Douglas Engelbart ushered a revolution in tech when he invented the mouse in the early 1950s. This nifty device is useful for giving commands to a computer.
For several decades, the mouse has been an indispensable utility for millions of people. Many cannot even begin to imagine the possibility of operating a computer without one.
The usefulness of this input device in our lives is undeniable.
However, despite its amazing functions and capabilities, it can come up with unforeseen issues that can make using your mouse a disconcerting experience.
Example of such issues includes your mouse auto selecting or hover selecting.
What is Auto Select?
Just in case you do not know what auto select means, let us explain.
If your mouse auto selects or hover-selects, this means that whenever your mouse pointer hovers over a file or document, your mouse will automatically open the file without you clicking on it or wanting it to do so.
This can be extremely frustrating, to say the least. When a mouse opens items on a system without the user’s command, it can lead to a lot of other problems if not corrected immediately.
Sure, it might not be so bad if you unintentionally open a picture or a word document, but imagine mistakenly opening a malicious link on the internet just by hovering your mouse over it.
This can lead to drastic consequences. You can crash your device without meaning to do so.
Why Does a Mouse Automatically Select?
All Windows devices come predesigned with an auto select feature. While its location may vary based on the version of the Windows that you are using, they basically do the same thing.
This feature can be turned on without your consent for various reasons.
Whatever the reason, it is important that you turn it off, especially if you did not turn on the functionality yourself.
When this auto select functionality is turned on, users will find themselves experiencing the hover select issue.
In this article, we will be looking at how to turn off a mouse pointer in Windows 10 and stop it from auto/hover selecting.
How to Stop my Mouse from Auto Selecting
There are several methods or solutions that you can use to disable the auto select function on your Windows device.
However, this can vary depending on the version of Windows that you are using, the configuration settings of your device, and whether it is a laptop or a desktop.
In this article, we will be discussing solutions that can help you fix the hover select issue if you are a Windows 10 user.
Before you go try out the solutions below, we recommend that you update your drivers.
Outdated or damaged drivers can lead to a lot of issues, some of which include the unintentional enabling of the mouse auto select feature.
Related: Auslogics Driver Updater: Update Your Drivers in One Click!
How to Fix Mouse Hover Auto Select in Windows 10
Solution 1: Check for Malware in Your System
Malware can cause a lot of issues when infecting your system. These issues can include changing the behavior of your Windows Operating System and reprogramming computer functions.
Sometimes, malware can even make clicks that you did not initiate yourself and execute commands without your permission.
When these happen, your PC will undergo a lot of changes that can leave you confused, including the mouse hover/auto select feature.
Therefore, we recommend that you perform a full system scan using a powerful anti-malware engine.
While there are lots of third-party security software out there, you can easily make use of Windows Defender (also known as Microsoft Defender) – a built-in security tool that comes with your Windows device.
Microsoft has done a great job of improving this tool over the years.
While this tool will not give you everything you need to keep your device safe from malware, it provides strong basic protection and can help you to quickly detect malware and protect your computer.
In fact, Microsoft Defender can compete with a lot of Anti-virus engines in the market in terms of usability, detection rates, and stability.
To access your Windows Defender and scan for malware:
- Go to the Windows search box and type in Security. Select Windows Security.
- On the left-pane menu, click Virus & Threat Protection.
- Move to the right pane, then choose Scan Options.
- When this opens, go to Full Scan, select it, and then click on Scan Now.
Related: Auslogics Anti-Malware: Features and Reviews
Solution 2: Go to the Ease of Access Section to Fix the Mouse Auto-Select Feature
You can also fix this issue by going through Ease of Access. To do this:
- Go to the Windows Search box and input Control Panel. Press the Enter key.
- When the Control Panel window opens, go to Ease of Access and click on it.
- From here, go to the Ease of Access Center. This will display a list of options.
- Scroll down and then go to the Make the mouse easier to use section.
- Look for the Make it easier to manage windows
- Untick the box next to the Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse option.
- Click the Apply button followed by the OK button to confirm your selection.
Solution 3: Turn off Tapping on a Touchpad (For Laptops Only)
One of the reasons why you might encounter the mouse auto select issue is because of your touchpad.
If your touchpad is getting faulty, it can make selections and execute commands without your permission, This can happen whenever you try to hover over a file or folder.
You can prevent your touchpad from executing actions on your laptop by disabling or turning off touchpad tapping. To achieve this:
- Go to Start and right-click on it. This will display a list of options.
- From here, go to Settings and click on it.
- From the next window that opens, choose Devices and then click on
- Scroll through the displayed options and choose Additional Mouse Options.
This next step may vary depending on your laptop model:
- When the Additional Mouse Options window opens, go to Mouse Properties and open
- At this point, look for the Tapping function and disable it.
If this solution does not solve the mouse hover select problem, then move to the next solution below.
Solution 4: Reinstall Mouse and Touchpad Drivers
Drivers are tools that help your device to function smoothly. When drivers are outdated, broken, or unintentionally removed or installed, this can lead to a number of issues.
Some of these problems can make your mouse or touchpad to misbehave and function abnormally.
The hover select issue that you are facing may be as a result of damaged or broken Windows mouse drivers. Therefore, we recommend that you reinstall your mouse drivers.
Also read: [EASY GUIDE] How to Update Device Drivers on a Windows 10 PC?
To reinstall any damaged or missing drivers in your computer, follow the steps listed below.
If you are making use of a laptop, you have to reinstall your touchpad drivers as well.
- Go to the Start button and right-click on it. Scroll to Device Manager and open it.
- Click on the Mice and other pointing devices option to expand this section.
- From the options displayed, go to Mouse Driver and right-click on it for more options.
- Select the Uninstall Device
- A confirmation window will appear. Click on Uninstall to confirm the process.
Following the steps above will not reinstall the drivers. To achieve this and allow Windows to reinstall the removed drivers automatically, you have to reboot Windows manually.
In addition, remember to repeat the above steps for touchpad drivers if you are a laptop user.
Related: Why Is My Laptop Touchpad Not Working? Fixing Windows Touchpad Troubles
Solution 5: Fix the Error Automatically
Why go through all that stress when you can fix this error automatically? This is why the Auslogics team has come up with a tool that will help you achieve this with just a few clicks.
Tested and approved by a team of professionals, Driver Updater is a safe, intuitive, and fast-working tool that will scan your system for any outdated, missing, or broken drivers. It even creates a backup of your drivers before performing driver repairs or carrying out updates.
How to Disable Mouse Hover Auto Select in Windows 10: Answered
We hope this article has been helpful and that it has helped you in fixing this problem. The mouse hover/auto issue select can be very frustrating as it can make it difficult to use and enjoy your PC.
If you have been experiencing auto select problems with your mouse or touchpad, you can easily get this fixed by carefully following the solutions in this article.
Keep in mind that outdated, broken, or missing drivers are some of the common reasons why this malfunction may occur.
Therefore, fix your drivers with just the click of a button by using the Auslogics Driver Updater.
If you have any extra feedback or suggestions that you will like us to know about, feel free to use the comment section below. We will love to hear from you.
