[SOLVED] Mysterious pixel that makes cursor disappear ?

[majkinson]

Hi, I noticed a strange thing today. In the top left corner of my Windows desktop, there is a black pixel (maybe it's actually 4 pixels 2x2, not sure). It is definitely not a dead pixel, I checked. It's there only on Windows desktop. It's fine with any fullscreen app, video or game. When I put my mouse cursor over it, the cursor disappears. I have no experience with malicious software, I was always careful. Could this be some malware? Or am I being paranoid and it's just a bug in Windows? I tried googling it but didn't find any real answers.

Could it be some program running on the background? Or is that a complete nonsense for it to work like that? Maybe I am just being paranoid and imagining things... But I am afraid to use online banking now or buy something with my credit card. I ran some tests with the included Windows Security and also downloaded some free antivirus software, they found nothing. But I am still scared to enter a password or credit card information anywhere. Please tell me this is nonsense and I am just being paranoid. 😀 I really don't want to reinstall the whole system and everything on it, it would take forever, I am using a lot of very specific software that takes up a lot of space and I would have to re-download all of it.

I am running Windows 10 Home, it came with the prebuilt PC, if that matters.

Thank you for your time and answers.

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs.

Try temporarily changing the cursor - maybe a different shape or size will help figure out what is happening.

Try temporarily changing the resolution to see if that causes different behavior.

Reinstall the mouse drivers: manually download via the applicable manufacturers website. Reinstall and reconfigure. No third party installer tools.

Do you have another monitor or even a supported TV to test?

Determine if the black pixels occur on "test" displays or just the current display.

Test the display on another known working computer. Objective is to discover if the black pixels stay with the current host computer or follow the display.

Most likely some glitch - if you can narrow down the circumstances or find some way that changes or controls the vanishing cursor then you will be able to search for an applicable solution.

Doubt that you, your data, and computer at risk. However, you are correct in being careful and cautious.

You can use Task Manager, Resource Monitor, and Process Explorer to look for any unknown or unexpected software running in the background. Do not just start deleting things. Find what what they are before taking any actions.

And do be sure to back up all important data. At least 2 x to other locations off of the computer in question. Ensure the the data is proven recoverable and readable.

 

[Colif]

Try a clean boot and see if it changes anything - make sure to read instructions and make sure NOT to disable any microsoft services or windows won't load right - https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

if clean boot fixes it, it shows its likely a startup program. You should, over a number of startups. restart the programs you stopped to isolate the one that is to blame.

 

[majkinson]

Sorry to reply so late, I was really busy lately. I found out it was "VoiceControlEngine.exe" which apparently comes with MSI Dragon Center software. When I killed this process, the "dot" disappeared. I uninstalled the Dragon Center and everything seems to be fine. Thanks for the advices.

 

[Colif]

its your question, no need to apologise. Glad I helped