Windows Vista does have serious issues with certain mouse models like the wireless Logitech MX Revolution or USB enabled optical mice though these are certified as Vista compatible.
Windows Vista can easily detect external mice and install the appropriate drivers but the problem is that the position of the mouse pointer that you see on the screen is not accurate and so the mouse doesn’t move correctly.
For instance, if you have an OK / Cancel dialog, you may have to click in some area outside the buttons in order to close the dialog. You will face similar issue while trying to adjust the size of windows or when your decide to close or minimize any window - the pointer will not behave correctly because the actual location is different from what you see on the screen.
I have faced this issue on a Aero-enabled Windows Vista Ultimate machine with SP1. The support guys recommended recharging the mouse, downloading the latest drivers. reinstalling everything, etc but none of that helped.
Luckily, a simple solution was in store - Open the mouse settings from your control panel and change the pointer scheme from Windows Aero to None. That did the trick.
Find this article at: http://www.labnol.org/software/tutorials/windows-vista-mouse-problem-pointer-position-not-accurate/2610/
web: http://www.labnol.org/ email: amit@labnol.org
Reader Comments
One more problem solved for me…
Thanks Amit
Written by TechTrends on 03.18.08
Changing the scheme to None did the trick for me too.
THANK YOU!!
Written by Buford T. McGee III on 03.23.08
THANK YOU! I was literally going nuts.
Written by Maurizio on 04.05.08
Thank you, thank you. I was ready to give up!
Written by m hahn on 04.06.08
Wow, this was driving me nuts. I hated vista and now I love it. Problem fixed. THank you so much.
Written by mikek on 04.08.08
THANKS MAN! this problem was annoying me for a veryyy long time and now its fixed!
Written by Umair Idris on 04.15.08
OMG! I normally don’t respond to these “fixes”, but this has been bugging me like forever, and it was as simple as that” THANK YOU!!!
Written by EagleEye on 04.18.08
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! This has been driving me berserk for 3 months. So grateful!
Written by tina on 04.21.08
Once again, you have been a big help. This issue was driving me nuts and I was already ready to go to eBay and put my new Dell with Vista on the mkt.
Written by Craig Mische on 05.20.08
I got a new Dell yesterday with a logitech cordless mouse and this was really bugging me! Not at home at the moment, so not able to see if it’s successful, but if it is….THANK YOU!
Written by Ruth on 06.06.08
I bought a Dell and had this problem with a MICROSOFT WIRED INTELLIMOUSE! This fixed it. Thankyou i was starting to go cross-eyed!
Written by Phil on 06.20.08
This is an excellent suggestion, but it doesn’t seem to work if you have multiple pointers attached to your computer. For example, if you have a USB wired mouse and a bluetooth mouse connected at the same time, there are still problems. Remove one of the mice and follow the fix from above and it works great! Make sure you only have one mouse connected to your computer. Thanks for this fix!
Written by Dan on 07.07.08
I found that the mouse pointer remained in the ‘correct’ position even when I switched it BACK to the “Aero” choice. Don’t know if it’ll stick when I reboot, but it seems to make the full choice of styles available.
Written by Barbara Paltiel on 07.08.08
YES! Thank you! I have had this problem on a Acer TravelMate 5520 for a long time, and I was going insane - you just made my day!
Written by John on 08.04.08
God bless your bones! You have saved me from certain suicide if I couldn’t get this irritating mouse pointer misalignment issue fixed. THANKS!
Written by Michael Grant on 08.05.08
Hi there,
I’ve got a new problem: my pointer (Aero) keeps flickering: (don’t know if it is correct English, but it switches on and off really fast), next to that there is constantly the “waiting circle” that Aero shows. After switching the pointer scheme to “None” I now constantly see the “sand-glass” next to my pointer.
This started after I installed Vista SP1, yesterday.
WHo can help me?
Written by Niels on 09.28.08
Oh thank you so much, I tried several types of pointer but for some reason hadn’t tried “none”. Works perfectly now, I know computers are complicated machines but you would have thought a company like Microsoft would have got this bit right in the first place!
Written by Matt on 09.30.08
Thank you for posting this solution. Vista was driving me crazy!! You saved me the trouble of replacing it with XP or Linux. Thanks!
Sam
Written by Sam Ashby on 10.04.08
THANK YOU! I had no idea what was wrong with my mouse… soo annoying.
Written by Garett on 10.12.08
This was driving my wife nuts! Thanks for the tip, worked perfectly.
Written by Peter Garlick on 10.13.08
Awesome! I just got Vista today and could not believe that there was such a bug. What an easy and powerful fix. Thanks a ton!
Written by Adam on 10.13.08
I bet I’ll be able to hit the “submit comment” button with great ease! Thanks!
Written by Grant on 10.23.08
Good tip. I hated Vista, because of many issues like mouse pointer… but now, let’s give it another chance. Thanks dude :)
Written by Hassan on 10.26.08
I think I love you!!!!!!!!! Thank you fixing this annoying problem!!!
Written by Kim on 11.05.08
You are a STAR!
Logitech Cordless…what a perfect solution! I thought it was ‘just me’ and seeking a solution was about not going with change - but it had been driving me crazy.
Glad I ‘Googled’ it and found you!
Regards
Martin
Written by Martin Haworth on 11.22.08
My husband, the engineer did the extra special intelligent advanced search for mouse pointer problems and couldn’t find any help. I typed “mouse pointer, not” and got your SOOOOO helpful link at the top of my page! Victory for the intuitive googler! Best advice I’ve had all week!
Written by Amber on 12.07.08
Wow! I’ve been dealing with this forever!!! What a pain. I did what you said and it works perfectly!!! You rock!
Written by Sheila on 02.26.09
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ve had my Dell computer for almost a year and this issue has been driving me INSANE! You have changed my life! :-)
Written by Emily on 04.26.09
Wow, thank-you. You have saved me hours and hours of wasted time playing with my mouse pointer in my photo editing program!
Written by Sue on 05.14.09