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Majority of right click menu options are gone

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I have several files on a win xp media center NFTS partition. when I right click on a file to get the menu, I do not
see several of the menu options anymore. e.g. do not see rename, properties
etc.

Also, when I double-click on file to play it, windows media player opens but nothing happens. its an avi file and yes I have all codecs.

I decided to try to make an iso image out of it so I could play it as a dvd bu when I go to add it to the list it says invalid filename. I also can’t rename them. When I click on one it just makes that beep sound.

What’s wrong with the files?

Topic

Clarifications

In reply to Majority of right click menu options are gone

Clarifications

This sounds familiar

In reply to Majority of right click menu options are gone

I likewise have XP MCE 2005, and have incurred this glitch a couple of times. I used System Restore to fix things, and fortunately it worked.

Look for a [i]restore point[/i] when you had full context menu functionality, and try to restore the computer to that time. If this works, problem resolved.

If this doesn’t work, do a scan check of the HD sectors:

chkdsk.exe C: /F

This program will identify errors and repair them at the next boot.

Another option is a Registry cleaner such as the free CCleaner:

http://www.ccleaner.com/

Microsoft has a [i]Knowledge Base[/i] bulletin on this issue, but I doubt you will find it helpful:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555362

If you still have no context menu functionality, you may need to repair Windows. However, try the first recommendations, and post back in this thread to advise regarding success (or lack of it).

Most likely you have a rogue context menu handler …

In reply to Majority of right click menu options are gone

This is NOT a hardware problem.

You have to identify what TYPES of file create the missing context menu items, then you can narrow it down to what is causing the problem.

This link covers more ground and is better written than I could manage at present:

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/slowrightclick.htm

Read the linked site for the background info then download ShellExView (from nirsoft.net) and run it.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview.html

It will scan the registry for all the shell extensions. Once the scan is over and the list is displayed, you need to spot the context menu handlers. Sort the results using “Type”, so that the context menu handlers are displayed together.

The linked site tells you how to overcome this problem.

How to get back open or explore options in right click menu.

In reply to Majority of right click menu options are gone

WARNING!!!!. Be careful when you do any changes in the registry, you can make your computer unstable or unusable.

Try the following steps.

Open CMD and execute the command
sfc /scannow
Insert your Windows XP w/ SP2 disc in drive…it scans all digital unsigned files and replace with signed one.
Registry Code
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\explore]
“MultiSelectModel”=”Document”
“BrowserFlags”=dword:00000022
“ExplorerFlags”=dword:00000021

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\explore\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
00,5c,00,45,00,78,00,70,00,6c,00,6f,00,72,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,\
65,00,20,00,2f,00,73,00,65,00,70,00,61,00,72,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,2c,00,2f,\
00,65,00,2c,00,2f,00,69,00,64,00,6c,00,69,00,73,00,74,00,2c,00,25,00,49,00,\
2c,00,25,00,4c,00,00,00
“DelegateExecute”=”{11dbb47c-a525-400b-9e80-a54615a090c0}”

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\open]
“MultiSelectModel”=”Document”
“BrowserFlags”=dword:00000010
“ExplorerFlags”=dword:00000012

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\open\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
00,5c,00,45,00,78,00,70,00,6c,00,6f,00,72,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,\
65,00,20,00,2f,00,73,00,65,00,70,00,61,00,72,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,2c,00,2f,\
00,69,00,64,00,6c,00,69,00,73,00,74,00,2c,00,25,00,49,00,2c,00,25,00,4c,00,\
00,00
“DelegateExecute”=”{11dbb47c-a525-400b-9e80-a54615a090c0}”
=====================================================
Copy this reg code into notepad and save as .reg file and patch it…..
Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
check Shell REG_SZ (string value) must be explorer.exe

Please post back if you have any more problems or questions.

By the way

In reply to Majority of right click menu options are gone

Did I mention that its only those specific video files? I know what file type it is. They are avi but wmp does not play them or recognize them as such.

I had this problem…

In reply to By the way

with files from a camcorder I recently purchased. Once I installed the software that came with the camcorder, the .avi files played. Do you have a new device of similar nature, and have you installed the software – not just the drivers – that came with the device?

This laptop is a couple years old

In reply to I had this problem…

This laptop is a couple years old. Its never had a prob playing avi files before. Actually only once but thats cause I didnt have the xvid codecs which is what these files have. you know all programs that do manage to open them just say invaild filename so im guessin the name is too long. I just dont know what to do right now.

Try moving the files……

In reply to This laptop is a couple years old

If your files are burried deep in a directory tree and the combination of directory structure along with the names of the files adds up to be too many characters (I forget the exact number), the name becomes too long.

Try moving a file or two that you know has a problem up to a newly created folder on the C drive. Then see if the problem goes away. If it does, you’ll need to move all your AVI files upwards in the directory structure (ie: don’t sub-clasify so much).

If you’ve got a long_long_long filename, Rename it …

In reply to This laptop is a couple years old

One of the most common problems with running a media file is that if the filename is too long, and your usual method of playing it is to just double click the file itself, you are trying to feed the entire filename through the interpreter routine in order to feed the file and the player into the same memory space, where one will then run the other.

The length of the filename is what can cause the problem. Have you tried running the AVI with the long.long_long filename from inside the media player?

Even if it does run, it is wiser to rename excessively long filenames because one program that WILL NOT stand for it is Nero – it’ll TELL you that the filename had to be shortened, mainly because optical discs will not tolerate long filenames onboard at all. 😉

conclusion

In reply to This laptop is a couple years old

I just decided to find the same files but with shorter names. thanks guys.

No problem..We are always here to help you..

In reply to conclusion

Please post back if you have any more problems or questions.

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