Windows 7 - Crud attaching to mouse pointer

Setup: Win 7 Home premium 64 bit

This is an odd problem. I periodically get some kind of crud that seems to attach to the mouse pointer. It looks something like the kind of `v' you might make to quickly draw as a representation of a flying bird.

But there 7 or 8, maybe more, stacked vertically. I'm not sure what makes it go away but it does after a while. (usually)

It appears to have something to do with the right bottom corner area of my screen where I have the clock just to the left of icons of the system tray. And finally a sort of patch or rectangular square that will make the desktop appear.

I just found today that if I rub the mouse around in that area, the crud gets many more vertical stacks of `vee', until finally its a little block about the size of a postage stamp, just a little shorter and square, and looks something like a speckled sheet or one with many bits of herringbone pattern.

The block has only happened after passing the mouse there many times. Usually it's just a single column of the these stacked `vees'

It appears I may need a restart or such this time, since the darn thing is not going away and is quite annoying.

Anyone have a guess what might be going on?

I didn't much feel like trying get a screen grab but I can if necessary, to get it figured out.

Remove your video drivers then reinstall them - that usually fixes this problem.

Regards,
GEWB

Check to see if you have Display pointer trails enabled in the Pointer Options tab of Mouse Properties.

No, no trails set... ever

Do you mean each time it happens, or that one re-install fixes for good?

If it is a driver issue, I expect it to be corrected the first attempt. If the problem persists after reloading the drivers then it is time to look elsewhere.

Regards,
GEWB