DXGI 1.2 desktop duplication APIs can't draw the cursor to the desktop image

  • Article

This article helps you resolve the problem where Microsoft DirectX Graphics Infrastructure (DXGI) 1.2 Desktop Duplication application can't draw the mouse pointer to the desktop image.

Original product version:   Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012
Original KB number:   2920206

Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:

  • You have a computer that is running Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, or a later version of Windows.
  • The system uses DXGI 1.2 desktop duplication APIs.
  • You're running the Desktop Duplication application.

In this scenario, the Desktop Duplication application doesn't draw the mouse pointer to the desktop image.

Cause

This issue occurs because the system is using a third-party Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) graphics adapters or driver that doesn't support a hardware cursor. This issue doesn't occur if the graphics adapter uses the Microsoft Basic graphics driver.

Workaround

To work around this issue, update the graphics driver to support a hardware cursor. If the graphics adapter itself can't support a hardware cursor, set the cursor scheme to None. This setting can reduce the effect of the issue. However, mouse pointer images will still be missing if the pointer has transparency or alpha blending set.

More information

The graphics driver developer can emulate a hardware cursor by saving the background of the pointer image and performing a bit-block transfer of the pointer shape into the frame buffer. This method is used in the Microsoft Basic Display Adapter driver but was removed from the Display Only sample driver in the Windows Driver Kit (WDK).

For more information about DXGI, see DXGI Overview.