Right click dosen't work after using cleaning registry

jrg

After using Registry Clean and File Clean, when i right click on any desktop icon, the pull down menu doesn't appear. Only the hourglass showed up. I am using Vista.

I resolved the problem by system restore. Any idea what particular file or registry entry could have caused this?

thanks

jv16

Did you use the aggressive scanning mode? Did you try to restore the backup created by the product before using the System Restore?

jrg

I used the normal mode. I cleaned the registry twice over a span of several days. On the first occasion, restoring the backup did the trick. It didn't work the second time and so I used system restore. Because a lot of changes were made during cleaning, its difficult to pinpoint which is causing the problem.

rdtmk5

I found the following after a Google search. Using the indicated DWORD registry key, you can enable and disable right-click context menus in Windows XP. Maybe this is the key that was erased/changed:

Step 1: Click on "Start" and select "Run." Type "regedit" into the textbox and hit "OK." This command will open the "Registry Editor" window.

Step 2: Select "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer."

Step 3: Open the "Edit" menu and choose "New" then "DWORD Value." A new file will appear on the right side of your screen with the file name highlighted. Type in "NoViewContextMenu" for the new file name.

Step 4: Double click to open and type in "1" into the Value data box. Hit the "OK" button.

Step 5: Close the Registry Editor by selecting "Exit" from the "File" menu. Restart your computer for the change to go into effect and you have now disabled your right-click feature.

Tips & Warnings

* The change will affect only the current user. To disable for all users instead of selecting "HKEY_CURRENT_USER," choose "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" and continue with the above path.

* If you wish to re-enable the right-click feature, return to the "NoViewContextMenu" and change the Value data box to "0." Restart your computer.

jrg

But that's not a solution; I want to right click!

rdtmk5

It is a solution if adding the indicated DWORD registry key restores right-click functionality. That DWORD may have been accidentally erased or set to "1".

jrg

I tried, it didn't work. It must related one of the more than 100 "errors" detected by jv.

jv16

jrg wrote
I tried, it didn't work. It must related one of the more than 100 "errors" detected by jv.

Are you saying you still have the problem? I though you said you did a system restore?

jrg

Yes, I did system restore, but I also cleaned again in a bid to identify what was causing the problem. Now the system is screwed. It didn't help that I also used other registry cleaners. I don't think I can restore anything anymore as I don't know which restore point is good.

The situation now is that whenever I right click on any icon on the desktop, the system hangs. But when "switch user" and "log off" several times by ctrl-alt-del, miraculously, the right click functionality can be restored. But it takes some trial and error. What could possibly be wrong?

jv16

Have you tried to restore the backup created by jv16 PowerTools? You can do this from PowerTools' Backup Tool.

jrg

Yes I did. That didn't work either.. and I don't want to go too far back into history. Is there a way to identify which registry key is causing the problem?

jrg

It appears to do with this:

"NoViewContextMenu"=-

I used a reg file to include the above line. And after logging off and logging in, it works. But I have to add this line every time I restart the computer. Does that point to something?

Thank you

redseujac

What happens after running the reg-file in attachment?

jrg

It's still the same. Works if I log off and log in. But not after restarting the computer.