Help please! Blinking circle takes control of mouse

Question

Help please! Blinking circle takes control of mouse

NP 0

Blinking circle takes control of mouse and will click on anything that is where it is blinking. I try to use the mouse and it takes it back to the blinking circle. Toshiba laptop. Disabled touchscreen and using a keyboard instead of the laptop keyboard. Since I got the keyboard last year the issue went away, but now it’s back.

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2 answers

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Answer 1

Hi NP,

It sounds like something on the system may be continuously sending pointer input, which can cause the cursor to move or click on its own. Since you've already disabled the touchscreen in the past, it may be worth checking other built-in input devices as well.

Here are a few additional steps that you can try:

1, Disable the touchpad temporarily

Open Device Manager
Expand Mice and other pointing devices
Right-click the touchpad device and select Disable device
Test with only the external mouse connected

2, Perform a Clean Boot

Press Windows + R, type msconfig
On the Services tab, select Hide all Microsoft services and click Disable all
Restart the PC and check whether the behavior continues

3, Check for accessibility features

Go to Settings > Ease of Access
Review Mouse, Touchpad, and Tablet-related options and disable anything that may control pointer behavior automatically

4, Reinstall the touchpad or HID driver

In Device Manager, uninstall the touchpad or HID-compliant pointing device
Restart Windows and allow the driver to reinstall automatically

If the issue persists even with the touchpad disabled and after a clean boot, that may help narrow the cause to a specific driver or hardware component.

NP 0 Reputation points

2026-10-05T17:18:49.55+00:00

Thank you. It’s difficult to try these tasks because the blinking circle pulls the mouse pointer to it every time I try to click on something. I did a clean boot and that didn’t work either. So frustrating!

Answer 2

Try these checks in order:

Close all open apps. If the mouse behavior improves, too many open apps may be interfering with input responsiveness.
Check the mouse power and battery. If the mouse is wireless or Bluetooth, low battery can cause erratic behavior. Replace or recharge the batteries if needed.
Restart the PC. This refreshes drivers and can clear temporary input problems.
If the mouse is USB-connected, unplug it, wait a moment, and plug it back in. Also try a different USB port. If a USB hub is being used, connect the mouse directly to the laptop instead.
Check the hardware. Make sure the mouse cable is not damaged, the sensor is clean, and there is no dirt blocking buttons or sensors.
Test the mouse on another PC. If the same behavior happens there, the mouse may need to be replaced.
If using a wireless receiver, reconnect it. Unplug the USB wireless receiver, wait about 10 seconds, then plug it back in.
Update Windows. Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and install available updates.
Adjust mouse settings. Go to Start > Settings > Devices > Mouse > Additional mouse options > Pointer Options and review pointer behavior settings.

Since the touchscreen has already been disabled and an external keyboard is already in use, the most relevant next checks are the mouse itself, its battery or receiver, the USB port, and testing the mouse on another PC.

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