Rubin Shrestha
Rubin Shrestha
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Intermittent “Working in Background” cursor flashes repeatedly in Windows 11 on a Lenovo laptop

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I have a Lenovo laptop running Windows 11 where the mouse pointer intermittently changes from the normal arrow to the “Working in Background” pointer — the pointer with the hourglass-style busy indicator (a blue spinning circle on some systems).

The problem is not active all the time. It may disappear for long periods, but when it occurs, the cursor can flash repeatedly, sometimes approximately once per second for a fraction of a second. This is extremely visually distracting.

I initially did not know that Lenovo software was involved. I started by trying to identify which background process was causing Windows to change the cursor.

System information

  • Lenovo laptop
  • Machine type/model: 82Y7009FMX
  • Windows 11 Home 25H2
  • OS build: 26200.8655

Investigation

I first opened Task Manager, sorted the Processes tab by CPU usage, and visually watched for any process whose activity coincided with each cursor flash.

Microsoft Defender

This initially led me to suspect:

MsMpEng.exe

I temporarily disabled Microsoft Defender real-time protection for testing, but the cursor continued flashing. I therefore ruled out Defender as the cause.

Lenovo processes

I then monitored the Details tab in Task Manager and noticed this process appearing and disappearing:

LenovoVantage-(LenovoMachineFixUserAddin).exe

It was not one continuously running process. Each time it appeared, it had a new PID.

I repeatedly observed this sequence:

  1. The process was not present.
  2. The “Working in Background” cursor appeared.
  3. LenovoVantage-(LenovoMachineFixUserAddin).exe started with a new PID.
  4. The process later exited.
  5. It was started again, causing another cursor flash.

The executable was located at:

C:Program Files (x86)LenovoVantageService5.1.2606.17LenovoVantage-(LenovoMachineFixUserAddin).exe

Ending only this process did not solve the issue because it was launched again automatically.

I then ended:

LenovoVantageService.exe

After doing that:

  • LenovoVantage-(LenovoMachineFixUserAddin).exe stopped appearing.
  • The “Working in Background” cursor stopped flashing.
  • Neither process restarted during five minutes of observation.

PowerShell identified the associated Windows service as:

Service name: LenovoVantageService
Display name: Critical Service for Lenovo Vantage
Startup type: Automatic

Opening Lenovo Vantage caused the service and child-process activity to return, and the cursor flashing became much more frequent.

After resetting the app and restarting Windows, I also observed occasional cursor flashes while LenovoVantageService.exe was running before the child process appeared. Once I opened Lenovo Vantage, LenovoMachineFixUserAddin began repeatedly starting again and the flashing became much more severe.

Other troubleshooting

I also tried:

  • Terminating and repairing the Lenovo Vantage Microsoft Store app.
  • Restarting Windows.
  • Terminating and resetting the Lenovo Vantage app.
  • Restarting Windows again.
  • Checking Microsoft Store for a Lenovo Vantage update.

Repair and Reset did not resolve the issue, and no update was available.

Question

What could cause Lenovo Vantage Service to repeatedly start and stop LenovoMachineFixUserAddin and trigger the Windows “Working in Background” cursor?

Is disabling only Critical Service for Lenovo Vantage a reasonable and safe workaround, or is there a better way to stop the cursor flashing without losing essential Lenovo hardware functions?

I would especially like to preserve:

  • Keyboard-backlight control with Fn + Space
  • Volume and brightness keys
  • Power-mode switching with Fn + Q
  • Other basic Lenovo hardware shortcuts

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