Mouse randomly stops working

Discussions about using Linux guests in VirtualBox.
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smithy2306
Posts: 3
Joined: 6. Dec 2011, 02:13
Primary OS: MS Windows XP
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Windows server 2003

Mouse randomly stops working

Post by smithy2306 »

Windows 7 host.
Centos 7 guest.
Virtualbox Version 5.2.6 r120293 (Qt5.6.2)

This issue is a real pain and happens randomly. I don't know how to reproduce it. I can be using my VM for a couple of hours then the mouse magically stops working and I have to restart the VM. Very annoying when you have a lot of things up and running. The keyboard still works, e.g. I can use alt tab to switch between windows, but that's it.

If there is any specific info I can give to help fix this please let me know.

Thanks.
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Mouse randomly stops working

Post by socratis »

I've seen a couple of reports here and there, nothing solid. We're going to need to see a VM log from a complete VM run that shows the error happening:
  • Start the VM from cold-boot (not from a paused or saved state) / Observe error / Shutdown the VM (force close it if you have to).
  • With the VM completely shut down (not paused or saved), right-click on the VM in the VirtualBox Manager and select "Show Log".
  • Save only the first "VBox.log", ZIP it and attach it to your response. See the "Upload attachment" tab below the reply form.
It may take you a while to get the correct log, don't worry about it. I simply want a clean start, see error, shutdown.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
MrDavidL
Posts: 3
Joined: 3. Jan 2019, 02:47

Re: Mouse randomly stops working

Post by MrDavidL »

Host: Windows 10
Guest: CentOS 7.6.1810
VirtualBox: 6.0.0

As I have been fighting the same issue ever since upgrading both CentOS 7 and VBox, I figured I'd try tacking onto this thread. Though similar to smithy2306, this problem doesn't appear to be so random or elusive. It happens every time I begin to use the machine, usually after interacting with an application that requires some sort of single- or double-clicking (e.g. open Firefox, click "Restore Session"). The mouse cursor still appears and moves, but any click-and-drag functionality disappears. Sometimes I can manage to grab the edge of a window and resize it a little, and then temporarily regain some functionality. Some notes and things I've tried so far:
  • Most current version of Guest Additions is installed (6.0.0)
  • Not using seamless mode
  • Occurs whether in full-screen mode or not
  • Tried adding a mouse config file as /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/01-mouse.conf with no effect (since removed)
  • Tried killing any drag-and-drop processes as suggested in a previous thread entitled "Mouse click lost after a while" (would post the link but this is my virgin post...), also with no effect
I have attached a copy of the most recent log file. Please let me know if I can provide any further information. Thanks!
Attachments
CentOS 7 Graphic-2019-01-02-18-53-42.zip
(26.98 KiB) Downloaded 138 times
Last edited by MrDavidL on 3. Jan 2019, 06:31, edited 2 times in total.
rettops
Posts: 1
Joined: 3. Jan 2019, 04:29

Re: Mouse randomly stops working

Post by rettops »

I have exactly the same problem - same version of everything:

Host: Windows 10
Guest: CentOS 7.6.1810
VirtualBox: 6.0.0

Every time I start my VM, mouse clicking works perfectly. Very shortly afterwards (and I haven't been able to pinpoint any cause) everything works fine except that mouse clicks within the guest window do nothing. Once that happens, mouse clicks outside the guest VM work fine, but mouse clicks within the VM have no effect. The mouse clicks work on the VBox menu, but not on the CentOS menus, icons, or windows. Mouse movement, mouse hover, and the mouse wheel are all fine - it just affects the click (left, right, and middle).

Hmm. Bringing up an emacs window seems to trigger the change, and I also noticed something odd - double-clicks within the emacs window get a 'Mark set' message even when the mouse clicks are unrecognized everywhere else, and I can still change the focus between emacs buffers with the mouse.

Even stranger ... I can click the emacs menus, and after that clicking works everywhere for a little bit, then reverts back to not recognizing clicks outside the emacs window. I can do that over and over again if the emacs window maintains focus. If the emacs window doesn't have focus when the mouse click disappears, then clicks within the emacs window are ignored also.

Anybody have any idea what's going on and how to possibly work around it? I've tried toggling 'mouse integration' with no luck.
MrDavidL
Posts: 3
Joined: 3. Jan 2019, 02:47

Re: Mouse randomly stops working

Post by MrDavidL »

I get a similar behavior within certain apps — for example, if Firefox has multiple tabs open and the issue kicks in, I can't click on any buttons or fields, use the mouse to switch to a different window, or drag the window around the screen, but I can use the mouse to switch between the different tabs. And in the terminal, I can still use the mouse to highlight text and copy/paste. If I kill the Firefox process, normal functionality seems to return for a bit.

I have also tried toggling "mouse integration" to no positive effect.

What's particularly maddening is that I had no issues whatsoever before a recent round of upgrades, both of the CentOS 7 environment and VBox. Wish I could remember the exact VBox version, probably 5.2.18 or 5.2.20. Had similar issues with 5.2.22 as well.
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Mouse randomly stops working

Post by socratis »

Moving from "Windows Hosts" to "Linux Guests".

In that section you'll also find the thread "[Invalid] Mouse only usable within single application after mouse click on RHEL 7.6 (#18124)", which describes the problem. Read that thread for more info...
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
MrDavidL
Posts: 3
Joined: 3. Jan 2019, 02:47

Re: Mouse randomly stops working

Post by MrDavidL »

Thank you @socratis, missed that in the initial search and it certainly answers a lot of questions!
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Mouse randomly stops working

Post by socratis »

@MrDavidL
Because you thought that the problem was host-based, not guest-based... ;)
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
Anuj Kumar
Posts: 1
Joined: 3. Mar 2021, 12:28

Re: Mouse randomly stops working

Post by Anuj Kumar »

I am also facing same issue. I am facing the same issue in multiple app on the CentOS.
EddyR
Posts: 16
Joined: 23. Jul 2019, 09:49

Re: Mouse randomly stops working

Post by EddyR »

I am using VirtualBox 6.1.22 r 144080 (Qt5.6.2) on a Windows 10 Enterprise installation.
The client is also a Windows 10.

The mouse integration - infrequently but still very annoyingly - sometimes stops working. First it "seems" to be stuck in one of the client's windows but if I disable the Input -> Mouse Integration then I can get mouse input in the client and use the right-CTRL to move back to the host Windows. After some period of time, the mouse integration returns.

Which log files would you like to look at?

Eddy
Gijs
Posts: 1
Joined: 4. Mar 2022, 11:08

Re: Mouse randomly stops working

Post by Gijs »

I have changed the Display/VGA settings to VBoxVGA and that helped.
Later I added the menu at the guest (Host key + C, in Windows host that is RIGHT CTRL+C). That allowed me to change VGA settings back to VMSVGA, and mouse was recognized again.
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