The debate in online communities about whether the mouse or the keyboard is the most essential part of a system can go on forever. But when there is an issue with your mouse pointer, you have to leave everything aside and you can’t rest until you have found a permanent fix for the issue. In this article, we have curated the best solution for a rare issue of mouse pointers going in the wrong direction. Moving the pointer to the right side and it is moving left on the screen or vice-versa? Just follow these easy steps.
Workarounds –
If this is the first time you are experiencing this issue, follow these steps –
1. Detach the mouse from your system and re-attach it again. Usually, this solves the issue.
2. If you are using a Bluetooth mouse, check the battery level of the mouse.
3. Try to use the mouse with another PC/Laptop to check whether it is working or not.
Fix 1 – Use the pointer trail
You can activate the pointer trail settings for your mouse.
1. Open the mouse settings. To do that, press the Win key and the R keys together.
2. Then, type this UTR and hit Enter.
main.cpl
3. When the Mouse settings open up, go to the “Pointer Options“.
4. Then, check the box beside the “Display pointer trails” option.
5. Then, drag the slider all way to the left-hand portion “Short“.
6. Just make sure the “Hide pointer while typing” setting is unchecked.
5. Then, tap “Apply” and “OK“.
This will apply to the settings. Now, restart the machine just once. Test if this works out.
Fix 2 – Adjust the pointer speed
Adjusting the pointer speed of the mouse has solved the issue for some users.
1. You can press the Win key and the R key.
2. Then, type “main. cpl” and click “OK” to open the Mouse Properties.
3. Once it opens up, head on to the “Pointer Options” section.
4. After that, put the slider all the way to the left “Slow“.
5. Now, just tap “Apply” to apply the change and check if the mouse is still acting erratically.
6. Then, you can click “OK” to save these changes.
NOTE –
You will notice the mouse pointer speed is very slow.
If this solution resolves your issue, you can further increase the pointer speed from the same location and check if this works out.
This way, test if this works out for you.
Fix 3 – Uninstall the mouse device
Another way you may solve this problem is to uninstall the mouse device from your system.
1. You have to press the Windows key+X keys together.
2. Then, tap “Device Manager” to access it.
3. Here, if you expand the “Mice and other pointing devices” you will notice some mouse devices.
4. Then, right-tap the mouse and tap “Uninstall device” to uninstall the mouse.
5. Next, just check the “Delete the driver software for this device” option, if that shows up.
6. Tap “Uninstall” to uninstall it from your computer.
Once you have uninstalled the mouse, you can’t use it. So, press the Alt+F4 keys together to close the window.
Then, again press the Alt+F4 keys together and press the down arrow key once to select the “restart” option, and hit Enter to restart the machine.
Once you have restarted, Windows will automatically load the mouse driver.
Fix 4 – Disable other pointing devices
Other pointing devices can interfere with your mouse device. This is mainly for laptop users.
1. You just have to press the Win key+R key.
2. Then, type this line and click on “OK“.
devmgmt.msc
3. You have to click once on the “Mice and other pointing devices” section to expand it.
4. Look if you can see other options like a pointer, pad, etc.
5. Now, right-tap the device that you don’t want and tap “Disable device“.
6. This way disable all the mouse devices that you don’t want.
Once you have disabled the other pointing device, your mouse will start to work normally.
You can now close the Device Manager. This should solve your mouse-related issues.
If the issue persists go for the next and final solution.
Fix 5 – Run the hardware diagnostics
If all the other solutions have failed, run the hardware diagnostics. Actually, you can’t find this troubleshooter on your Settings page.
1. You can access this troubleshooter from the CMD terminal. So, type “cmd” in the search bar.
2. After that, right-tap the “Command Prompt” and click “Run as administrator“.
3. When the terminal appears, write down this and hit Enter.
msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic
This will open up the Hardware and Devices page.
4. Now, click on the “Advanced” option.
5. Just, check the “Apply repairs automatically” box.
6. Then, tap “Next” to proceed to the next step of the solution.
This way, follow the on-screen instructions of the troubleshooter and fix the issue you are facing with the mouse.
Alternative Tips –
1. If the mouse is older than 2-3 years, you may consider it replacing with a new one.
2. If you have another mouse, you can try it out on this system and test if this works.