How to stop the mouse from going to the second screen – Solved

While using multiple monitors, it can get annoying when your mouse slips onto the secondary monitor. Work and gaming get affected, in fact, as you struggle to keep the cursor on the main monitor. The moment it goes to the edge, it slips out!

But we live in a world where almost every common tech problem has a workaround or a straight-forward solution. This issue is no different. And, we have the answers for you.

How to stop the mouse from going to the second screen

Method 1

You don’t need to look any further than your own Windows settings. There’s a neat little hack that we would like to share with you and it’s got to do with the alignment of your monitors. Follow the steps below and you will know what we are saying:

1. Open Desktop Settings by right clicking on your desktop. If you are using Windows 7, you will see a Screen Resolution option. They are both the same.
2. Here, you will see options to customize your display.
3. The current alignment will be side-by-side. This is the reason why the cursor goes to the secondary monitor when you go to the side.
4. Click on your secondary monitor (typically named 2) and drag it to position it diagonally. 
5. That’s it! Problem solved. From now on, only when you move your cursor diagonally will it go to the secondary screen. Otherwise it will remain in the primary screen only.

Method 2

You can also use an alternative method to ensure that your cursor stays where you want it to. However, this involves the use of third-party apps. There’s an application named Dual Monitor Tools, which you can download for free. Make sure you only do it from their official website, though. 

After downloading and installing the software, these are the steps you should follow:

1. Launch it from the Start Menu. It will run in the background.
2. Now, go to the notifications window and find its icon. Click on it.
3. Once the software opens, find the Cursor option on the left and choose General under it.
4. On the right, you will see multiple options. Locate the one called Lock Cursor Onto Screen and choose Change beside it. 
5. This will prompt another window. Here, choose Enable This Hotkey and then assign a hotkey to it.
6. Choose OK to save the settings.

This will ensure that your cursor remains on your main screen unless you press any of the hotkeys.

Here, you should be sure not to activate the hotkeys on startup. To do so, simply go to the same window under Cursor > General and then find the Default Cursor Mode on Startup option at the bottom of the window. A drop-down menu will appear beside it. Choose Lock Cursor on Screen and save the setting. That’s about it!

People also ask

To give you a deeper insight, we have answered a few FAQs that we receive frequently.

1) How do I turn off my mouse lock?

Some keyboards have a scroll lock key. If yours has one, you can use that to turn off the mouse lock. Otherwise, you can follow the path below:

Start > Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard > On Screen > ScrLk

2) Why does my mouse disappear on my screen?

One of the most common reasons behind this is that your mouse drivers are not updated. Old or wrong mouse drivers usually cause problems. You can update your drivers automatically or manually, depending on what you are comfortable with.

3) How do I get my mouse to move between 3 monitors?

Right-click on desktop > Display settings > Identify

Here, change the position of the monitors as you wish for the mouse to move seamlessly from one to the other and back.

4) Why is my mouse freezing?

This could be because of outdated drivers, wrong drivers, viruses, connectivity problems, or technical problems. 

5) What function key unlocks the mouse?

Fn + F5 will lock or unlock your trackpad.

Didn’t we tell you this problem had an easy fix? Which of these two methods are you going to employ? Do let us know through comments. Also, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to speak to us.