If the mouse loading icon, which is the blue spinning wheel, won’t go away in your Windows 11/10 computer, you can use the fixes provided in this article. The mouse cursor displays a circular loading icon when we open a program or when a program performs some tasks in the background. This loading icon is temporary and stays for a while. However, some users found this loading icon permanent on their Windows computers.
Why does my cursor keep showing loading Windows 11?
If your cursor keeps showing a loading icon on your Windows computer, a third-party application might be performing some task in the background. If you have customized your mouse pointer, you might have selected the wrong pointer.
Mouse loading icon won’t go away in Windows 11/10
Use the following suggestions if the mouse cursor loading icon, which is the blue spinning wheel, won’t go away in your Windows 11/10 computer, and is stuck:
- Restart the Windows Explorer
- Disable third-party Explorer add-ons
- Monitor CPU, Disk, and RAM usage in the Task Manager
- Repair your system image files
- Troubleshoot in a Clean Boot state
- Change your mouse cursor scheme
- Reinstall your mouse driver.
Below, we have explained all these fixes in detail.
1] Restart Windows Explorer
The first thing that you should do is restart Windows Explorer. If the problem occurs due to a minor glitch, this will fix the issue. The steps to do this are as follows:
- Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys. This will open the Task Manager.
- Now, scroll down and locate Windows Explorer.
- Once you find it, right-click on it and select Restart.
Check if it fixes this issue.
2] Disable third-party Explorer add-ons
Shell extensions/add-ons are system components that extend the functionality of File Explorer by adding items to the context menu.
Use ShellExView to view the details of the shell extensions installed. The non-Microsoft shell extensions will be marked in pink color. Disable these extensions one at a time. Restart Explorer after disabling the extension and see if it starts to act normally. If it does, you have likely identified the problematic extension. If not, continue disabling and re-enabling third-party shell extensions (one by one) until you identify the extension causing the issue.
3] Monitor CPU, Disk, and RAM usage in the Task Manager
When a program runs a task, the mouse cursor shows the loading icon. In your case, the loading icon appears permanent. Hence, it means that a process is continuously running in the background. You can check this in the Task Manager.
Open the Task Manager and select the Processes tab. Now, monitor the CPU, Memory, and Disk usage. If you see high usage of any of these resources, click on that tab to bring the responsible process to the top. End that process and see if it brings any changes.
You may also see Windows processes in the Task Manager causing high system resources. Do not end that process in this case, as terminating the Windows processes may make your system unstable. In such a case, restart your system and see if it helps.
4] Repair your system image files
Corrupted system image files can also cause this type of problem. We suggest you repair your system image files and see if it helps. Windows 11/10 has built-in tools to repair corrupted system image files. Use System File Checker and DISM tools to repair the corrupted system image files.
5] Troubleshoot in a Clean Boot state
A program running in the background might be causing this issue. To confirm this, start your system in a Clean Boot state. All the third-party startup apps and services remain disabled in the Clean Boot state. Therefore, if the issue disappears in the Clean Boot state, you have to identify that problematic third-party application or service.
6] Change your mouse cursor scheme
If you have customized your mouse pointer, you might have selected the wrong pointer. Check this in mouse properties. The following steps will guide you on this:
- Open the Control Panel.
- Type mouse in the Control Panel search bar and select Mouse from the search results.
- The Mouse Properties window will appear. Now, go to the Pointers tab.
- Select another Scheme for your mouse pointer. Or, you can also change your mouse pointer for Normal Select by clicking on the Browse button.
- When you are done, click Apply and then click OK.
7] Reinstall your mouse driver
You can also try to reinstall your mouse driver. Sometimes, issues occur due to a corrupted mouse driver. In such a case, reinstallation of the mouse driver fixes the issue. Follow the steps provided below:
- Open the Device Manager.
- Expand the Mice and other pointing devices branch.
- Right-click on your mouse driver and select Uninstall device.
- Restart your computer or scan for hardware changes.
Windows will automatically install the missing driver on restart.
I hope this helps.
How do I change my mouse loading icon in Windows 11?
You can change the mouse loading icon on your Windows 11 computer by opening the Mouse Properties window. You can change the mouse pointer scheme or customize the mouse pointer separately by using the Browse option.
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