Mouse pointer disappears on Second Monitor on Windows 11

We can connect multiple displays to our Windows 11/10 computers. Usually, a multiple-display setup works fine, but sometimes, problems can occur. In this article, we will discuss one of the dual display issues reported by the users: the mouse cursor disappears on the second monitor on Windows 11/10. This problem makes the second display unusable because of the missing mouse pointer on the second display.

Mouse pointer disappears on the Second Monitor on Windows 11/10

If the mouse pointer disappears on the second monitor on Windows 11/10, use the solutions provided below. Some users reported that they could fix the problem by toggling the Magnifier. You can use the Windows key and the Plus key to turn on the Magnifier. To turn it off, press the Windows key and the Esc key. But this is only a workaround and not a permanent fix.

Disconnect and reconnect your monitor
Enable or disable the Pointer Trails
Change your Mouse scheme
Update or reinstall your graphics card driver
Turn off the Pointer Shadow
Reinstall your mouse driver
Troubleshoot in a Clean Boot state

Let’s see all these fixes in detail.

1] Disconnect and reconnect your monitor

I also experienced this issue when I connected an external display wirelessly with my laptop. I simply disconnected the display, restarted my laptop, and then reconnected the display. This simple fix resolved my problem. You should also try this. Maybe this will work for you.

2] Enable or disable the Pointer Trails

According to the feedback of the users, disabling the Pointer Trails fixed the issue. Whereas, for some users, enabling this feature worked. You can try enabling and disabling this feature and see which one fixes the issue for you. Follow the instructions mentioned below:

Open the Control Panel.
Type mouse in the Control Panel search bar.
Select Mouse from the search results.
The Mouse Properties window will appear.
Now, go to the Pointer Options tab.
Select the “Display pointer trails” checkbox. If you have already enabled the pointer trails, deselect this checkbox.
Click Apply and then click OK.

Check if this resolves your issue or not. If not, you can try one more thing. Enable the pointer trails and keep its length to a minimum. To do so, move the slider towards Short.

3] Change your Mouse scheme

The next fix that you can try is to change your mouse scheme. You can do this in your mouse settings. To do so, open the Mouse Properties window by following the instructions mentioned in the above fix and then use the following steps:

Once you open the Mouse Properties window, go to the Pointers tab.
Click on the Scheme drop-down and select a different mouse scheme.
Click Apply and then click OK to save the settings.

Try all mouse schemes one by one and see which one fixes the issue.

4] Update or reinstall your graphics card driver

The dual display problem can also occur due to the bad graphics card driver. We suggest you update your graphics card driver. You can check the Optional Updates page in Windows 11/10 Settings. If the driver update for your graphics card is available there, install it.

You can also update your graphics card driver by downloading its latest version from the manufacturer’s website. Alternatively, you can install dedicated software to update your graphics card driver—for example, HP Support Assistant, Lenovo System Update, Dell SupportAssist, MyASUS app, etc.

If this does not work, you can try reinstalling your graphics card driver. First, visit your laptop manufacturer’s official website and download the latest version of your graphics card driver from there. Next, install the DDU utility to remove your graphics card driver completely. Finally, install the graphics card driver by running the installer file you downloaded.

5] Turn off the Pointer Shadow

If the issue still persists, turn off the pointer shadow (if applicable). Some users reported that this fix worked for them. The steps to disable the Mouse Pointer shadow are mentioned below:

Open your Mouse Properties by following the instructions explained earlier in this article.
Select the Pointers tab.
Uncheck the “Enable pointer shadow” checkbox.
Click Apply and then click OK.

6] Reinstall your mouse driver

Mouse-related problems can also be fixed by reinstalling the mouse driver. You can give this method a try and see if it works. The steps to reinstall your mouse driver are as follows:

Open the Device Manager.
Expand the Mice and other pointing devices branch.
Right-click on your mouse driver and select Uninstall device.

After uninstalling your mouse driver, either restart your computer or scan for hardware changes. Windows will automatically install the missing or uninstalled mouse driver.

7] Troubleshoot in a Clean Boot state

One possible cause of this problem is a conflicting third-party application. To identify it, you must troubleshoot your system in a Clean Boot state. When all the third-party startup apps and third-party services are disabled, that state is called the Clean Boot state. The app used to enter this state is MSConfig.

Now, connect your display to your system in the Clean Boot state. If you see your mouse pointer on the second display, an application creates a conflict, due to which your pointer disappears on the second display. You have to identify the problematic third-party application or service.

To do so, enable some startup apps and restart your computer. You can use the Task Manager for this purpose. Now, connect your display. If the problem occurs again, one of the apps that you have just enabled is the culprit. You can identify that app by disabling the startup apps one by one and restarting your computer every time after you disable a startup app.

Similarly, you can also identify the problematic third-party service.

That’s it. I hope this helps.

Read: Mouse Pointer disappears & gets replaced with Arrow key

Why does my cursor disappear on my monitor?

There can be many reasons why your mouse cursor disappears on your monitor, like a corrupted graphics card driver, a corrupted mouse driver, etc. Sometimes problems occur due to a minor glitch which can be fixed by restarting your computer and the monitor.

Read: Mouse cursor disappears when playing games in full-screen mode

What controls the cursor on the monitor?

The mouse is used to control the pointer or the cursor on the screen. If you are talking about the blinking cursor, you can move it by using the arrow keys on your keyboard.