December 26, 2004

6:11 PM

Disappearing cursor on OS X. Recently my Powerbook's cursor keeps disappearing when I unplug my mouse. It won't reappear (even when I plug the mouse back in) unless I reboot. It's freaking nervewracking. Any ideas?
posted by You Should See the Other Guy to (12 comments total)

Is the cursor actually there and movable, just invisible? Or has the cursor become completely nonexistent? Is this a stock Apple USB mouse? Is there a USB hub involved? Are you running any third-party mouse related extensions, like a driver for a Microsoft or Kensington mouse? Does the problem occur if you log in as a new user with a totally fresh account?

You might also want to try Apple's discussion boards, where you'll find lotsa Mac users with many different configurations, the kind of people who will be useful when trying to diagnose a weird hardware problem.
posted by bcwinters at 8:43 PM on December 26, 2004

bcw, it's an MS mouse. Never started acting till a few weeks ago and i haven't installed any new s/w. It's there but invisible. No USB hub. I haven't tried other user yet but thanks for the suggestion.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 8:52 PM on December 26, 2004

I've noticed the similar invisible (but still there and moving) issue a few times lately too, and suspect it's from the just out 10.3.7 update. In my case, not related to a mouse at all, just the trackpad (not sure under what circumstances it's triggered. Might be DVD player related, but I really haven't made a note of keeping track of what I was doing at the time)
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 9:17 PM on December 26, 2004

I've seen the same thing. I don't have a solution, but I have a workaround that might work for you.

Set up your screensaver to activate with a Hot Corner. When the pointer vanishes, move your mouse to the hot corner. Activating and deactivating the screensaver brings it back, at least for me.
posted by Laen at 9:21 PM on December 26, 2004

Have you tried to repair permissions, either before or after your update? Here's a good primer for system maintenance in 10.3. Sometimes funny things happen that are easily resolved with a bit of maintenance. Apologies if this is obvious and has been done.
posted by al_fresco at 1:02 AM on December 27, 2004

Laen, thanks for the workaround. I'll try that next time.

al, thanks. Hadn't heard of that before.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 10:17 AM on December 27, 2004

YSStOG:

Be sure and let us know if you fix your problem, and what did it.
posted by al_fresco at 6:38 PM on December 27, 2004

al, part of the problem is I can't seem to repeat the problem every time. I can't figure out what the common denominator is that makes the cursor vanish. I used to think it was unplugging the mouse while the PB was closed but before asking this question, it happened when the PB was open.

Since someone else mentioned it's happening to them since the latest apple update, I assume that's the prob as I haven't d/l any other software besides that upgrade. Presumably it will be fixed with the next patch.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 9:36 PM on December 27, 2004

Since someone else mentioned it's happening to them since the latest apple update, I assume that's the prob as I haven't d/l any other software besides that upgrade.

Note, though, that just because a behavior started with an update doesn't mean the update is flawed. Its a good idea to repair permissions both before and after installing an update, as file permissions can become corrupted during the installation process, which can often lead to buggy behavior. You'll always see tons of panicky posts on tech support forums right after an update, and most issues are solved easily with a little maintenance.

Another thing that happens with laptops is that the routine maintenance scripts built in to the OS don't get to run, as they're set to run at times when most people have their machines closed.

And…(sorry if I'm boring you ;^) )…its always a good idea to plug and unplug any USB or FireWire devices when your machine is open and awake, as the OS is more readily able to recognize your device.

Good luck!
posted by al_fresco at 5:13 AM on December 28, 2004

As the 2nd person to mention the prob, i should note that I have a cronjob repair permissions daily, and still having this prob.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 10:23 AM on December 28, 2004

I've got a Macally dotMouse, with the latest drivers, and I've never had a problem with the cursor, or anything else for that matter. It seems funny to blame the OS, when the problem could just as well be bad mouse drivers. Are you both (YSStOG & JKF) using MS mice? Does your mouse have driver software, or are you just expecting it to work automagically? Not to sound snarky, but do you expect that any old thing you stick in your PB will work properly, no matter who makes it?

Just some things to consider. Slap me…
posted by al_fresco at 2:32 AM on December 29, 2004

I have MS' Intellipoint Mouse software installed, but I never actually USE said mouse. Or any mouse. I'm all trackpad, all the time.

software, or are you just expecting it to work automagically? Not to sound snarky, but do you expect that any old thing you stick in your PB will work properly, no matter who makes it?

Actually, yes, and I'm usually right, Praise be to Jobs, but in this case, as I said above, that's not related to this situation.

As a side note, I've noticed this error when disconnecting a second monitor, but it's not happening all the time. Plugging the dongle back in, then removing it again, often brings my mouse back. This may be worth trying, YSSTOG
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 3:17 PM on December 29, 2004