How to Fix: Constant Spinning Circle (Mouse Pointer) Asus Laptop

Infopackets Reader Susan S. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

I just read your article 'How to Fix: Constant Spinning Cursor (Circle) in Windows' - I have a similar problem! I own an Asus x551 laptop with Windows 10. The mouse pointer constantly spins with a blue circle every other second, and I can't figure out why this is happening. I thought perhaps I had a virus, so I formatted the computer - but it did nothing to stop the spinning blue circle. I am going crazy. Can you help? "

My response:

I asked Susan if she would like me to connect to her machine using my remote desktop service and she agreed.

Everything Susan said was true - the mouse pointer would blip every few seconds. This would certainly drive me crazy, too!

Troubleshooting the Constant Spinning Circle (Asus Laptop)

If you wish to skip the technical details of this problem, feel free to jump right to the "How to Fix" section below. Otherwise, read on and perhaps you will learn a few tips and tricks about troubleshooting computer issues.

Typically the mouse pointer will change to a spinning blue circle if the computer is loading a program or the CPU is processing data. Most of the time you can launch Task Manager and look at the running processes / programs using the "Details" tab in Windows 10 Task Manager, then sort the tab by "CPU" usage so that the processes utilizing the CPU the most will float to the top of the list. Doing so will provide a good indication / correlation between a busy mouse pointer and CPU load.

Unfortunately in Susan's case, I could not find any processes that appeared to be generating a CPU load, which would then cause the mouse pointer to constantly change to a spinning blue circle.

My next thought was to look in the Windows tray bar to see which programs were loaded. Susan mentioned that the system was recently formatted, so there were only a handful of programs listed, including the graphics driver, and the mouse track pad driver called "Asus Smart Gesture".

I decided to investigate the "Asus Smart Gesture" track pad program in the tray bar a bit further. I double clicked its icon, which then opened a Window. I then went to Task Manager and right clicked the "Asus Smart Gesture" process, and selected "Open File Location" so I could find which files were associated with the task. From there I was able to determine that her mouse track pad used an executable called "AsusTPLoader.exe". I ended the task in Task Manager and the spinning blue circle blips stopped immediately.

I researched this issue on Google to confirm my suspicions - many people were complaining of the same issue. It also appears that the "Asus Smart Gesture" is part of the track pad driver, and there is no way to remove it in the Control Panel -> Programs and Features. However it is possible to disable "Asus Smart Gesture" using the Autoruns utility, which I will describe next.

How to Fix: Constant Spinning Circle (Mouse Pointer) Asus Laptop

1. First, download Autoruns from Microsoft's website.
    
2. When the download is complete, go to your download folder, then right click the Autoruns.zip file and select "Extract All".
    
3. The contents of the Autoruns.zip file will be extracted to a folder. Right click the file called "Autoruns" and select "Run as Administrator".
    
4. The Autoruns program will launch; agree to the terms. When the main Autoruns window appears, click the "Filter" field near the top and type in the word "gesture". Autoruns will then search parts of Windows for matches containing the word "gesture". With any luck, the "Asus Smart Gesture Launcher" will appear next to the "Task Scheduler" field, and it will be check-marked. Un-check the check mark to disable the Asus Smart Gesture software from being loaded the next time your computer starts up.
    
5. Close Autoruns and reboot the machine. The constant mouse / spinning blue circle should now stop.

I hope that helps!

Additional 1-on-1 Support: From Dennis

A constant spinning cursor / mouse pointer can be extremely frustrating, especially if it keeps popping up in your face every few seconds. There are many reasons for this to happen. The solution above is specific to Asus laptops, however, other people reading this may have the same problem but not own an Asus Laptop. In that case, you are more than welcome to contact me for additional 1-on-1 support using my remote desktop service, where I can look into the problem for you. Simply contact me, briefly describing the issue and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Got a Computer Question or Problem? Ask Dennis!

I need more computer questions. If you have a computer question -- or even a computer problem that needs fixing -- please email me with your question so that I can write more articles like this one. I can't promise I'll respond to all the messages I receive (depending on the volume), but I'll do my best.

About the author: Dennis Faas is the owner and operator of Infopackets.com. With over 30 years of computing experience, Dennis' areas of expertise are a broad range and include PC hardware, Microsoft Windows, Linux, network administration, and virtualization. Dennis holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science (1999) and has authored 6 books on the topics of MS Windows and PC Security. If you like the advice you received on this page, please up-vote / Like this page and share it with friends. For technical support inquiries, Dennis can be reached via Live chat online this site using the Zopim Chat service (currently located at the bottom left of the screen); optionally, you can contact Dennis through the website contact form.