My cursor is deleting or attempting to delete items when I click them depending on what they are.

Question

I don't know if it's my cursor or delete key, but whenever I try to select something with my mouse, it deletes whatever I have selected. The above pop-up appears along with a duplicate on top of itself whenever I try to access a folder on my desktop. A similar pop-up appears whenever I try to access an application on my desktop. Also, whenever I'm typing something down, and my text cursor has something in front of it, it just deletes everything character by character in rapid succession. Shortcuts also delete themselves whenever I click on them, and others have a very good chance of also being deleted.

For context, this all happens on my laptop which I have connected to an external display. I also have two separate programs for two separate brands of wired USB mice. One is for my Corsair mouse (iCUE) and the other is for my SteelSeries mouse (SteelSeries GG). I have not used my SteelSeries mouse in a few weeks ever since I started being on break from university. Today, I started school again, and I also connected a SteelSeries keyboard which I also have to my laptop. When I got back home and re-connected my Corsair mouse, it started doing everything in the above paragraph. I have also not used my SteelSeries keyboard for the same amount of time I used my mouse of the same brand.

For now, I will be checking my mice and keyboards and their respective programs for any issues. My external display does not seem to be the cause of my problems, but I will be checking that as well. Maybe it's a software issue, maybe it's a hardware issue. This happens all over my laptop, which I also disconnected from my external display for going to school. I am scared at the moment, because this affects every part of my computer usage. What can I do to fix this and return everything to normal, and could it just be my delete key acting up?

Answer 1

Hi Lovin

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A Forum!

That sounds pretty frustrating, and I can imagine how inconvenient it can be to have your computer acting up like that. The good news is that issues like this usually come down to a simple hardware or software hiccup rather than anything serious.

Here are a few things you can try to pinpoint the issue and potentially resolve it:

1)Fully disconnect all external devices

Unplug:

• your external mouse
• your external keyboard
• USB hubs
• anything wired into the laptop

Restart your laptop and test using only the built‑in keyboard and trackpad.

If everything works normally in this state, one of the peripherals is sending a “Delete” signal or a macro.

2)Try your devices one at a time

Reconnect each item individually:

1. Plug in your mouse (don’t open iCUE or SteelSeries GG yet).
2. Test clicking on icons and typing.
3. Then plug in your external keyboard and test.
4. Finally, open the device software one at a time.

If the issue returns immediately after connecting a specific device or opening a certain program, that’s your culprit.

3)Reboot without loading the peripheral software

• Both iCUE and SteelSeries GG modify low‑level input behavior. Try a restart with both programs disabled (not uninstalled, just not running).
• If things stabilize, then one of the two apps is firing phantom Delete inputs.

4)Try a different USB port

• Sometimes a faulty port can send repeated or corrupted input signals. Just move your mouse or keyboard to a different port and retest.

5)Physically check the keys

Without taking anything apart, try:

• pressing the Delete key firmly a few times
• tapping around it to see if it frees up
• checking if it feels “mushy,” sunken, or sticky

As a partially stuck switch can hold Delete down constantly.

Hope this can help. Feel free to update here if anything comes up!

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Answer 2

1

Open Command Prompt, then paste in this command and press Enter:

msdt.exe -id KeyboardDiagnostic

Run that Keyboard Troubleshooter to see if that can solve the problem.

2

If that does not resolve this for you

Open Device Manager

Expand the Keyboards section

Right click your keyboard and choose 'Uninstall'

Then restart your laptop

3

If the problem is still not resolved:

Bring up the on-screen keyboard, on that keyboard is it indicated any keys like the Delete key or Insert key are being pressed without you actually pressing those leys?