Cursor disappears after screensaver / monitor sleep?

[RumMunkey]

Hey all,

Here's a weird problem I just got on a new (refurb) MBP.

Sometimes (not always) when I comeback to my MacBook after it's gone to screensaver then display sleep (though not full system sleep) the cursor is invisible upon wake.

I know the cursor is still there, but it just can't be seen on screen. If I go down to one of my hot corners, the associated action still happens (in my case sleep the display / activate screensaver -how ironic :rolleyes: ), and if I roll over the dock I can bring it up and magnify the icons as I roll over them.... all with no visible cursor whatsoever.

In fact, I only get a cursor once I click on an app and either launch it or bring it up from being minimized / hidden.

This has never happened on any machine I've had before, but by all indications it's a software problem, nothing to do with the hardware.

It's a new 15" MBP 2.2 Ghz, 4GB Ram running Leopard 10.5.2 with all updates (even the recent keyboard update).

A search on this brought up someone else on another board with the same problem, but then the issue got clouded with discussion of dual-monitors or external displays (neither of which I use).

I'm going to go fix permissions right now, but I was hoping somebody here could ID this and help me figure it out.

Thanks!

[poolish]

this has been happening to me too, only just bothered to search for a solution, I've got spaces set as the middle mouse button on my usb mouse and if i click that then click again the mouse will be back.. not sure why this started or how to fix it though!
on a macbook with 10.5.2

[xcession]

This also happen to me too.. a bit annoy...
I'm on 10.5.3 ...

[streetgang]

I'm not sure what the problem is either. The same thing happens to meet - and always after screensaver/monitor sleep.

It happened after the last OS update for me - or at least thats when I first noticed it.

I'm running OSX Version 10.5.4 on a brand new 24" iMac, 3.06 Ghz

Any help or insight on WTF is going on would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

[drewsof07]

Add me to the list, on my 1.5 powerbook 12". My MBP is fine though, it's weird. It started between the time I installed the office 12.1.1 update and 10.5.4 last week.

[john.garett]

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Same thing happening here, MBP, 10.5.4, all updates, no cursor after sleep.

I have seen reports of this same thing all over the web, going back to 2002, with noone ever posting any resolution.

OP are you still having the same issue? Has anyone else found a fix? I use my MBP for Photoshop and cannot keep losing my cursor and having to restart.

[ButchAnton]

I am having the same problem. I think it happened after the 10.5.5 update, but I'm not sure . . .

[absurdio]

Hell. Me too. This is a new issue for me, but it's exactly the same as what you've all described. No (visible) cursor after screen saver and wake from sleep.

I don't know that this helps, but I didn't start using a screen saver at all until some weeks ago. Maybe the problem depends on the use of a screen saver.
I wish I had more insight, and I wish somebody had a solution.

[drewsof07]

Been experimenting a little more. Seems to happen more when using an external mouse (usb/bluetooth) and also happens more when the screensaver times in and display sleeps on its own and not using hot corners to put it to induce changes.

[absurdio]

As another addition, I've started using Mouseposé (http://boinx.com/mousepose/overview/) to see if that'll help me find that missing cursor. While it HASN'T found the missing cursor, it has clarified one thing: we're not crazy - the cursor's definitely missing. Mouseposé does its job alright. It puts a spotlight, essentially, on where the cursor is (or should be). However, upon returning from that troublesome screensaver/sleep scenario, there's no cursor in the spotlight.

That may not help much, I guess, but it's one more piece of the puzzle, maybe. It seems like the mouse is still functional/responsive, it's just that the cursor is, for reasons we have yet to figure out, temporarily invisible.

[drewsof07]

A somewhat workaround that i've found is to use the select/highlight box feature of the desktop to determine the position of the cursor then click on things until it reappears.

[Mac&CheeseWBroc]

This problem drove me crazy. I was disappointed that a brand new computer with a brand new OS would already have such a recurring issue. That said, this seems to do the trick:

Use Spaces!

Move the mouse until you can see that Spaces (in the dock -- or go up to Spotlight and find it) is selected, then just access a different "space" (one of the other 4 [default is 4] quadrants). Cursor appears immediately in the new space and remains present when you return to the original space.

I hope this helps you all, too.

[kunze50]

I just reactivate the screen saver w/ the hot corner to bring it back up. Ha, what a strange annoyance hey. I'v gotten pretty used to it since it started in 10.5.2.

[redwarrior]

Can someone shed any more light on this? It's happening to me consistently, and a couple of times I had to actually restart my computer. :mad:

[pjarvi]

I tend to leave my MacBook on 24/7 and have the same issue. No fix that I know of, however an easy way to get the mouse back is to move it over the divider in the dock that sits between the apps and the folders. For whatever reason that brings mine back every time.

[redwarrior]

I tend to leave my MacBook on 24/7 and have the same issue. No fix that I know of, however an easy way to get the mouse back is to move it over the divider in the dock that sits between the apps and the folders. For whatever reason that brings mine back every time.
Cool, thank you! I will try that next time. I had to restart my computer today to get the damn thing back.

[willbruce]

this happened to me when I used leopard, and it's still happening in snow leopard. In fact, it happened to me on my old Powerbook, and it's still happening on my new MPB. Not all the time, only after sleep.

Seems like the Spaces trick, which I also used to use to get my cursor back, no longer works in Snow Leopard. What does seem to work is using application switcher to pull up a window.

Incredibly annoying, completely unacceptable. Come on, Apple!

[redwarrior]

I'm continuing to have this issue, after upgrading to Snow Leopard. My keyboard will just intermittently stop working as well, and I have to restart. It's very frustrating.

[Gregg2]

When my cursor disappears, I unplug the mouse and plug it back in. That has always worked so far. I've no idea why it does this, and cannot pinpoint it to a specific thing I was doing before, just that it's always when I first sit down at the computer. That is, it never happens in the middle of a work session.

[Beeb]

I'm running 10.6.2 on an MBP 15" and apparently this still hasn't been fixed. Switching spaces doesn't work for me either... but searching on google did. I just hope the same thing works in the future...

My computer didn't even go to sleep though. I've set it so that I don't have a screen saver, but after about an hour of not using it, the cursor had disappeared.

[nullx86]

this is the first time this has happened to me.. normally i put my imac to sleep, today i just let it repeat my itunes playlist and loop for about 12 hours and slept thru it. it eventually went from screensaver to no screen, still playing the music.. woke it up and no mouse. none of the above tricks worked (couldnt try spaces though). I had to restart completely. Oddly enough i had the 10.6.2 update waiting to be installed, and when it asked me to install or restart, the mouse was there. any ideas on a fix for this?

[murky's mom]

Me too!
Using Snow Leopard 10.6.2 - started after MS Office update 12.1.1 ...
Cursor reappears after about 10 minutes. Usually I'm not that patient, so I restart.
Have to try the Spaces trick. Hope it works.

[SteveTheOcean]

I had this same problem. I used a utility (Mouse Locator,
http://mouse-locator.en.softonic.com/mac) to find out where the cursor should have been. I then used Mouse Locator to move the invisible cursor to the Dock. I opened Safari to look for answers to the disappearing mouse problem and the cursor magically reappeared.

[Mumford]

I have the same problem. It's related to the specific screensaver being used. In my case it started after I installed the new FlipSaver (http://shirtmullet.com/) (replacement for Fliqlo) which is ScreenTime (http://www.screentime.com/) (Flash) based.

I don't know of a fix, but using Command-Tab after unlocking brings the mouse back for me.

[Signal-11]

I have the same problem. It's related to the specific screensaver being used. In my case it started after I installed the new FlipSaver (http://shirtmullet.com/) (replacement for Fliqlo) which is ScreenTime (http://www.screentime.com/) (Flash) based.

I don't know of a fix, but using Command-Tab after unlocking brings the mouse back for me.

10.6 compatible Fliqlo was just released today.

[dayneoram]

This problem drove me crazy. I was disappointed that a brand new computer with a brand new OS would already have such a recurring issue. That said, this seems to do the trick:

Use Spaces!

Move the mouse until you can see that Spaces (in the dock -- or go up to Spotlight and find it) is selected, then just access a different "space" (one of the other 4 [default is 4] quadrants). Cursor appears immediately in the new space and remains present when you return to the original space.

I hope this helps you all, too.

That's my quick fix too, just activate spaces, which for me is function 6, and then swap windows and then back again... i wonder if apple know of this, and/or if they're working on a patch...
:apple: = :)

[dayneoram]

I have the same problem. It's related to the specific screensaver being used. In my case it started after I installed the new FlipSaver (http://shirtmullet.com/) (replacement for Fliqlo) which is ScreenTime (http://www.screentime.com/) (Flash) based.

I don't know of a fix, but using Command-Tab after unlocking brings the mouse back for me.

Thank you, i will try that command tab thing, and i'll let you know if it works for me
:apple: = :D

[kunze50]

10.6 compatible Fliqlo was just released today.

Link?

This is something I'v checked back for many times since it lost compatibility w/ snow leopard.

[dayneoram]

I have the same problem. It's related to the specific screensaver being used. In my case it started after I installed the new FlipSaver (http://shirtmullet.com/) (replacement for Fliqlo) which is ScreenTime (http://www.screentime.com/) (Flash) based.

I don't know of a fix, but using Command-Tab after unlocking brings the mouse back for me.

Yes, that works great thanks!! :apple:

[nagromme]

FWIW, I once had something like this happen at times when using an older version of Safari. The cursor would either vanish, or get “stuck” in a certain shape (like dock-resizer, i-beam, hand or pinwheel) and no longer change as you mouse over different tools.

It’s fixed now anyway, but while it was happening I found that using Universal Access prefs to enlarge the pointer, even just a TINY bit, fixed the problem (albeit the pointer looked a little ugly). Just a quick-and-dirty workaround.

(I think Universal Access renders the cursor in a way that’s somehow different from the normal cursor: I’ve noticed that enlarging the cursor like this also lets people viewing my screen remotely see my mouse movements, when normally they could only see their own.)

[streetgang]

I have the same problem. It's related to the specific screensaver being used. In my case it started after I installed the new FlipSaver (http://shirtmullet.com/) (replacement for Fliqlo) which is ScreenTime (http://www.screentime.com/) (Flash) based.

I don't know of a fix, but using Command-Tab after unlocking brings the mouse back for me.

This was the problem for me. After uninstalling the FlipSaver the cursor issue hasn't occured.

[Signal-11]

Link?

This is something I'v checked back for many times since it lost compatibility w/ snow leopard.

FliqLo here:

http://www.9031.com/downloads/screensavers.html

Site here:

http://www.9031.com/japan/

Heads up though, I think there's an issue with 10.6 compatible release of Screentime. All Screentime based Screensavers I've used and many I've heard of have been having issues with the screensaver engine quitting unexpectedly and/or with the disappearing cursor issue.

[FangBianMian]

I'm getting this on my i7 mbp w/fliqlo...:mad:

Bye bye Fliqlo - shame, easily my fave screensaver.

[Signal-11]

I'm getting this on my i7 mbp w/fliqlo...:mad:

Bye bye Fliqlo - shame, easily my fave screensaver.

I've been using FlipClock since my issues with FliqLo.

[wdavis1798]

I tend to leave my MacBook on 24/7 and have the same issue. No fix that I know of, however an easy way to get the mouse back is to move it over the divider in the dock that sits between the apps and the folders. For whatever reason that brings mine back every time.

Many thanks for this tip. It works perfectly and is a quick way to recover the cursor. I have had the same problem with a brand new Mac Mini I have connected to my LCD TV. The only solution I had before was restarting it.

I assumed this was just a problem of incompatibility at some level between the Mac Mini and my TV. But if it's happening with MacBooks, it must be more serious.

[arthurjohnson]

I have two Mac Minis that I use as HTPCs, and I like to put them to sleep after using them. Way too many times, I wake them up to find no cursor.:confused: My solution up until now has been to restart them, but I'll try the command-tab trick. You'd think they would have fixed this by now! :mad:

[shortcut3d]

This problem has occurred once on my 2010 27" iMac with Lion. I get it more frequently with my 2011 Mac mini Server connected to the 2010 27" iMac in target display mode. I'll try Command-Tab and Spaces (four finger swipe might work to bring back the cursor.) I've been restarting with Control-Command-Eject.

[trooperiziz]

Just had this happen to me on my i7 iMac.

Another way to fix it without rebooting is to fast user switch to another user and back again, assuming you have that switched on. None of the other suggestions in the thread worked for me.

[odinsride]

same problem here on my 2010 mac pro running lion...very irritating

[Syonidism]

nothing seems to solve this for me. It looks more like a corrupt image of a cursor rather than just something else.

Ive resized the size of the mouse which only makes a bigger corrupt mouse image... (at least i can tell where it is)