Chrome Remote Desktop with Windows 10 headless NAS, No Physical Mouse attached, Cannot see mouse pointer, Mouse emulator

Question

Just moved to Windows 10, love the new look, issue is my NAS is Headless and I use a HDMI emulator so as to activate the display when I connect to it locally/remotely via Chrome Remote Desktop.

The problem is that this worked fine for Windows 7 when connecting to the headless gigabyte brix via chrome remote desktop.

Now there is an additional problem, if I don't add a physical mouse to the brix, when I connect via Chrome Remote Desktop, I cannot see the mouse pointer.

My Query: Is there a software based solution so Windows does not see my brix as a touch screen and hence not show a pointer

OR

Is there a compact hardware based solution something like this which I used for the HDMI solution

Answer 1

This is a known bug. A quick workaround (that you'll have to repeat each time you connect) is to click, hold, and drag the "Your desktop is currently shared" notification at the bottom of the screen. The mouse pointer will appear (but note that it won't change appearance when you hover over text or links etc).

Answer 2

A solution I've come across is to go to Settings -> Ease of Access -> Mouse and enable Mouse Keys (move the mouse with the numpad). This enables the pointer and still allows the mouse to control it.

Answer 3

I just ran into this problem (also Win10). Awkwardly find your way into the Control Panel > Devices > Mouse > Pointers (tab) and uncheck Enable Pointer Shadow.

That fixed it for me.

Answer 4

I have this issue when I remote into a machine without an attached mouse. I find that the mouse pointer is still active but you cannot see it.

If I go to Mouse Properties under Control Panel on the remotes machine the mouse will reappear for the reminder of the session. Not ideal but will work.

Answer 5

I know this is really late but maybe this could help someone else. I was able to fix my issue with this with enabling "display pointer trails". Its a little annoying to look at if you don't like that but it works!

Answer 6

Find a USB dongle from a wireless mouse. It could be a broken mouse or you could just buy the cheapest wireless mouse you can find. They cost like 2-3$. You just need the dongle, no need for the mouse itself. Plug the dongle and leave it there, the computer will detect a mouse and you will have a cursor when you use Remote Desktop. Most modern wireless mice have super small dongles and they don't get in the way and you probably have lots of USB ports, so I guess it won't be a problem to keep it plugged in at all times.

Answer 7

I got it to work my going to mouse pointer settings and checking the allow mouse pointer trail. This will make a long trail of the pointer but you can lower that underneath the check box and it will look normal!

Answer 8

I found that I could activate the mouse appearance by opening any window, then pressing alt-space to bring up the min/max/move/close menu. If I then clicked m for move it would activate the window movement cursor, which was visible.

At that point I could just click out or press escape and voila, I had a working cursor for the rest of the session.

A bit annoying but it's quick.

Answer 9

I managed to get it working by disabling "Hide pointer while typing".

PS: I do not know how this works for me

Answer 10

This link solved it for me - it suggests that if a mouse is plugged in at boot time, it works. Kind of inconvenient to plug in a mouse each time you reboot. But took care of it for me. Link

Answer 11

I solved the problem by disabling the tablet mode in Win10. Apparently, windows thinks that you are using a tablet when the mouse is not connected. I go into control panel/system/tablet mode/use desktop mode, and sign back in the system. The mouse pointer reappears.