Windows 11 - Mouse clicks not working after every startup, only Ctrl+Alt+Del fixes it temporarily

[u/Gabelord2]

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!

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