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How can I stop my pointer [arrow, finger, etc.] from blinking/disappearing [= shows only when I move it, disappears when still]?

  • 4 replies
  • 20 have this problem
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  • Last reply by ken8785

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This happens ONLY in Firefox [= it behaves normally in all other programs]. It does so irrespective of pointer options [e.g., enable shadow, enable trail, unhide when typing]. It may have started since the latest upgrade. Typing in this box, for instance, the pointer disappears when I am doing nothing, but appears momentarily when I type *each* letter (i.e., blinks). When I am doing something else & my pointer is elsewhere (e.g., moving the vertical bar, going to a Tab or new part of the screen), the pointer appears only when I move it, & disappears the rest of the time. This is VERY annoying -- and also means I do not know where by pointer is on the screen until I move it.

This happens ONLY in Firefox [= it behaves normally in all other programs]. It does so irrespective of pointer options [e.g., enable shadow, enable trail, unhide when typing]. It may have started since the latest upgrade. Typing in this box, for instance, the pointer disappears when I am doing nothing, but appears momentarily when I type *each* letter (i.e., blinks). When I am doing something else & my pointer is elsewhere (e.g., moving the vertical bar, going to a Tab or new part of the screen), the pointer appears only when I move it, & disappears the rest of the time. This is VERY annoying -- and also means I do not know where by pointer is on the screen until I move it.

All Replies (4)

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Start Firefox in Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode to check if one of the extensions is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox (Tools) > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).

If it does work in Safe-mode then disable all extensions and then try to find which is causing it by enabling one at a time until the problem reappears.

  • Use "Disable all add-ons" on the Safe mode start window to disable all extensions.
  • Close and restart Firefox after each change via "File > Exit" (Mac: "Firefox > Quit"; Linux: "File > Quit")

In Firefox 4 you can use one of these to start in Safe mode:

  • Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
  • Hold down the Shift key while double clicking the Firefox desktop shortcut (Windows)

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Thanks very much!

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You're welcome.

Can you tell if this was a problem with an extension or with hardware acceleration?

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Shockwave flash 11.0.1.152 is the culprit. When I disabled shockwave, the cursor arrow returned to normal behavior.