Help! Suddenly I can't click anything. Desktop seems unresponsive.

[jjmm]

i can help

omg i had that same exact problem! to solve it you go to force quit-finder-relaunch and u hit ok to the mesage that pops up, and its fixed

 

[Snoggers]

Almost 10 years after the original post on this subject, I just had the exact same thing happen and the solution I found is different than most suggestions/solutions I've read while searching online for a fix: So I'm posting it here on the chance your problem is the same.

In my case the problem turned out to be something stuck inside the trackpad of my 2015 MacBook Pro which is now about 18 months old and in pristine condition. After reading many posts on this issue on several sites and trying all the usual suggestions (Reset NVRAM, reset SMC, be sure a wireless mouse nearby is not pressed down, restart and restart some more, safe mode, etc...) it seemed the most likely culprit was my trackpad. The trackpad felt normal, meaning that I could feel the soft "click" when I pushed down on it, and nothing felt sticky or bumpy with it. But I decided to see if I could jar anything that might be stuck inside loose anyway. So I turned my MacBook upside down and sideways while clicking the trackpad and I also patted the machine on the bottom while holding it upside down. I don't know specifically which one of these motions worked, but the process did! About 10 seconds of manipulating my trackpad while holding the MacBook in various non-flat positions did the trick. That was yesterday and so far so good. Hope this helps someone.

To be sure your problem is the same as mine - my symptoms were exactly the same as the original poster here AND on a laptop. Meaning that everything seemed normal on my machine: I could move the mouse pointer, the keyboard worked, I could switch applications and virtual desktops using the keyboard, etc... I just couldn't "click" on anything and get that item to highlight/select. Also, I had my Logitech wireless mouse connected (as usual) when this happened and it didn't matter which device I used - the mouse or the trackpad. I tried a corded USB mouse and nothing. It was as if the left click button on every mouse type device I had stopped working. And there being no way to unplug the trackpad on a MacBook is what led me to believe the problem was most likely in the trackpad.

 

[Eric Alberto]

So I was just using my computer normally when I was suddenly having an issue where I could not click on anything. I was forced to hard restart but it did not help. I am still able to navigate with the trackpad or my mighty mouse (wireless) but clicking with either does nothing.

After some searching I have reset the pram multiple times and have also done command+S at boot and run fsck. Resetting the pram worked once, but only for maybe 5 minutes. During that time I ran a permissions test, it corrected 2-3 things but that is it. I have tried booting from the leopard cd but it spits the cd out. I am pretty much out of ideas.

To recap:
Macbook core duo 2.0 (Original macbook release) running Leopard, all updates applied

Trackpad and external mouse work for navigating, but not clicking.

Desktop seems completely unresponsive, hovering over dock does not magnify it as it should.

Worked temporarily once or twice after resetting pram.

Have run fsck multiple times. No issues found.

Removed battery for 10 minutes and pushed the power button toe reset the SMU

Relaunching finder does not solve issue.

Using a wired mouse works partially

Attempting to boot from disc ends with the disc being ejected. Have tried two leopard discs and a Disk Warrior disc.

Let's see who saves the day for me. thanks!

[doublepost=1493661114][/doublepost]I had the same problem, magic mouse suddenly did not left click, but right click did work. It seems the bluetooth is detecting a permanent click. ¿What i did? turn you bluetooth off. But you are not able to do it without click.

Just press cmd+spacebar. And tell Siri tu turn the bluetooth off. Problem fixed for me.

 

[paaljoachim]

....be sure a wireless mouse nearby is not pressed down, ......

My girlfriend and I travelled an hour to a friend of her. Suddenly her Macbook Air could not open any folders. I searched and came across this long thread of various solutions. I reset the SMC. Then jumped to page 3 and read your post and took note of the part of be sure the wireless mouse nearby is not pressed down. I asked my girlfriend if she had the wireless mouse with her and yes it was in her bag, so I found it and it was on. I turned it off and then tested her machine again and now it worked just fine and could open folders are normal. It seems the mouse was likely pressed down in her bag.

Thank you very much for suggesting the wireless mouse! It sure helped in this case.