, type "Touchpad settings," and press Shift+Tab followed by the Spacebar to re-enable the feature on Windows 11/10.
    ● Connect an external USB mouse to navigate Device Manager (accessed by typing devmgmt.msc in the Run dialog) to update outdated video and keyboard drivers or uninstall duplicate entries under the pointing devices section.
    ● Disable the "Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present" option located under System Settings > Accessibility > Point Control to restore trackpad functionality on a MacBook.

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Whenever some error occurs on the laptop, the device's cursor/touchpad and keyboard are the first devices to stop working. Such an occurrence is quite frequent among users of every well-known laptop brand. However, there are more than enough solutions to fix them, and we are going to show exactly that to you in this guide. So, please read through and learn how to fix the laptop cursor not working problem, along with the bonus of finding out the way to recover deleted data from a Windows PC.

Part 1: What Causes the Cursor Blinking/Flashing?

Anything could result in the cursor of the laptop to freeze. Most of the time, it is due to the presence of viruses or malware inside the computer. Sometimes, it is because of a recently installed software that could end up choking the RAM and freezing the cursor as a result.

No matter, what is the cause behind the cursor's inability to move, there is always a solution to fix it, and you will know six of them in the next section of the article.

Part 2: How to Fix Laptop Cursor Not Working?

The following are the relevant methods to solve the laptop cursor not working problem:

1. Disconnect Bluetooth Devices

If the laptop cursor not working, it may because of the Bluetooth devices connected to your laptop. Disconnect all the devices, such as, Bluetooth mouse, gamepad or other external devices connected with USB. Then restart your computer and try again to see if laptop cursor not working issue is fixed or not.

2. Re-enable Your Mouse Cursor

Some laptops have a function key(from F1-F12) that disables the trackpad. Different model of laptop may have different function key. But the common function keys are F6 or F9. You can press Fn key and F6 or F9 to make the mouse cursor come back.

3. Enable the TouchPad

Press the Function(Fn) keys accidentally can cause the touchpad be disabled. But you can enable it back easily following this way:

How to enable laptop touchpad on Windows 11/10?

1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard, type Touchpad and select Touchpad settings.
2. Check and see whether the touchpad is enabled. If not, press Shift+Tab to navigate the options.
3. Press the Spacebar to enable the touchpad feature. Then, press and test the touchpad to see if it works.

How to enable MacBook trackpad?

1. Go to System Settings->Accessibility, then select Point Control located at the bottom.
2. Check if the “Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present” option is enabled. If yes, then disable it. Then, check whether it works or not.

4. Remove other Mouse Drivers

1. Press Windows+R and type devmgmt.msc, then, press Enter.
2. Locate the Mice and other pointing devices section and expand it.
3. Right-click on the other mice drivers and click Uninstall.
4. Click Yes to confirm the uninstallation process. Then, restart your computer to see if the cursor not working problem is fixed.

5. Change Pointer Scheme

If your mouse cursor has disappeared, you can disable the pointer scheme and shadow to restore the mouse. Here are the steps:

1. Press Win+R to open Run. Type control mouse and press Enter to access the mouse settings.
2. Reach the Pointers tab by using the Tab key. And press Enter to select it.
3. Use the arrow keys to select the None option in the Scheme dropdown menu.
4. Then, uncheck the Enable pointer shadow box by pressing the Tab and Spacebar key.
5. Still, press Tab to the "OK" button and confirm your changes by pressing Enter.

6. Update Mouse and Keyboard Drivers

If you had recently updated your Windows system, then there may be a chance that the update failed to update the mouse and keyboard driver to the most recent version. Before doing that, it is wise to plug in an external mouse to the laptop so that you could smoothly perform the solution. Here are the instructions:

1. Type "Device Manager" on the Windows search bar and open the utility.
2. Locate your mouse's driver and double click on it.
3. Right-click on the mouse's primary driver and click on "Update Driver".

4. Click on "Search automatically for updated driver software" and let it scan for the newer version of the driver.
5. Click on close after the interface had successfully installed the driver on the computer.
6. Reboot your PC.

Repeat the same procedure with your keyboard's driver and update it to the latest version.

7. Update Video Drivers

The most recent Windows 11/10 update could also have caused a glitch with the already installed video drivers on your computer, which is why we recommend for you to check for their latest version through the device manager by following the procedure mentioned in the same manner.

8. Disable Biometric Devices

The biometric utility of the laptop allows additional user security so that no one other than them could access the computer. But, it also proves to put quite a load on the computer that could result in the cursor's inability to move around. We advise you to disable the biometrics feature to check whether the cursor moves or not on the computer. Please see the step-by-step guide to learn how to disable biometric devices on your laptop:

1. Type "Windows + R" and enter "services.msc" before pressing the "OK" button.

2. Locate the "biometric service" and right-click on it.
3. Click on "Properties" to proceed forward.
4. From the dialogue box, click on "Startup Type" and from the drop-down menu, click on "Disabled".
5. Now click on "OK" to finalize the new settings.

6. Reboot the PC!

9. Clean Boot Computer

If the problem of the cursor not working is due to third-party software, you can resolve it by following these steps:

1. Press Windows + R, type "msconfig", and press Enter.
2. Navigate to the General tab and deselect the "Load startup items" option in the Selective startup section.

3. Proceed to the Service tab, uncheck "Hide all Microsoft services", and then disable all services.
4. Open Task Manager, go to the Startup tab, right-click on any application that might be conflicting with your mouse, and choose to disable it.
5. Click OK and restart your system.

You may need to repeat the process until you target the malfunctioning application.

10. Disable Antivirus Software

Anti-virus programs are known to impact the performance of the computer system significantly. If you have third-party antivirus software installed on your, it is wise to disable it to see whether the cursor starts moving or not.

11. Run Hardware Troubleshooter

It would help if you regularly troubleshot the hardware of your computer regardless of the crisis. The best way is to shut down the laptop, remove the battery, and open its back case to wipe all the excess dust off from the hardware. It is also recommended to remove and insert the memory modules of the laptop. You should also check whether you have correctly connected the charger to the computer or not.

12. Run HP Diagnostic

If all the solutions introduced above failed to solve the problem, you can use HP Diagnostic to make further troubleshooting.

Video Tutorial: How To FIX MacBook TrackPad Not Working?

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Part 3: How to Recover Lost Data from Laptop?

Though the cursor issue wouldn't result in any major problem such as accidental data loss from the computer if such a problem ever does occur, Recoverit Data Recovery permits you to retrieve your lost files with excellent recovery efficiency rate:

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Once you download and install Recoverit on your computer, It offers you to recover data with three easy steps that are as follows:

Step 1. Select a Location

Launch Recoverit on your laptop. When you see the interface, click on any folder or disk you wish to restore erased files from and click on Start., which will initiate the recovery scan.

Step 2. Scan the Location

Depending on the size of the lost data, the scan will take its due time, but it will not be more than a couple of minutes. The interface will notify you as soon as it finishes the scan with a pop-up message.

Step 3. Preview and Recover Files

You will be able to review the retrieved data under the following categories:

• File Type – Referring to the format of the data.
• File Path – Referring to the original path of the erased files.

From there, you will have to select the data that you intend to use and hit the "Recover" button to save them on your device permanently.

Conclusion:

You should always know the strengths and weaknesses of your laptop. Sometimes the computer isn't capable of handling a larger file or software that could result in the cursor not working problem on Windows 10. Besides, we discussed every possible way to fix the cursor not working problem on your laptop along with the handy method to recover deleted or lost files from your computer, in case of an accident or emergency. If you have a friend who is struggling with a similar problem, then feel free to share this guide with them.