Forum Discussion
Mouse cursor trail settings cannot be saved; they are disabled after a restart.
After enabling “Show pointer trails” in Control Panel → Mouse → Pointer Options, the setting automatically reverts to the default (off) state after the computer restarts or you log out of your account.
Even if you confirm the changes and click “Apply,” the setting does not remain enabled after a restart, and you must reconfigure it each time.
3 Replies
Since “Show pointer trails” saves until sign-out or restart, the setting is probably being overwritten at logon rather than failing to apply. Start with the new-account test: create a temporary local account, enable trails there, then sign out and back in. If it persists, the original user profile is affected; migrate to a new profile instead of repeatedly changing the registry. If it resets in both accounts, perform a clean boot: in System Configuration hide Microsoft services and disable the remaining services, then disable startup apps in Task Manager. Restart, enable trails, and test again. If it now persists, re-enable items in groups until the cause is identified. Also check whether the PC is work-managed, because policy can reapply settings at sign-in. Finally, update Windows and reinstall the mouse driver in Device Manager. If clean boot changes nothing, run DISM RestoreHealth followed by SFC /scannow, then retest.
Log into the new account and set the mouse trail again to see if it persists.
Close Regedit and restart your computer to see if the setting persists.
