Forum Discussion
Why does my mouse stop working randomly?
My mouse randomly freezes or stops responding for a few seconds, even when the rest of my system continues running smoothly. This happens across different USB ports and even with a different mouse, so I suspect it is a driver, power management, or system-level conflict rather than a hardware failure. The problem occurs several times per day and requires unplugging and replugging the mouse to get it working again temporarily.
3 Replies
Since the same problem happens with different mice and USB ports, the mouse itself is probably not the cause. I would check USB power management and drivers first.
- Open Control Panel > Power Options > Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings.
- Expand USB settings > USB selective suspend setting, set it to Disabled, and restart the PC. If this option is not shown, skip this step.
- Open Device Manager > Universal Serial Bus controllers. Open each USB Root Hub or Generic USB Hub, select Power Management, and clear Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. Some entries may not have this tab.
- Under Mice and other pointing devices, uninstall the mouse, restart Windows, and reconnect it. Windows will reinstall the driver automatically.
- Install the latest chipset, USB controller and BIOS updates from your computer manufacturer. Device Manager may say the drivers are current even when newer manufacturer drivers are available.
- If the problem continues, perform a clean boot to check whether security software, mouse utilities or another background program is interfering with USB input.
Also check whether the keyboard, USB drives or other USB devices disconnect at the same time. If they do, the problem is more likely related to the USB controller, motherboard or power delivery. For a wireless mouse, move its receiver away from USB 3.x devices or test it through a short extension cable, since 2.4 GHz interference can also cause brief freezes.
Since two mice freeze across several USB ports while Windows continues running, the mouse hardware itself is less likely to be the cause. The attached picture shows no diagnostic error, so determine whether Windows loses the device or only stops receiving input. Connect one mouse directly to the PC without a hub or dock. Install pending Windows and driver updates, then obtain chipset and USB-controller drivers for your PC model from its manufacturer. In Device Manager, watch Human Interface Devices and Universal Serial Bus controllers while the freeze occurs; a disappearing or refreshing entry points to a controller or power problem. Test in Safe Mode or a clean boot to rule out background mouse software. Also check the System event log at the freeze time for USB or HID errors. If the device still disappears in Safe Mode after the driver updates, the USB controller or motherboard needs hardware diagnosis.
Also check for BIOS/UEFI updates—these often contain USB stability fixes
