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My mouse pointer or cursor sometimes disappears, especially when changing screen resolutions or color depth

Explanation: The mouse pointer or cursor under Windows sometimes disappears from view. This happens either exclusively or perhaps just more commonly when changing the screen resolution or color depth.

Diagnosis: This problem is most often the result of buggy video drivers.

Recommendation:

  • Replace or update the video drivers for your video card. The best place to look for updated drivers is the web site of the video card manufacturer. If you have a discount card then you may want to check the web site of the manufacturer of the video chipset on your board; the most common companies that make chipsets for other companies but not video cards themselves are Cirrus, S3 and Trident.
  • In some cases, opening a DOS prompt session, maximizing it to full screen (text mode) and then returning to graphical mode will make the pointer reappear. Open a DOS box and press {Alt}+{Enter} to maximize the DOS box, then press the same combination again and the pointer may reappear.

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