I'm running Windows 11 on a Gigabyte X870 Aorus Elite WiFi system with a Ryzen 7 9700X, RX 9070 XT, 64GB of DDR5, and a Corsair Dark Core Pro mouse. For about 90 days, left-clicking occasionally stops selecting windows, taskbar items, or applications. Tracking, right-clicking, and holding left-click to drag still work normally, so it feels like an invisible window or overlay is blocking ordinary left-click actions.
The problem temporarily clears after using Ctrl+Alt+Delete and Escape, or after opening and closing the Start menu, but it eventually returns. I cleaned the mouse, disabled and reinstalled iCUE, checked for macros and key bindings, reset the mouse firmware, reinstalled drivers, restarted Windows Explorer and Windows Input Experience, changed USB ports and cables, and tested both wireless modes.
The issue also occurs with a known-good wired Logitech mouse, a Razer DeathAdder, and a brand-new replacement Dark Core. The affected mouse works normally when connected to my laptop, and the problem even appeared after resetting Windows during initial setup. What could cause Windows to ignore normal left-click selection while still allowing dragging, and is a full drive format really necessary?
4 Answers
The fact that dragging works while ordinary selection does not suggests that the click is reaching the system but the foreground window or shell isn’t processing it correctly. Before formatting every drive, try reproducing it in Safe Mode or a clean boot, disconnect unnecessary USB devices, and check whether the behavior changes with a different keyboard. A full format may not help if the cause is BIOS, USB-controller, or hardware-related.
A failing mouse switch was one possible explanation, but the symptoms don’t fit well once the same behavior appears with a new mouse and other working models. Since Windows was reset and the problem appeared during setup, look for something system-wide such as an input utility, overlay, accessibility setting, stuck keyboard command, or firmware/BIOS issue rather than replacing the mouse again.
It’s worth testing more than one connection type, since a bad receiver, cable, or USB port can sometimes create strange input problems. However, the issue still happening over Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, and wired connections—and with different mice, cables, and ports—makes a connection problem unlikely.
Try each mouse on another computer or even an Android device first. That helps separate a physical mouse problem from a Windows or motherboard issue. In this case, the affected mouse works normally on a laptop, and multiple known-good mice show the same behavior on the desktop, so the mouse itself is very unlikely to be the cause.
I tested the affected mouse on my laptop and it worked normally. The other two mice are also known-good devices, including one that was brand new.
I tested Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, wired operation, different cables, and several USB ports. Nothing changed.