If you are running into a strange issue where the mouse pointer disappears in Chrome, follow these simple steps to quickly fix the problem.
Being a regular Chrome user, I sometimes encounter strange bugs. Today is no different. While some bugs, like the downloading proxy script delay, make browsing a bit inconvenient, others make the browser almost unusable. The mouse pointer disappearing or just straight up not showing up in Chrome is one such bug. Unless you are some kind of keyboard shortcut monster, without a mouse pointer, you cannot navigate the browser window or the web pages effectively.
So, if the mouse pointer disappears in Chrome from time to time or if Chrome is unable to show the mouse pointer, follow the below methods and steps to quickly fix the problem.
Fix mouse pointer disappearing in Chrome
When the mouse pointer is not appearing in the Chrome browser, there are multiple things you can do to fix the problem. Follow the below methods one after the other to show the mouse pointer again in the Chrome browser.
- Restart the Chrome browser with a command
- Kill Chrome process in the task manager
- Disable all extensions
- Disable hardware acceleration
- Create a new profile
- Reinstall Chrome browser
Restart the Chrome browser with a command
When something is not working as it should or if it is giving you unnecessary problems, the first and foremost thing to do is restart the application. It sounds simple but one thing to remember is that once you restart an application, a lot of things get fixed almost magically. Mouse pointer disappearing in Chrome is nothing different.
Unlike other applications where closing and reopening counts as a restart, Chrome is a bit different because it keeps running in the background. So to properly restart the browser, you have to use the Chrome restart command. Follow these steps to restart the Chrome browser.
- Open the Chrome browser.
- Type “chrome://restart” in the address bar.
- Press the Enter button.
As soon as you press the Enter button, Chrome will restart itself. Keep in mind that the above command will restart all instances of the browser regardless of how many windows or profiles are opened at the moment. Once restarted, the mouse pointer should appear again.
Kill Chrome process in the task manager
Killing Chrome processes entirely will solve the mouse disappearing problem in the Chrome browser. You can do that directly from the Windows Task Manager. Here is how.
- Right-click on the taskbar.
- Select the “Task Manager” option.
- Click on the “Processes” tab.
- Select the “Google Chrome” process.
- Click on the “End task” button.
- Close the Task Manager application.
As soon as you click the End Task button, the Task Manager will close all Chrome processes immediately. Once that is done, reopen the browser normally. At this point, the mouse pointer will appear in Chrome.
Disable all extensions
Extensions generally improve the overall experience of using the Chrome browser. Extensions add, remove, restrict, or enhance Chrome features. On the other hand, if any installed extension is not coded properly or if there is some kind of bug, it can interfere with how Chrome works and cause all kinds of weird problems. Put simply, mouse pointer disappearing in Chrome can be a side effect of a buggy extension. In those cases, disabling all the extensions and enabling them one by one to find the culprit should fix the problem.
- Open the Chrome browser.
- Type “chrome://extensions” in the address bar.
- Press the Enter button on your keyboard.
- Turn off all extensions.
- Turn off all Chrome apps.
- Restart the browser.
- If extensions are a cause, you should see the mouse pointer in the browser.
- Now, turn on each extension individually and restart the browser to find the problem causing extension.
- Once you found the offending extension, uninstall it by clicking on the “Remove” button.
- Restart the browser after uninstalling the extension.
Disable hardware acceleration
The hardware acceleration is enabled by default in Chrome. This feature generally improves the overall performance of the Chrome browser. This is especially true for graphics-intensive tasks. However, if there is some kind of bug in your video drive or in the browser itself, it can lead to strange behavior. Mouse pointer not appearing in Chrome is one such issue. To fix it, you can temporarily disable hardware acceleration. Here is how.
- Open the Chrome browser.
- Type “chrome://settings/system” in the address bar.
- Press the Enter button.
- Turn off “Use hardware acceleration when available” option.
- Click the “Relaunch” button.
Create a new profile
If your Chrome profile is corrupted, it can lead to some unexpected behavior. When I say ‘unexpected behavior,’ it can be anything from sync issues to graphical glitches to mouse disappearing. In that case, creating a new profile and deleting the old one will solve the mouse pointer disappearing problem in Chrome. Thankfully, it is pretty easy to create a new profile in Chrome. Here’s how.
- Open the Chrome browser.
- Click on the “user icon” on the top right corner.
- Click on the “Add” option.
- Type a new profile name.
- Click on the “Done” button.
With that, a new profile will be created. Now, close the original profile window and verify if you can see the mouse pointer. Once you see the mouse pointer, you can start using it as the regular profile. To sync history, extensions, bookmarks, etc., sign in to your Google account.
If needed, you can delete the old profile. To do that, click on the user account icon and then click on the Settings icon next to “Other profiles.” In the profiles window, click on the “Menu” icon next to the profile icon and select the “Delete” option.
Reinstall Chrome browser
When Chrome browser or some of its important files or components are corrupted, it can not only make the browser unstable but also cause strange problems like messing with the mouse pointer and other graphical glitches. In those cases, it is better to fully uninstall the Chrome browser and reinstall it.
Generally, you can uninstall the Chrome browser from the “Apps & features” page in the Settings app or using the “Add or remove programs” tool in the control panel. However, I recommend using a third-party uninstaller like Revo Uninstaller or Geek uninstaller for these kinds of situations. Unlike the built-in uninstaller, Revo Uninstaller will uninstall the program and then deletes all the leftover files and registry keys. That way, you can be sure that the program is completely uninstalled without any leftover bits.
Once uninstalled, restart Windows, download a new Chrome installer from Google and install it like any other Windows software. This should fix the mouse disappears problem in the Chrome browser.
—
I hope that helps and fixes the mouse pointer disappears in Chrome problem. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.
