[SOLVED] The frozen right click
This problem is going to hit your Windows 7 or Windows 8 PC all of a sudden. A right click will simply freeze in an unending blue circle. Mostly, it will happen inside an active window, but might happen on the desktop also.
Frustratingly enough, only the active window freezes, rest all around is OK. There are just two ways to come out of it. Either, restart the PC or close the window by clicking the X on top right corner of the active window.
Closing the window by clicking the X, closes the windows and takes you to the “Windows has encountered Error” prompt. Problem persists even after a system/antivirus Scan or a reboot.
There are a wide range of solutions on offer. Scan the system for virus, spyware, malware, etc. Some of them also involve a repair of windows repair using installation DVD to repair damaged files. Others involve defragmenting the hard disk or reinstalling drivers.
Microsoft Community are the worst offenders. Offering all possible solutions and tormenting the poor PC user who is still as clueless as he/she was at the beginning of the problem. In fact it is also dangerous to go with all those options as you might end up messing up the PC and create a new problem.
SOLUTION
The problem is recent installation/update of software which messes up the context menu. Context Menu is the list of options that is displayed on a right click.
Installation of software is surely bound to do this, but also be on the watch for an update! Because an automatic update is what you are surely going to miss.
The hunt for the offending software requires a two pronged approach. If you are pretty sure that you have installed a new software recently or updated one. Uninstalling it will solve the problem straight away. You need a reboot and a recheck if the problem is still there.
OR Step Two download a utility called Shell Menu Viewer, which shows the shell extensions on your PC and allows you to enable/disable each entry. Download the software from the following link
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview.html
The utility is free and available as standalone exe or with an installer. Note there is a 64 bit version also.
Double click to open it. I might have recommended right click to run. But not your best option right now, isn’t it 🙂
Allow the utility to scan the system and populate the entries. Results are displayed something like below
Sort the “Type” column to list the context menu, by clicking the heading “Type “. Check the dates on the extreme right and disable the latest ones, one by one to identify the one creating the problem.
You don’t have to delete anyone, till the time you shortlist the offending software. Once traced down, re enable the rest.
In my case, eerily it was an update from Microsoft, the recently updated Windows Live Essentials. Sadly I had to uninstall the software which I used quite often.
A bug in the system. Guess Bad Luck for me!!!