Member Avatar for pinkrose

I'm not so sure what caused it, i think it might be a trojan or something. I cannot do the right click on desktop or even within a folder but i can do it on IE browser.

Does anyone have experienced this situation before? How to fix it?
Thank you

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by pjasimoes

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Several things can remove or block the right‑click context menu in Windows XP: persistent malware that hooks or disables shell features, a policy/registry change, corrupted third‑party context‑menu handlers, or a user‑profile problem. The symptom set in this thread (desktop and folder right‑clicks broken while IE still works, and Safe Mode restoring functionality for ) is a useful diagnostic clue: if Safe Mode fixes it, the cause is almost always something that loads only in a normal session (startup item or shell extension).

A practical, low‑risk workflow that has helped many users:

  • Verify whether a fresh local user account has a working right‑click; a positive result points to profile corruption.
  • Use a shell‑extension viewer (for example, NirSoft ShellExView) to disable non‑Microsoft "Context Menu" handlers, reboot or restart Explorer, then test. This isolates bad extensions without hand‑editing the registry.
  • Use Sysinternals Autoruns to inspect Explorer and startup entries; uncheck suspicious entries and reboot to see if functionality returns.

Because malware was mentioned by and , run a second‑opinion scanner (Malwarebytes is a common choice) and consider an offline rescue scan (bootable rescue media) to catch services or drivers that hide while Windows runs. Deleting an infected EXE often stops popups but can leave behind registry hooks or handlers, so re‑check shell extensions after cleanup.

If those steps fail: restore the system to a pre‑problem restore point or perform an in‑place repair after backing up data and product keys. Avoid manual registry edits unless there is a current backup or restore point. Restarting Explorer (the quick workaround suggested by ) is temporary; for persistent fixes, the Autoruns/ShellExView approach usually identifies the offending entry. Including Autoruns or ShellExView output (or a HijackThis-style log) makes targeted help much faster.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for helloadam

try downloading a AntiSpyware program like Spybot-Seach & Destroy. But for now what you can do it hold the CTRL+ALT_DELETE key (TaskManger) and find explore.exe and hit end task! WAIT that takes away the bottom bar of the screen right? Well no worry hold down CTRL+ALT+DELETE and this time go to File > New Task and type explore.exe and that SHOULD cure that for your windows user log on time.

Member Avatar for nanosani

Navigate to this registry value:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

In the right-pane, double-click NoViewContextMenu and set it to 0 if exists.
Do the same here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Member Avatar for wackywasp

hi,
i was having a similar problem thanks to a virus/trojan infected file. This file jus remained in my processes and would open a whole bunch of popups from ads1.xxx

and it removed my right click option on desktop. right click on any file. removed search. removed run. i could not change internet exporer options. could open or save files on ie etc...


this is what i did...


Removing the infection:
1. i looked through my comp to find the exe (some nero-keygen.exe or soemthign like that) and deleted the same.

2 then installed windows defender beta and did a full system scan.

This helped me get rid of the trojan/virus

but the otehr problems still remained.

to fix this...i installed xp-antispy and freshui. they are both free wares and have options to enable and manipulate your regitry with ease.

be warned u can mess things up if u dont know waht ur doing.

Member Avatar for goldeagle2005

try downloading a AntiSpyware program like Spybot-Seach & Destroy. But for now what you can do it hold the CTRL+ALT_DELETE key (TaskManger) and find explore.exe and hit end task! WAIT that takes away the bottom bar of the screen right? Well no worry hold down CTRL+ALT+DELETE and this time go to File > New Task and type explore.exe and that SHOULD cure that for your windows user log on time.

The file name is explorer.exe. (Note the trailing 'R')

Member Avatar for pjasimoes

I'm not so sure what caused it, i think it might be a trojan or something. I cannot do the right click on desktop or even within a folder but i can do it on IE browser.

Does anyone have experienced this situation before? How to fix it?
Thank you

Hello, everyone! I'm having the same problem here, with something extra... Only the 'My Documents' icon doesn't react to the mouse clicks, but this happens also for some zip or rar files (not necessarily on the Desktop).

I've ran Ad-Aware, Spybot, AVG AntiVirus, Windows Defender, SpyCatcher... and I've cleared some malware, but the problems persisted. And I've ran the sfc \scannow...

Also, the SpyCatcher GUI doesn't open in regular sessions, just in Safe Mode.

Oh, yes, and in the Search Tool, the 'dog' appears, but nothing else. In the Safe Mode, it works just fine...

I've tried a lot of solutions that I found in several forums, but so far, no good....

Any ideas?? Thanks!

pjasimoes

Member Avatar for jbennet

The 'My Documents' icon doesn't react to the mouse clicks, but this happens also for some zip or rar files (not necessarily on the Desktop).

I've ran Ad-Aware, Spybot, AVG AntiVirus, Windows Defender, SpyCatcher... and I've cleared some malware, but the problems persisted. And I've ran the sfc \scannow...

Also, the SpyCatcher GUI doesn't open in regular sessions, just in Safe Mode.

Oh, yes, and in the Search Tool, the 'dog' appears, but nothing else. In the Safe Mode, it works just fine...

pjasimoes

i think your registry is corrupted

Member Avatar for pjasimoes

I expected that... :-(
I think it's time for a re-install...

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