Hello fredschall,
Thank you for your question.
It seems you are not alone with this unusual problem. But what you are
about to see is that there doesn't appear to be a definitive solution
and you may have to try a number of the suggestions listed below to
isolate your problem. My intuition says that something added to the
right click context menu is creating havoc on your system and that
might jog your memory as to something that has added a shell
enhancement on the right click menu that you may be able to uninstall.
Do check for added shell enhancements and read what others have done
and suggested below.
Annoyances.org has this to say:
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxp/n1043092889
"I've just upgraded a Dell system from Win98 first edition to WinXP
Home. Installation seemed to go fine, but now whenever I try to right
click on the desktop, whether it's on an icon or the wallpaper itself,
Explorer.exe crashes and then relaunches itself. If there is an
alternative method of accessing the function I want (e.g. Control
Panels/Network Connections instead of right-clicking on Network
Neighborhood) it works fine. No other problems that I can see so
far..."
Some suggestions listed are:
"You might want to try updating video and/or mouse drivers...
Your system is fairly old if it came with 98v1. Did you run the
Windows XP check on your system before installation of XP? Did you do
a clean install? Have you investigated to see if the model you have
requires any major updates before you install XP? Memory? HD free
space? System specs? Have you checked for updates to all the drivers
you require? There is one or more conflicts in your system and more
info would help."
Usenet Groups has a few postings on this problem:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=659B4CF1A5AB234E.EA005266901F4410.EBFB1D99F64100AF%40lp.airnews.net&rnum=2&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Dxp%2B%252Bexplorer%2B%252Bcrashes%2B%252B%2522right%2Bclick%2522%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26selm%3D659B4CF1A5AB234E.EA005266901F4410.EBFB1D99F64100AF%2540lp.airnews.net%26rnum%3D2
"I have a problem that has been growing with frequency......every time
I "right click" on a file to rename it, explorer crashes. I re-open
explorer, and can rename the file. Right click on another....crashes.
This is getting VERY annoying! I've shut down all but the bare
necessities in msconfig, changed mice,....and still I have the
problem.
I tried reinstalling XP over the current installation, and everything
was groovy...for awhile....now it's back to crashing when I right
click on a file. Any hints, tips, or insight??...
Reply: The only thing I can think of would be some application which
has explorer extensions has an XP compatibility issue. What other
software do you have installed on this box?"
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=659601c19260%246cbfcf30%249be62ecf%40tkmsftngxa03&rnum=8&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Dxp%2B%252Bexplorer%2B%252Bcrashes%2B%252B%2522right%2Bclick%2522%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26selm%3D659601c19260%25246cbfcf30%25249be62ecf%2540tkmsftngxa03%26rnum%3D8
"Since installing Windows xp, (upgrade), Windows Explorer crashes each
time I try to delete short cuts from the desk top, and some types of
files. Also crashes if I right click on a file or short cut.
Windows xp does not crash, only Windows explorer - all other programs
are working correctly with no problems.
Reply: Go to Start/Run, and type:
REGSVR32 URLMON.DLL
Then open IE, Tools menu, Options, Program Tab, and click the "Reset
Web Settings" button."
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=%23xmCZMrZBHA.1544%40tkmsftngp03&rnum=12&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Dxp%2B%252Bexplorer%2B%252Bcrashes%2B%252B%2522right%2Bclick%2522%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26selm%3D%2523xmCZMrZBHA.1544%2540tkmsftngp03%26rnum%3D12
"i'm using windows xp pro. and windows explorer crashes when i
right-click on desktop. what causes this?
Reply: Check your virus software if you have any running. XP has had
all sorts or problems with versions of Norton and McAfee before they
released an "XP" compliant version. I have had the same types of
issues that have all pointed back to virus software doing too much in
the background.
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=db0001c21644%24d5030f90%249ee62ecf%40tkmsftngxa05&rnum=46&prev=/groups%3Fnum%3D50%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DISO-8859-1%26q%3Dxp%2B%252Bexplorer%2B%252Bcrashes%2B%252B%2522right%2Bclick%2522%2B%26sa%3DN%26tab%3Dwg
"...Each time I right-click any file on my desktop, or in "my
computer" or "my documents," the system hangs. When I CTRL-ALT-DEL,
and end whatever task is up (usually the my computer or documents
folder), explorer crashes. Bottom line, I no longer get a right-click
context menu...
Reply: Most likely a flaky browser helper object (BHO) which attaches
itself to Explorer/Shell objects, like right-click menus. Try running
"BHO Cop" or "Ad-aware" (both available from download.com) to see if
they find, detect,
and remove the offending program(s). Likewise, you can go to
sysinternals.com, download a copy of "RegMon" for XP, and manually
find and remove the offending program yourself -- so long as you're
familiar with modifying your registry."
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=0b2f01c184b2%241b461f30%249ee62ecf%40tkmsftngxa05&rnum=62&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Dxp%2B%252Bexplorer%2B%252Bcrashes%2B%252B%2522right%2Bclick%2522%26num%3D50%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26start%3D50%26sa%3DN
"When I right click on a file to use the "send to" option in XP
Professional explorer crashes. Has anyone else experienced this and
what can be done about it?
Reply: You may have a removable zip drive, or other link in there with
a bad driver."
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=OGsq9qDNCHA.2604%40tkmsftngp08&rnum=111&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Dxp%2B%252Bexplorer%2B%252Bcrashes%2B%252B%2522right%2Bclick%2522%26num%3D50%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26start%3D100%26sa%3DN
"Everytime I right click on something my computer crashes. If I right
click on the small icons in the bottom left part of the screen (like
zone alarm or something) then everything is ok. The menu will not
even appear when I right click on something on the GUI (like a file).
anyone know why?
I have Microsoft Windows XP Professional with a 1.8 GHZ Intel CPU.
Everything was working fine for over 6 months and now this.
Reply: Check your settings here:
Click Start, Run and enter REGEDIT and Navigate to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Shell
Set the Default value to "none" without the quotes. To do this,
double click where it says Default.
Restore lnk association: Link File Fix for Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm "
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=04fe01c23a4f%24c5d6c7d0%243bef2ecf%40TKMSFTNGXA10&rnum=136&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Dxp%2B%252Bexplorer%2B%252Bcrashes%2B%252B%2522right%2Bclick%2522%26start%3D100%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26selm%3D04fe01c23a4f%2524c5d6c7d0%25243bef2ecf%2540TKMSFTNGXA10%26rnum%3D136
"Almost everytime when I right click icons on the desktop and in
Windows Explorer, Explorer crashes and then I have to go to Task
Manager and end Explorer and restart it again. And sometimes it
crashes when I am dragging icons and even when I highlight an icon and
press delete, it crashes...
Reply: I also encounter this "explorer crashing" problem. My solution
was to uninstall Kazaa. This may be a long shot in your case, but
worth mentioning as I rebuilt my box and stumbled on to the solution.
And guess who released
an update two days later....that's right kazaa!"
I also checked the Microsoft Knowledgebase. These articles may be
helpful:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;311228
"Sound Card with Aureal 8820 Chipset May Hang Windows XP
The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
SYMPTOMS
When you run Windows XP on a computer with a sound card that is based
on the Aureal 8820 chipset, your computer may stop responding (hang),
forcing you to restart the computer. This is most likely to occur when
you log on if you have a sound event associated with logging on, or if
you right-click on an item to see a context menu and you are using the
new Windows XP theme...
Read the article if your computer happens to have this chipset.
There were no other articles at Microsoft that seemed to address your
problem.
Search Strategy:
xp +"right click" +crash
I trust my research has provided you with potential cures for this
annoying problem. If a link above should fail to work or anything
require further explanation or research, please do post a Request for
Clarification prior to rating the answer and closing the question and
I will be pleased to assist further.
Regards,
-=clouseau=- |
Clarification of Answer by
clouseau-ga
on
09 Mar 2003 09:23 PST
Hello again Fred,
It was another researcher that asked what programs you are running at
the time before I answered your question. The above information is
most, if not all, of the information I was able to locate on this
problem. I strongly suspect that something HAS installed a shell
enhancement (a menu item that apears on right click) that is not
compatible with XP - particulalry when noting that this was an upgrade
from 98 to XP.
I would read through the articles listed above and systematically see
if you can find the conflict. Do check for current video and mouse
drivers. If the problem persists, you can post your results here and
myself, and perhaps other researchers will attempt to help further.
However, sometimes a problem like this is easy to diagnose and cure
and sometimes it is elusive. Based on all the threads I have found on
this, there does not appear to be just one fix for this problem and
you should be prepared for testing all the possibilities.
Regards,
-=clouseau=-
|
Clarification of Answer by
clouseau-ga
on
09 Mar 2003 20:10 PST
Fred,
In continued searching, I found target.dll is connected to shell
extensions, which I believe to be your problem.The following looks
VERY promising:
Found at http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=130
Target—95/98/Me/XP
Associated Files:
target.dll
target.inf
This is another one of my favorites that I've been using for years.
This one adds a Target entry to the right click menu of your
shortcuts—both Windows and DOS shortcuts. Simply right click the
shortcut, choose Target and the directory containing the shortcuts
target file will open with the target file highlighted. This is
another one I use in both 98 and XP without problem.
NOTE! The earlier version of this toy caused problems for some users.
Right clicking a shortcut would cause their computer to crash. If you
have this problem, there's a little registry fix available for this,
too, in my Files section:
targetfix.reg
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WinTips-Tricks/files/targetfix.reg
Or, if you're not a reg newbie and would like to do it manually, it
involves deleting these 3 keys:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\TargetContext
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{90A756E0-AFCF-11CE-927B-0800095AE340}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\piffile\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\TargetContext
Again, personally I have not had any problems with the Target toy in
98 or XP and the majority of users do not experience this problem.
Please let me know if this succeeds!
-=clouseau=-
|
Clarification of Answer by
clouseau-ga
on
11 Mar 2003 09:43 PST
Hi Fred,
I feel very strongly that target.dll could be the source of this
problem for you. It has all the earmarks as it will conflict with an
upgrade to XP. And your initial error is in target.dll.
Did you try the .reg file fix? It should be worth the try.
Try this version of the fix:
http://www.aumha.org/a/powertoy.php
"Shortcut Target Menu may be a problem if you use an early version of
PowerToys. This one was originally broken, but the problem is fixed in
later releases. (We call this the “Early TargetToy Bug.” This is why I
recommend you download and install a current version of the PowerToys,
rather than use a copy you downloaded in the past.) If an early
version of Shortcut Target Menu is installed on an upgrade to any
post-Win95 operating system, right-clicking on any shortcut will cause
Windows to crash. A Registry patch to fix this problem (based on
information from MS-MVP Alex Nichol) can be downloaded here.
http://www.aumha.org/downloads/fixtarget.zip "
If this does not work for you, remove Target Context from add/remove
programs.
This seems to be the cause of your problem, as I said. It is worth
focusing your attention on this powertoy.
Sometimes we do reach a dead-end on system problems like this. Most
often, we can find the cure, but sometimes it turns out to be a
combination of events or software that we can not discover through our
interaction at Google Answers. Should that be the case, I would hope
you will have seen the value in the research done for you and make
your choices accordingly.
DO try the above fixes including removal of the target you if
required. And reboot after each change to be sure.
I would also suggest posting your AOL question as a separate question
to allow a researcher skilled with AOL to tackle this problem for you.
Please let me know the results of the above, Fred.
-=clouseau=-
|
