Arc Pro B50 - Win11 - No Mouse cursor

[Nebur]

See subject.

- Issue manifests itself by the mouse cursor disappearing as soon as certain driver versions are installed

- the cursor is even missing after a fresh reboot into the login screen on a naked Win11 25H2 install

- drivers below are all the pro variant

- these versions do show the issue (latest two):

     101.8515
     101.8517

- these versions do NOT have the issue:

     101.6862
     101.6979
     101.8306
     101.8314

So I'm forced to run an old driver right now - not great. Not terrible either if the next version fixes this stupid but completely breaking bug.

[IntelSupport]

Hi Nebur,

1. When using the affected driver versions, is the cursor completely invisible, or does it appear in certain areas of the screen?
2. Are you using a single monitor or multiple monitors? If multiple, does the cursor disappear on all connected displays or only on specific ones?
3. Does the cursor disappear only on the desktop/login screen, or does it also disappear inside specific applications or games?
4. Did you perform a clean driver installation using Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) when updating to version 32.0.101.8517?
5. What are the troubleshooting steps that you tried so far?
6. Can you please provide video of the issue?
7. Please run the Intel System Support Utility (SSU) and attach the report for system diagnostics:

• Download link: Intel SSU Tool
• After downloading, open the tool, run a scan (leave default options), click Next, then save the results as a .txt file, and attach it in your reply.
  • Please note: While generating the SSU report, kindly uncheck the “Networking” option.

If you have any questions, please let us know. Thank you.

Best regards,

Kenneth R.

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Nebur]

Hi Kenneth,

1: It appears, disappears, flickers on and off with the "busy cursor" but is mostly invisible. It is not related to positions on the screen.

2: Tests were all with a single screen

3: It disappears in the login screen and it disappears on the desktop, explorer, anywhere. It is not that it sometimes disappears - it is absent 99.999% of the time with some sudden flickers of visibility every now and then for less than half a second. So no, I can't tell what happens in misc other apps because it renders the machine unusable

4: I tested every driver version mentioned with a full uninstall and a DDU pass in safe mode before installing any other version

5: Installing a driver that works

6: A video showing a missing mouse cursor? Seriously? No, I can not.

7: Is a collection with the working driver fine? Because I really do not want to install the broken one again.

Thank you for taking the time!

[Nebur]

Here is the ssu file. Note that this is with the latest working driver and not the one with the issues! The machine & general config obviously is the same, so shouldn't really matter. 

[IntelSupport]

Hi Nebur,

Thank you for providing the requested information. I will now further investigate this and will get back to you once a resolution is available. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Best regards,

Kenneth R.

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Jay_Intel]

Hi Nebur,

Upon further testing on our end, we were unable to reproduce the issue. Based on this, it appears that the behavior may be related to the operating system potentially preventing the driver from functioning properly.

For your reference, you may review our validation test here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozgFt26v7F0

With that said, kindly check if the issue persists after performing an OS reinstallation, if feasible. This will help isolate whether the concern is OS-related.

Please let us know the outcome, and we’ll be glad to assist you further.

Thank you.

Best regards, 

Louie Jay J. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[IntelSupport]

Hi Nebur,

I just wanted to follow up to see if you had a chance to review the information we posted. Your feedback at your earliest convenience would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Best regards,

Kenneth R.

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Nebur]

Hi Kenneth,

yes, I did review the "information" you posted.

Let me summarize:

1) You found out, that the newer driver does not universally fail to show a mouse cursor. I think it is safe to assume that NOBODY in their right mind would assume that to be the case - you are Intel after all and not Temu. => Helpfulness of that "Information" is barely above absolute zero.

2) You suggest to reinstall Windows. That is as cookie cutter reply as it can possibly get. And no - I won't reinstall my whole workstation (= multiple days of work - this is not a toy machine!) based on an unfounded "oh - it must be Windows" customer support reply that has a minuscule chance of fixing anything at all . 

Again: We have 4 (!!!) driver and possibly firmware versions (didn't check if all drivers updated FW) that DO NOT HAVE THE ISSUE. And then a sudden, reproducible, clear regression on the last 2 driver versions.  Why regression? Why reproducible? Why clear?  Because uninstalling and installing across those versions creates / removes the issue!

Apart from my case a simple google search turns up several similar issues with Arc drivers and even the same GPU in some cases.

One case in this very forum, solved by installing a newer driver (non-pro variant):

https://community.intel.com/t5/Graphics/Arc-Pro-B50-Cursor-invisible-on-second-monitor-after-Windows/m-p/1750040#M151977 

https://community.intel.com/t5/Graphics/Problems-with-mouse-cursor-on-second-screen/m-p/1750169

Unresolved identical issue mentioned on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IntelArc/comments/1rqsb10/intel_arc_pro_b50_mouse_cursor_disappearing/

Identical issue again, mentioning exactly the same driver versions I reported to be a go/no-go. With screenshot because accessing X needs an account::

https://x.com/Paul_Reviews/status/2064230103953850732

Similar issue from a b580 user in a "rant" about going back to Nvidia:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IntelArc/comments/1tu95ek/going_back_to_green_after_7_months/

(Also as a side note: Apart from the mouse issues - using the machine with the last two driver over RDP with HW accel on, on Firefox tends to freeze on complex pages like e.g. YouTube and the driver restarts. I wasn't aware it was the driver, till I rolled back from 

101.8515 to 101.6862 and the issue is suddenly gone.)

So, tell me - is this the right place to actually get an issue through to Intel's Driver and Firmware Guys, or is it not? If it is not and I landed in the wrong place, please tell, where to report the issues instead.

I'm happy to cooperate and help solve this if there is SERIOUS attempt from Intel's side - "look - it works on our machine" and "you better reinstall windows" certainly is NOT something I consider to be support or an indication of trying to find out what is going on.

Cheers

 Nebur

[ArchieD_Intel]

Hi Nebur,

Thank you so much for your patience while I looked into this for you.

So, after thoroughly investigating and testing on my end, I was not able to reproduce the issue you described. Based on my findings, the root cause does not appear to be related to the graphics driver, as everything on that side is functioning as expected without any anomalies.

That said, since the issue could not be replicated on my end, and given that you have opted not to proceed with a clean OS installation, which would have helped further isolate the cause, I believe the next best step would be to get Microsoft Support involved. Their team would honestly be better equipped to dig into any potential operating system level factors that may be contributing to what you are experiencing.

You can reach out to Microsoft Support directly through this link: https://support.microsoft.com

With that, I will be going ahead and closing this inquiry. If you ever need further assistance in the future, feel free to submit a new question and I will be happy to help. Please note that this thread will no longer be monitored going forward.

Best regards,

Archie D.

Intel Customer Support Engineer

[Nebur]

Seriously?

You are closing the ticket and deflecting to microsoft support for a driver regression on your PRO line of workstation cards that makes them basically unusable.

What would it help to make ME install a fresh windows and try on that exactly? How does that solve anything at all?