2 Ways to Fix Mouse and Keyboard Not Working in Windows 10

A computer without a functional mouse and keyboard is equivalent to a car without wheels. Totally useless, right? Well, maybe not totally, but you get the point. This analogy describes the fate of some Windows 10 users who cannot use their computer because the mouse and keyboard do not work. For unknown reasons, if your Windows computer mouse and keyboard no longer work suddenly, we have described some solutions to fix the problem in this post.

This mouse and keyboard malfunction often occurs after a recent operating system update. Certain built-in Windows settings and configurations can also cause this hardware to malfunction at random. The solutions below should help you get your mouse and keyboard working again.

1. Quick solution: restart your PC

When your computer’s mouse and keyboard suddenly stop working on the login screen, it may be because Windows has not recognized, communicated, or loaded the drivers responsible for the mouse and keyboard correctly. Simply restarting your PC could therefore help restart communications between device drivers and get your mouse and keyboard working again.

However, since the keyboard and mouse do not work, you must perform a “hard restart”. If your computer has a removable battery, simply remove it, reconnect it, and turn on your PC. If the battery is not removable, press and hold the power button to manually turn it off. Wait a few seconds to a minute and press the power button to turn it back on.

This should help resolve inactive mouse and keyboard issues. If the problem persists and your mouse and keyboard do not work on the home / start screen, proceed to the following method below.

2. Troubleshooting Using Safe Mode

According to some Windows users who have encountered problems in the past, they were able to use the mouse and keyboard in safe mode. Try booting your computer into Safe Mode and try the troubleshooting options listed below (1-4).

Here’s how to start your PC in Safe Mode if your mouse and keyboard aren’t working.

Step 1: Turn off your PC by holding down the power button.

2nd step: Press the power button to turn it back on. Now, when Windows loads with the turning point on the screen, press and hold the power button until the PC shuts down.

Step 3: Repeat this process two or three times. On the fourth boot, Windows will detect that you are trying to resolve certain issues and will automatically start in the recovery environment. This is where you can start in safe mode.

Step 4: In the recovery environment, tap Troubleshoot.

Step 5: Then select Advanced Options on the Troubleshooting screen.

Step 6: Select Startup Settings.

Step 7: Press the Restart button in the lower right corner of the Startup Settings page.

This will display a few startup options from which you can choose.

Step 8: Press number 4 on your keyboard to start in “Safe Mode with Networking”.

Now that your PC is started in safe mode, your mouse and keyboard should work. Continue to try the troubleshooting options below to correct the issues that prevent the mouse and keyboard from operating in normal boot mode.

1. Update / change mouse and keyboard drivers

If your computer’s mouse and keyboard do not work at startup, it may be because their drivers are out of date and incompatible with the new operating system to which you upgraded. Follow the steps to update or change your mouse and keyboard drivers.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + the X button on your keyboard to launch the quick access menu. Select Device Manager from the menu.

2nd step: Tap the drop-down arrow next to Keyboards, right-click the keyboard driver, and select Update Driver.

Step 3: On the next page, select “Search for software drivers on my computer”.

Step 4: Now press “Let me choose from a list of drivers available on my computer”.

Step 5: Uncheck the option “Display compatible hardware”.

Step 6: Choose a different driver from the active one and press Next.

Restart your computer after the driver installation is complete. Do the same for the mouse driver (in the “Mice and other pointing devices” category) and check if they both work on restart. If not, try the following method below.

2. Disable quick start

Quick Start is a feature built into the Windows 10 operating system to help users start their computers faster. However, the functionality has always caused problems with the Windows shutdown process and prevented the mouse and keyboard from working during startup. Disabling this feature (during boot in safe mode) could help resolve the issue of mouse and keyboard operation.

Here’s how to turn off Quick Start.

Step 1: Type Control panel in the Windows search box and press Enter to open it.

2nd step: Tap “Hardware and Sound”.

Step 3: Select Power Options.

Step 4: In the left pane, press ‘Choose what the power button does’.

Step 5: Then tap on the “Change settings that are currently unavailable” option.

Step 6: Uncheck the “Activate quick start (recommended)” option and press the Save changes button.

3. Uninstall the recent update

If you notice that your mouse and keyboard no longer work after installing an update, the update may be buggy. You must uninstall the update to operate your hardware until a stable update that does not crash your mouse and keyboard is deployed.

Start your computer in safe mode and follow the steps below.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + the I button on your keyboard to launch the Windows Settings menu.

2nd step: Select “Update and security”.

Step 3: In the Windows Update section, select “View update history”.

Step 4: Click Uninstall updates.

This will open a new window containing a list of all the updates you have installed on your computer. These updates are sorted by installation date so you can easily identify the last update that messed up your computer’s mouse and keyboard.

Step 5: Right-click the update (s) you want to uninstall, press Uninstall and follow the prompt.

Restart your computer after uninstalling and your mouse and keyboard should work now.

4. System Restore

If you previously backed up your computer using Windows’ built-in backup tool before your mouse and keyboard worked, you can restore the backup to make them work again. Simply start your PC in the advanced recovery environment and follow the steps below.

Step 1: Select Troubleshooting.

2nd step: Tap Advanced Options.

Step 3: Select System Restore.

Step 4: Then choose the account or user profile in which you want to restore your backup.

Step 5: Enter the account password and tap Continue. If the account is not a password, leave the password field blank and press Continue.

Step 6: Select the backup data and follow the prompt to restore it.

Note: Any changes made to your PC after the last backup / restore point would be lost. Be sure to back up important data to an external drive before proceeding with system recovery.