Mouse will stop working

A few days ago I was using a program to catalog my photos and when trying to delete a photo from my HD using the program, the computer totally froze. Nothing worked, even Task Manager would not open. (I have uninstalled that program I was using!) Had to hold down start button to turn it off. In rebooting, screen comes up Windows did not close correctly, Options or Restart were the choices, and I did Restart. It booted but the mouse would not work. It displayed, but would not move. I used Device manger to disable the mouse -- or uninstall it, whatever it does -- and then rebooted. It reinstalled the mouse. But from time to time now the mouse will just disappear or stop working. If the mouse is not visible, I can depress CTRL and the flicker of action will appear but no mouse. I have to remove the USB device and re-seat it to get the mouse back. What can I do to correct this? Thanks for taking a moment to check this. When I started to use the mouse to scroll down to submit the thread, no mouse! Had to remove and reset the USB.

What operating system are you using?

I don't have Windows 10 yet but I'm sure the command for scan disk repair should still be there. Open a command prompt as administrator right click Run and chose Run as administrator, in the Run menu, then type sfc /scannow. Scannow is one word, and there is a space between sfc /scannow. That should put things right and back to normal.

What kind of mouse are you using? Did you try a different mouse?

What is the make/model of your computer? Did you try different USB ports?

Thanks for our replies. My bad for not indicating I have Win 10 Home. Dell Inspirion Laptop 3000 series. The mouse is a Logitech wireless. I thought when this first happened it might be the battery, but the new battery did not solve the issue. I have not tried other USB ports primarily because this never occurred until it locked up. I can run the SFC but thought I would ask here if there were other possibilities. I will do the scan and see how it goes. Many thanks for your suggestions. I think I need admin level to do the scan.

What software were you using on the photos? A Malwarebytes scan might be worthwhile if it was not one of the usual programs for that task.

And if you don't mind new software for your photos, I can recommend the FastStone image viewer, it does more than view. I've been using it for years and never had a problem. It's also free.

It was the mouse! Not the computer. Earlier I was responding here and the courser stopped moving. I copied the post so when I could get the mouse to work again I could paste what I had written. But now it is irrelevant. Long story shortened down, I got my old laptop out and the mouse would not work on it, either, so I got a new mouse and all seems well. I have the touchpad deactivated because I am always touching it and it moves the mouse around, etc. so it was practically impossible to reactivate it without the mouse. The fact that it went bad following the lockup of the computer made me think it was computer issue. Many thanks for your suggestions.

Worth trying to clean the optical aperture on the bottom of the old mouse with compressed air or the corner of a soft microfiber cloth in case there's a buildup of dirt. If that helps then you may have two working mice :)

There may be several issues that cause the mouse not to work properly with Microsoft Windows.
Computer frozen
When a computer freezes, the first sign is usually that the mouse has stopped responding. If your mouse pointer has suddenly stopped responding, follow these steps to determine if your computer is completely frozen.

Using the Num Lock key
Make sure the computer is not frozen by pressing the Num Lock key on the keyboard. When Num Lock is pressed repeatedly, the Num Lock indicator LED on your keyboard should turn on and off. If this indicator does not change, your computer is frozen; meaning all hardware on the computer (including the mouse) will not work. Reboot the computer to resolve this issue. If you don't have an indicator light, proceed to the next part of this section.

Keyboard doesn't have Num Lock indicator light
If your keyboard does not include the LED described in the previous section, anywhere in Windows, press the Ctrl+Alt+Del keys at the same time. This action should bring up a blue Windows options screen. You may leave this menu by pressing the Esc key. If you are not taken to the blue screen within a few seconds, your computer is frozen. Reboot your machine to resolve this issue.

Mouse is not connected correctly
Follow these steps to verify the mouse is connected correctly to the computer.

USB mouse
If you are using a USB mouse, disconnect the mouse cable and reconnect to a different USB port. If the mouse connects to a USB hub, try connecting the mouse to a USB port on the back of the computer.

Wireless mouse
Make sure the wireless mouse is receiving power by checking for some indication of power (usually a light). If your mouse has a power switch, it's often on the bottom side.
If the mouse doesn't appear to be on, replace the batteries.
Make sure the wireless receiver is within range and is not blocked by too many objects.
Disconnect the wireless USB adapter and try plugging it into a different port.

Software or driver conflict
Boot into Windows Safe Mode. If the mouse is working in Safe Mode, there is likely a driver or software conflict. To fix this problem, follow the steps below.

Open the Device Manager.
Expand the mouse (mice) option in Device Manager by clicking the + symbol.
Remove all mice listed by highlighting each device and then pressing the delete key on the keyboard.

Mouse driver outdated or missing
Check if a driver is installed for the mouse. You can check in the Device Manager for this. While Windows may have a standard or default driver for the mouse, installing a driver for your specific mouse may fix the issue. Check our mouse manufacturers list for links to many mouse manufacturer websites to download a driver for the mouse.

If a driver is installed for the mouse, we recommend you check for an update released since the installation of the driver. Updating the driver may fix issues with a non-functioning mouse.

These are many such issues but these are some common cause due to which computer mouse might not be working.

I hope this information will be beneficial to you!
Ben Martin

Thanks for the reply. Very helpful information. The issue is resolved.