Mouse problem: Mouse pointer lags behind when moved across the screen

My desktop PC runs Windows 7. For several months after I’ve been using it for an hour or so, the mouse pointer lags behind when I try to move it across the screen. The Mouse settings in the Control Panel can’t be changed to fix the problem. I have to restart the PC to make the mouse work normally again.

Answer

When the mouse responds slowly it usually means that some process is using most of the processor’s processing capability.  In Windows 7/8.1/10, it is unlikely to be caused by low system resources, it is most probably caused by Windows Update or other services using Svchost, which are using most of the processor’s processing time.

Windows provides information on the processes and services it uses in the Windows Task Manager. Access it by pressing the Ctrl+Alt+Del key combination. Click on Start Task Manager. In the Task Manager click on the Processes tab and look under the CPU heading. (CPU stands for Central Processing Unit, which is a PC’s processor.)

This problem is still happening in Windows 10. To access Windows Update in Win10, use the Search box to provide a link to it because it is no longer in the Control Panel.

You can also make use of a program called Process Explorer to find out which process or processes are responsible.

Process Explorer for Windows –

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

Sysinternals Process Explorer Forum – http://forum.sysinternals.com/

Read My Dell Inspiron laptop computer is incredibly slow when starting up with Svchost using 98% of processor time on this site for more information on the Windows Svchost service.