There is not much in this world (including heavy traffic, needing the toilet at three in the morning, and autoplay ads on your smartphone) that’s more irritating than a computer that keeps freezing up for no apparent reason.
We’re talking about our personal computers, gaming computers, laptops, and mini-computers here, all of which are probably the most sophisticated pieces of equipment in our homes. So when they start freezing, most of us are not software engineers, and it’s highly irritating.
But, what if it was something really simple? Could something like your mouse cause your computer to freeze?
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Can A Mouse Cause A Computer To Freeze?
Not only can a mouse cause a computer to freeze, but it’s also one of the top ten reasons behind a freezing computer. If it’s your mouse causing the problem, it’s almost never the mouse itself, but the USB port, drivers, or the connection.
Many issues can cause your mouse to cause your computer to freeze. There can also be physical issues with the mouse, such as hair and debris blocking the sensors.
The easiest way to test this is to try out another mouse and see if the problem persists.
It doesn’t have to be a wired mouse either. A wireless mouse still requires a USB port for the wireless communication device to plug into. Of course, there is any number of things that can cause a computer to freeze, so it may not be the mouse.
It’s easy enough to test the mouse out and determine if that’s the problem. Whether you are using a wired mouse or a wireless mouse, unplug it from one USB port and plug it into another.
With a wireless mouse, it’s also a good idea to pull the battery out of the mouse itself and set it to the side for a minute. If it’s a relatively new battery, you probably don’t have anything to worry about. If you are unsure, you should go ahead and replace it with a new battery.
If you’re using a wireless mouse, a loss of signal caused by interference from a new Bluetooth device may also cause problems.
Often enough, your USB cable or device may not be fully plugged in. It happens a lot more often than you would think, especially with a wired mouse. If you tend to be overly aggressive with your wired mouse, it will happen more often.
Update Your Display Driver
Sometimes when your computer goes through a big update, it doesn’t update all the drivers it should. One driver that sometimes gets missed is your display driver and that can cause your mouse pointer to start freezing as it is traveling across the screen, making it look as though your mouse is causing your computer to freeze.
Here’s how to update your display driver:
- Right-click on the Windows icon on your desktop
- Click on Device Manager from the list that pops up
- Double-click on Display Adaptors.
- Double-click on your graphics card, select Driver, and Update Driver
When the current update for your display driver is installed, it should hopefully stop your mouse cursor from freezing up as you’re trying to use your computer.
Update Your Mouse Drivers
PC drivers are important to keep updated. Most PCs come with driver updates set up to happen automatically, whenever a new update is released. When you connect a new peripheral for the first time, the driver is automatically installed.
Most of the time, that latest driver is added to the queue with the other drivers in terms of automatic updates. Your’s might have gotten behind for whatever reason and it doesn’t hurt to check it out.
To check and update your mouse driver and you know the mouse is what’s keeping your PC down, you may need to connect a different mouse or use the keyboard only for navigation, at least until you get the driver updated.
- Press the Windows Key and press “X” at the same time
- Select Device Management
- Select Mice and Other Pointing Devices
- Highlight your mouse and select (Update Driver Software)
- Select (Search Automatically for Updated Driver Software)
You can also choose to uninstall and reinstall your mouse drivers. Once you uninstall it, plug the mouse back in and your PC will go through the installation process of the mouse driver on its own, just like it did the first time you set it up.
Worst case scenario, you either need to clean your USB port or the port is bad. If it’s bad, you can replace it.
Bottom Line
While a mouse isn’t the only thing that could be causing your computer to freeze up, it is one of the more common problems.
However, it’s most likely the USB port or outdated drivers that are causing the problems, rather than the mouse itself. In the worst-case scenario, you’ll have to replace the mouse or the USB port.