Windows 7: Mouse Pointer is Missing

First of all, I don't know what I am doing. While I am home for Christmas my elderly mother asked me to fix her computer because it is "broken." What broken apparently means is that the mouse pointer is gone. I have tried everything I can think to do to get the mouse pointer back: going into mouse properties and choosing the proper device (it seems to be stuck on other pointing device, not the touchpad). That is the only thing I could think to do. Plus, I am not great at navigating without a mouse pointer.

Any advice on getting the mouse pointer back?

Try a different mouse on the PC and see if it works. That will tell you if it is a broken mouse or a PC setting gone wrong.