Hi,

Could be a video or mouse driver problem, though I'd suspect the former
based on experience. Update or reinstall both with the latest set from the
manufacturer of the device (not Windows Update).

Does it harm the pc? Sort of like stopping your car by hitting a brick wall.
Sure it stops, but how many times can you do that before it won't start
again? Turn off the pc from the start menu by hitting winkey/u/u or restart
with winkey/u/r instead.

Clean out the mouse.  There's probably gunk around the LEDs or on the
rollers which makes the ball stick (so you end up dragging the mouse but
the ball doesn't roll).  Or get a new mouse (they're cheap) since you
may have a hardware failure.

If you have 2 mice installed as shown in Device Manager, uninstall both
and install the software for just the one mouse (or use the included
driver in Windows if its features set is sufficient for your use of the
mouse).

_____

I assume you mean the cursor, and that you use a mouse.

Is it only with some applications that the cursor will freeze, or can the
problem occur in any application?

IF the freezing cursor is not related to a particular application, try the
suggestions below.

* If you have a wireless mouse, check the batteries.
* If you have a wired mouse with a rolling ball, clean the ball (and perhaps
the shaft encoders though that will require dismantling the mouse.)
* If you have an LED mouse or a laser diode mouse, clean the bottom of the
mouse and check the surface on which the mouse is used.

If the above does not solve the problem, try a known good mouse with your
computer AND try your mouse with a known good computer system, then post the
results here.

As to turning the computer off with the 'Power OFF' switch; doing that has
no bad effect on the hardware, but it will allow gunk to collect in the
software and perhaps leave open files in bad shape (how much gunk collects
depends on, among other things, whether you use FAT32 (not so good) or NTSF
(much better.)

Phil Weldon