This may happen if some or all of the *.CUR or *.ANI files are missing in the
Windows\Cursors folder. These cursor files ship with Windows XP by default,
and are available in compressed format in the Windows XP CD-ROM.
Resolution (Please all before proceeding)
To extract ALL the *.cur and *.ani files, insert the Windows XP CD-ROM in
the drive and type these lines in the Command Prompt:
Expand X:\i386\*.CU_ -r C:\Windows\Cursors
Expand X:\i386\*.AN_ -r C:\Windows\Cursors
Note
Where X:\ is the CD-ROM drive-letter
_ is not a space, but an explicit "Underscore"
Change the target path if Windows is installed in a different folder/drive.
Now all the mouse pointer / icons should be restored. Alternately, you can
download ALL the cursor files from here (65 Kb). Unzip and extract the files
to your Windows\Cursors folder.