My mouse pointer suddenly looks about one pixel longer or larger than it did before, and it is really distracting. I tried opening the mouse settings with Windows + R and main.cpl, selected the previous cursor scheme, and clicked Apply and OK, but the old pointer still does not come back. What could have changed, and how can I restore the original cursor?
3 Answers
If the pointer changed after a system update, check whether a recent Windows update or display-driver update was installed. Updating or rolling back the graphics driver, then restarting, may restore the previous rendering.
It may also be worth checking your display scaling and screen resolution. A changed scaling percentage can make system cursors appear slightly different even when the cursor settings themselves have not changed.
From the image, this looks more like a completely different pointer design than a simple one-pixel size change. Try selecting another pointer scheme or manually choosing the original pointer file instead of only adjusting the size, then apply the change again.

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