How to fix a stuck laptop cursor

When your computer mouse doesn’t work, you unplug it and plug it back in in the hope that this will fix the problem. But when the same thing happens on the laptop’s touchpad, it’s not possible to turn it off.

So, if your mouse pointer refuses to move across the screen when your finger moves across the pad, here are three things you can try.

1. Touchpad disabled: turn it back on

The most common reason for a stuck cursor is that you accidentally disabled the touchpad. On some laptops, this is surprisingly easy to do without even realizing it.

So, first check if there is a button next to the trackpad with an icon that looks like a touchpad with a slashed line. They’re only on some laptops: it’s a dedicated button to disable the touchpad so the cursor doesn’t move when you try. If you see it, click it and check if the cursor moves normally.

If you don’t find it, check the row of function keys at the top of your keyboard. Many will have icons, so look again for one that could be a trackpad – usually F7, but we’ve also seen laptops that use F5 and F9.

Pressing this key by itself is unlikely to work, although some devices know this. In most cases, you need to press and hold the Fn key and then press the appropriate function key to bring the cursor back to life.

2. Check your Windows settings

To check if your trackpad is disabled in Windows, click the Start button, type “mouse” in the search box, and then click “Mouse” (or “Mouse Settings”) in the search results.

Of course, you are wondering how you should do this if your touchpad is not working. If your laptop has a touchscreen, just use it. If not, you can navigate Windows using the keyboard (hard).

So, in terms of the keyboard, press the Windows key to open the start menu and enter mouse settings. Press Enter to select the top (highlighted) search result, which should be the mouse settings.

Now press the Tab key to navigate through the settings until “Advanced Mouse Options” is highlighted under the “Related Settings” heading.

On the Mouse Properties screen that appears, press the right cursor key (arrow) to navigate to the Hardware tab (lower left) and make sure the touchpad is highlighted. Press Tab until “Properties” is highlighted above the “OK” button and press Enter to “click” it.

Another window will open (bottom, middle).

Press Tab until the Change Settings button is selected, press Enter to click it, and if prompted, enter your Windows/Microsoft password.

A third window should open (top right) and you need to press the right arrow key to navigate to the Driver tab. If your mouse (including touchpad) is disabled, there should be an “Enable device” option, press Tab until the button is selected and press Enter to click it. If you only see “Turn off device”, try selecting it and then turning it back on.

3. LED on the touchpad?

Some laptops (including HP models) have an LED in the top left corner. If yours is lit, it means that the touchpad is disabled. Just double tap on it (quick double tap) to turn the panel back on.

Hopefully one of these methods worked and your issue is now resolved.

If not, try the classic “turn it off and on again”. Restarting Windows solves problems surprisingly often.

Even if that doesn’t help, the touchpad itself may be to blame. The best option in this case is to buy a USB mouse, plug it into an available USB port on your laptop, and use it instead of the touchpad. It will be cheaper than laptop repair. But if it’s still under warranty, contact the seller (if it’s less than six months old) or the manufacturer (if it’s older than six months old) and you should get a decision.

Are you having problems with your keyboard? Read our guide on how to fix a laptop keyboard.