Windows 11 - Mouse clicks not working after every startup, only Ctrl+Alt+Del fixes it temporarily
Hey everyone, I've been dealing with this issue for a while now and nothing has worked so far. Hoping someone here has a fix.
**The Problem:**
Every time I start my PC, mouse clicks don't work at all. I can move the mouse and hover over things, but I cannot click anything — taskbar, apps, desktop icons, nothing. The only fix is pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del and then pressing Escape/Cancel, after which everything works again temporarily. Sometimes it stops working again after a few minutes on its own without me doing anything.
**Important background:**
This problem started randomly a few days ago on Windows 10 (Atlas OS) out of nowhere — no new software installed, nothing changed. Because of this I decided to do a clean install of Windows 11 hoping it would fix it, but the problem persists even on a completely fresh Windows 11 installation with nothing extra installed.
**My Setup:**
- Windows 11 (fresh install)
- M.2 SSD
- 2 monitors
- Empty autostart (nothing enabled)
**What I have already tried:**
- Fresh reinstall of Windows 11 (problem persists even on clean install with no extra software)
- SFC /scannow → No issues found
- DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth → Completed successfully but problem still there
- Disabled Fast Startup → No change
- Checked Device Manager → Found and removed a hidden ghost mouse under "Mice and other pointing devices" → Problem still there
- Tested with a second different mouse → Same problem
- Checked Task Manager during the issue → No process using high CPU or RAM
- Autostart is completely empty
- Tried Windows + L (lock/unlock) as workaround → Sometimes helps temporarily
**What does NOT seem to be the cause:**
- Not a hardware issue (two different mice tested)
- Not a startup program (autostart is empty)
- Not corrupt system files (SFC and DISM both clean)
- Not the hard drive (CrystalDiskInfo shows all drives as healthy)
**Current workaround:**
Ctrl+Alt+Del → Cancel/Escape → mouse works again for a while
This is really frustrating especially since it started on Windows 10 and survived a clean Windows 11 install. Has anyone experienced this and found a permanent fix? Any help is appreciated!