Mouse Not Recognized in Parallels

W

WordSpidee

Bit poster
Hello,
I have a new iMac and installed Parallels and then Windows XP Pro. It all worked great until I was trying to get Parallels to recognize my external hard drive (still haven't got that to work--that'll be my next post), but in trying to get Parallels to recognize the drive (USB connection), I went to the USB settings in Parallels and somehow "captured" my cursor inside the Windows window. I can use Ctrl+Alt to get the cursor OUT of Windows and back to my Mac, but now whenever I click the cursor into the Windows window, it becomes frozen and refuses to move. Can anybody guide me toward a fix? P.S. I am using a Microsoft mouse, which the Mac doesn't have a problem with.

Thanks in advance,
-Kate
 
Restart Doesn't Fix It

Hi, thanks for your suggestion, but I restarted Parallels a couple of times, and the cursor was still "stuck." Can you think of anything else I could try?
 
some specification: when you restart Parallels Desktop whether you stopping VM? Default behavior of PD is suspend working VM on app closing that really stays VM at the same state without any changes. So if you just closed Parallels Desktop without stopping VM then try to stop it at first.
 
Hello, Sandro, thank you for working on this with me. I have tried both closing and suspending the VM, partly because I don't understand the different between closing and suspending. On both commands, the VM spins around and disappears. Maybe there's something in the User's Manual that will help me understand the difference between closing and suspending...?

Another problem, besides the cursor that won't move, is that I cannot suspend the VM and have the window stay on my screen (in order to try to configure it). The "menu side" won't stay open on my screen -- it always spins and disappears. Do you think these two problems are related?

Thank you for your patience.
 
WordSpidee said:
Hello, Sandro, thank you for working on this with me. I have tried both closing and suspending the VM, partly because I don't understand the different between closing and suspending. On both commands, the VM spins around and disappears. Maybe there's something in the User's Manual that will help me understand the difference between closing and suspending...?
Click to expand...

We can use abstraction of real computer (non virtual) in view to determine difference. If you choosing stop VM then it's similar if you shutdown the computer. Suspend mode similar to sleep (hybernate) mode of physical machine.

WordSpidee said:
Another problem, besides the cursor that won't move, is that I cannot suspend the VM and have the window stay on my screen (in order to try to configure it). The "menu side" won't stay open on my screen -- it always spins and disappears. Do you think these two problems are related?

Thank you for your patience.
Click to expand...

Sorry not quite understood. Currently mouse cursor not moving even at your host system (Mac OS X) or what? Couldn't you describe your actions step by step what are you doing and what happening during it?
 
something to try...

>>I have a new iMac and installed Parallels and then Windows XP Pro. It all worked great until I was trying to get Parallels to recognize my external hard drive (still haven't got that to work--that'll be my next post), but in trying to get Parallels to recognize the drive (USB connection), I went to the USB settings in Parallels and somehow "captured" my cursor inside the Windows window. I can use Ctrl+Alt to get the cursor OUT of Windows and back to my Mac, but now whenever I click the cursor into the Windows window, it becomes frozen and refuses to move. Can anybody guide me toward a fix? P.S. I am using a Microsoft mouse, which the Mac doesn't have a problem with.

Is your mouse a USB mouse? While running parallels desktop, unplug the mouse. Wait about 10 seconds, then plug it back in.

You might get a message like this:

"Parallels Desktop has detected the new USB device...Do you want this device to be automatically connected to the visual machine?"

Click NO

If you say YES - then Windows will trap the mouse in Windows. If you say NO, then the Mac retains ownership of the mouse. I switched to the bluetooth mouse, but I recall having your issue back when I used a USB mouse. If setup correctly - the mouse should seamlessly move between Windows and Mac without messing with ctrl-alt.
 
sandro said:
We can use abstraction of real computer (non virtual) in view to determine difference. If you choosing stop VM then it's similar if you shutdown the computer. Suspend mode similar to sleep (hybernate) mode of physical machine.
Click to expand...

Small progress to report, I now understand the difference between shutting down and suspending the VM :-). I experimented with shutting down vs. suspending the VM last night (my iMac is at home). I did shut it down a couple of times and restart, but still had a "frozen" mouse in the Windows window.

sandro said:
Sorry not quite understood. Currently mouse cursor not moving even at your host system (Mac OS X) or what? Couldn't you describe your actions step by step what are you doing and what happening during it?
Click to expand...

Hi, let me break out the steps so far:
(1) Originally I replaced the MacMouse with a PC USB mouse. The PC mouse worked fine in both Mac OS and Parallels/Windows.
(2) Then, when I was trying to get the Parallels/Windows window to "see" my external hard drive, I clicked open the USB settings at the bottom of the Parallels/Windows window.
(3) When I clicked on the mouse device name (within the USB settings pop-up window), I got a warning message saying something like, "If you attach this mouse to Parallels, you won't be able to use it in Mac OS without quitting the VM." My mistake was in clicking "OK" because I thought I could quit the VM and use my mouse in Mac OS, as normal. That's when the cursor "froze" in the Parallels/Windows window (not the Mac window) and stopped responding to the mouse. It was the opposite event of what the warning said -- I couldn't use the mouse in Parallels/Windows, but I can use it in Mac OS.
(4) I can still click Ctrl+Option to get the cursor out of Parallels/Windows and back onto the Mac desktop, and the mouse still works fine while in Mac OS. I am still able to manipulate the Parallels buttons (to stop, go, or suspend the VM) as long as I keep my cursor on the Mac desktop.
(5) The problem I still have now is that whenever I click within the Parallels/Windows window, the cursor freezes and will not respond to my mouse or keyboard.

Is the answer to reinstall Parallels/Windows? In response to Alicia's suggestion (above), is there a way to reinstall just Parallels Tools without reinstalling the whole program? If so, would I reinstall it over the existing version, or should I uninstall first?

Thanks again, Sandro and Alicia, for all your help.
-Kate
 
Last edited:
fwong said:
>>
Is your mouse a USB mouse? While running parallels desktop, unplug the mouse. Wait about 10 seconds, then plug it back in.

You might get a message like this:

"Parallels Desktop has detected the new USB device...Do you want this device to be automatically connected to the visual machine?"

Click NO

If you say YES - then Windows will trap the mouse in Windows. If you say NO, then the Mac retains ownership of the mouse. I switched to the bluetooth mouse, but I recall having your issue back when I used a USB mouse. If setup correctly - the mouse should seamlessly move between Windows and Mac without messing with ctrl-alt.
Click to expand...

Hi Fwong, yes, it's a USB mouse. As I discovered the hard way, Windows did trap the mouse because I clicked YES, but it not only trapped it, it froze it! I can't move the cursor when I click into Windows. I wonder if I need to switch to a bluetooth mouse? Wow, I would LOVE to move between Windows and Mac without messing with ctrl-alt! I still have so much to learn about Parallels and VMs! I'll try your suggestion to unplug and then replug the mouse. I'll check back with results after I try that. Thanks for your help.
 
Hooray! My mouse is "untrapped!" Unplugging it and then replugging it while I have Parallels open worked. (And I was sure to say "NO" when it asked if I wanted to attach the mouse). It can now navigate either the Parallels desktop or the iMac desktop. I still have to use that pesky Ctrl+Option to move from the VM back onto the Mac desktop, but this is progress! Thank you everybody for your help.

-Kate (grateful new Parallels user)
 
>>...I still have to use that pesky Ctrl+Option to move from the VM back onto the Mac desktop, but this is progress! Thank you everybody for your help.

Glad things are better! FWIW - you shouldn't have to always unplug-reconnect the mouse...but I'm glad the trick helped.

Have you upgraded Parallels recently? When upgrading - you have to re-install Parallels Tools as part of the upgrade.

Within windows - go to Control Panel/Device Manager. Expand the Mouse/Pointer section - Under that section - I only see a single device labelled "Parallels Mouse Synchronization Tool". Do you see something extra under there in addition to the "Parallels Mouse Synchronization Tool" ?
 
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