Cursor disappears temporarily

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Level 3

735 points

Cursor disappears temporarily

Hi,

I just bought a new mac book pro 17" with 7.2 on it and 8gig ram. I have noticed, since I bought it, that the cursor freezes and usually (or always, I can't remember) disappears quite frequently when doing some activities. The computer is so blazingly fast in other areas that I don't get this very slow aspect. I'm sure this has been addressed here (I found one post on it under an individual computer model). I didn't find any under OS with a quick search.

I first noticed this mostly with Apple Mail. After sending a message the cursor would vanish for a few seconds, then reappear. Or sometimes just tooling around the app the same thing would happen. It seems as if there is some process working in the background when this happens, and it needs to resolve.

Then I started posting on the forums at adobe.com. After I have written some text and then decide to move the mouse, the cursor would disppear and nothing would happen when I moved the mouse/trackpad (I'm only using the trackpad) for ten seconds or. Actually, while posting here, I notice that the cursor disappears intentionally, while writing a post. Then it usually comes back when I move the mouse. Maybe this is related.

I don't see any entries in the log for console.

I read a post somewhere about re-indexing working to clear up this problem (I think it was on a Snow Leopard computer). I tried this (System Preferences > Spotlight > Dragging the HD icon from a finder window into the preference section saying something like "exclude from index" > Then removing the item. I didn't find any change.

Actually I just found something weird -- I moused very fast over to the apple icon in the menu to check System Preferences, and the mouse froze for 20 seconds. Then moving the mouse down the menu it kept freezing. I do have several apps running at the moment. I had thought this would be OK: Firefox, iTunes, Firefox, Dreamweaver. I think the problem occurs even with only one app running. I will keep experimenting with fewer system resources being used.

The Hard Drive doesn't sound any different before or during the freeze.

Thanks for any pointers to other discussionsn about this.

Posted on Dec 3, 2011 7:10 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Dec 3, 2011 8:14 PM in response to Misha Cohen

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It won’t solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

The purpose of this exercise is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account, or is system-wide. Enable guest logins and log in as Guest. For instructions, launch the System Preferences application, select “Help” from the menu bar, and enter “Set up a guest account” (without the quotes) in the search box.

While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Any application you run will behave as if you were running it for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

As Guest, launch some applications and test. Same problem(s)?

After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

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Answer 2

Misha Cohen Author

Level 3

735 points

Dec 9, 2011 1:02 PM in response to Misha Cohen

Well I created the guest account and am posting here to see if I get similar behavior. I didn't notice anything with the several other posts I have made so far. I turned up the trackpad speed to match my user account. I thought maybe that might have something to do with the issue. I also tried posting at adobe.com but I don't see any issue with a test post.

Weird. I will see if I can turn off flashblock. Maybe that is a cause. And I will see if there are other settings I have edited on my main account.

Frankly, the response of the mouse/cursor seems to be speedier on the guest account. Things are more responsive; there is less minute pause when I mouse over a button or even click a button. IT seems as if there were some friction on my main account when interacting with elements.

Other feedback is welcome from people having this issue (there are many who have posted in a few posts on the forums).

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Dec 9, 2011 2:04 PM in response to Misha Cohen

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It won’t solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

The purpose of this exercise is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login. Boot in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. First, disconnect all wired peripherals except keyboard, mouse, and monitor, if applicable. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:

Be sure your Mac is shut down.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including your login items.

Launch the application(s) and test. Same problem(s)?

After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)

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Answer 4

Jan 18, 2012 5:02 PM in response to Misha Cohen

Short answer: Try closing Safari.

Long answer: I had this issue as well on my wife's computer, a 2011 13" MBP. First, I checked to see if the issue persisted on my account.

The cursor worked fine on my account.

I then started systematically closing programs. She had several programs open so I started closing them systematically. After closing everything but Firefox, Safari and Shutterfly Express Uploader, I still had the issue. I then quit Safari and immediately the problem resolved itself.

Hope that works for others.

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