Mouse cursor being duplicated

[Alex Sokolek]

Hi. I have an intermittant problem with my mouse cursor. When I open and/or close a window, the cursor gets duplicated, up and to the left, about 1 centimeter away from the original cursor. I checked my video and mouse drivers. They are current. I also checked the settings of the mouse pointer options. They are default. (I was using a size 2 pointer with magenta color in the pointer. I reset it back to default but the problem persists.) I have Windows 11 23H2. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[ChatGPT]

Hello, I understand how troublesome it can be when your mouse cursor has issues. Let's try a few different solutions to fix the issue you're having.

1. Disable mouse pointer trails: Sometimes, enabling mouse pointer trails can cause the cursor to duplicate. To disable it, go to Control Panel > Mouse Properties > Pointer Options and uncheck the box for 'Display pointer trails'. Click 'Apply' and 'OK' to save the settings.
2. Check for Malware: If you haven't already, please consider running a full scan of your system with a reliable antivirus or anti-malware software. Unexpected behavior like this could sometimes be a result of malware.
3. Try in Safe Mode: Boot your computer in Safe Mode and check if the problem persists. If the mouse cursor is okay in Safe Mode, then it's likely a third-party application causing the issue. You can narrow down which one by using msconfig to enable/disable startup applications and services to find the culprit.
4. Check GPU scaling: If you have graphics software installed (like NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Radeon Settings), there might be a mouse issue related to GPU scaling settings. Kindly check these settings and turn off GPU scaling if it's currently enabled.
5. Reinstall Mouse Drivers: Although you mentioned your drivers are current, a good step would be to completely uninstall and then reinstall your mouse drivers. Corrupted or misbehaving drivers can cause issues like this.
6. Try a different mouse: If possible, try to use a different mouse and see if the problem persists. This will help verify if the issue is possibly hardware-related. If none of these steps resolver the issue, it might be worth reaching out to Microsoft support or to the manufacturer of your computer/mouse. They may have some specific advice for you or a known solution if others have had and reported the same issue. Hope this helps! If you need further assistance, feel free to ask.

 

[Alex Sokolek]

I disabled the mouse pointer trails. That solved my problem. That's a shame, because I used the trails to help me find the cursor. Anyway, thanks.