Windows 10: Mouse moves but cannot click, left-click becomes right-click, IME freezes, only Ctrl+Alt+Del recovers

Question

Windows 10: Mouse cursor moves but cannot click, left-click becomes right-click or double-click, IME freezes, and system recovers only after Ctrl+Alt+Del or using Keyviz. Sticky Keys already disabled.

Hi everyone,

I have been struggling with a very strange and persistent input issue on Windows 10 for weeks. I have tried almost every solution I could find, but the problem keeps coming back. I hope someone here can help me understand the root cause.

---

🔍 Problem Summary

After a clean boot, the system works perfectly for about one hour. Then, the following symptoms start to appear:

• The mouse cursor moves normally, but clicking on anything (icons, taskbar, buttons) has no effect.
• Sometimes a single left-click is registered as a right-click or a double-click.
• The IME (Microsoft Pinyin) freezes: I cannot switch between Chinese and English, and no candidate window appears.
• Holding the left button to drag a window works fine, but single clicks do not.
• Network ping spikes to 500+ ms at the same time as the input freeze.

The only way to temporarily restore normal behavior is to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete (entering Secure Desktop) and then press Esc to return. This resets the input system for a while, but the problem eventually returns.

---

🛠️ What I Have Already Tried (No Lasting Effect)

I have spent a lot of time troubleshooting. Here is what I have already done:

• Disabled Sticky Keys, Filter Keys, and Toggle Keys (via both Settings and Control Panel).
• Disabled the shortcut "Press 5 times Shift to turn on Sticky Keys".
• Uninstalled ASUS Smart Gesture (touchpad driver) and disabled all ASUS background services.
• Disabled Windows Search service and removed SearchApp.exe via registry.
• Decrypted the system drive (manage-bde -off C:).
• Ran DISM /RestoreHealth and sfc /SCANNOW (no integrity violations found).
• Performed a Windows 10 in-place upgrade (keeping all apps and files).
• Disabled USB selective suspend and hard disk sleep in power options.
• Uninstalled all USB Input Devices and let Windows reinstall them.
• Created a new local user account.
• Clean boot (disabled all non-Microsoft services and startup items).

None of these steps solved the problem permanently.

---

❓ Why I Am Posting Here

At this point, I suspect the issue is related to a low-level Windows input component, possibly:

• A bug in the Text Services Framework (TSF)
• A broken interaction between the touchpad driver (even after uninstall) and the HID input stack
• A hidden setting or legacy accessibility feature that persists even after being disabled

I am hoping to find:

1. Anyone who has seen similar behavior (cursor moves, but clicks fail; left-click becomes right-click; IME freezes).
2. A way to trace or log what Windows is doing at the input stack level when the freeze occurs.
3. A permanent fix that does not rely on running Keyviz or other third-party tools in the background.

---

📁 System Info

• OS: Windows 10 Pro (latest updates installed)
• Laptop: ASUS (A455L)
• No external mouse issues (tested with multiple mice and touchpad disabled)
• Problem also occurs in clean boot and safe mode (partially)

Thank you very much for reading. Any insight, debugging tool recommendation, or registry tweak would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi feng yu,

Thank you for the detailed information you provided. Based on the behavior described, this issue appears related to how Windows is handling input (mouse and keyboard) within the active user session, rather than a physical mouse or basic driver failure. The fact that functionality temporarily returns after using Ctrl + Alt + Delete indicates the input system is being refreshed at the session level.

Please try the following troubleshooting steps, which are commonly effective in stabilizing input behavior:

1, Confirm Mouse Keys is fully disabled

• Go to Settings > Ease of Access > Mouse
• Ensure Control your mouse with a keypad is turned Off
• Restart the device

2, Refresh input-related drivers

• Open Device Manager
• Expand Mice and other pointing devices and Human Interface Devices
• Uninstall all mouse / HID entries
• Restart Windows and allow drivers to reinstall automatically

3, Update drivers via Windows Update

• Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update
• Install any available optional driver updates
• Restart after updates complete

A reliable temporary recovery to refresh the active input session without restarting the system when the issue occurs:

• Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete
• Select Esc to return to the desktop

Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

---

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Answer 2

The behavior described matches deep system/input corruption that persists across clean boot, new user profile, driver reinstalls, and even an in‑place upgrade. Context only provides two relevant classes of guidance:

1. Systematic isolation of non‑Microsoft services and startup items using clean boot plus binary search.
2. General mouse/keyboard hardware and driver checks.

Given that a standard clean boot was already tried, the remaining supported path is to:

1. Re‑do the clean boot but use the binary search isolation method to be absolutely sure no third‑party service or startup item is involved:
   1. Sign in with an administrator account.
   2. Select Search, type msconfig, open System Configuration.
   3. On Services, select Hide all Microsoft services, then Disable all, and Apply.
   4. On Startup, select Open Task Manager.
   5. In Task Manager’s Startup tab, disable all enabled items and close Task Manager.
   6. Back in System Configuration, select OK and restart.
   7. If the problem does not occur in this state, follow the documented binary search approach:
      • Re‑enable half of the disabled services (with Hide all Microsoft services still checked), restart, and test.
      • Depending on whether the issue appears, keep halving the enabled set until a single service is identified.
      • If services are ruled out, repeat the same half‑at‑a‑time process on Startup items via Task Manager.
   8. If a single service or startup item is identified as the trigger, leave it disabled or contact that program’s vendor for a fix.
2. If the problem still occurs even when all non‑Microsoft services and startup items are disabled and the binary search finds nothing:
   • This matches the situation where the documentation indicates the cause may be within Microsoft components themselves and points to recovery options.
   • At that point, the supported remediation path is to use Windows recovery options (for example, Reset this PC while keeping files, or a full reset) to restore a clean, known‑good system state.
3. While testing, also confirm basic mouse/keyboard hardware and driver health, as input anomalies can be exacerbated by marginal devices or drivers:
   • Test the mouse and keyboard on another PC to ensure they work normally there.
   • Try different USB ports and avoid USB hubs while testing.
   • In Device Manager, check for warning icons on mouse/keyboard/HID devices and use Update driver on any problematic entries.
   • Run Windows Update to pick up any available driver or system fixes.

If, after exhaustive clean‑boot isolation and hardware verification, the issue persists, the remaining supported solution in the provided material is to proceed with Windows recovery (Reset this PC or a clean reinstall) to eliminate low‑level corruption in the input stack.

---

References:

• How to perform a clean boot in Windows
• Mouse and keyboard problems in Windows