Vedela--
1) I'll bet you can make anything on the context menu from File>New in an
explorer folder although I know you want it on the context menu.
It's certainly there on most people's boxes in Vista every build from the
start. It's not a Vista bug X86 or X64.
2) Try running SFC (System File Checker) by typing sfc /scannow into the run
box. I would have ordinary suggested System Restore but you have been clear
that this is the way you found it fromt he start and I can only puzzle if
this is really the case that some .dlls or reg keys got injured on the
installation since we have to assume your burn had integrity to set Vista
up.
I like this screen shotted insturction from MVP Mark Liron for SFC. When
showing people XP SFC (I imagine you're very familiar with SFC we often
stress to do the regedit because the situation is that a huge percent if not
in thd 90's of subenterprise users don't have an XP or OS CD and even when
they do another significant percent run say SP2 and its files are newer than
the CD they have unless they've slipstreamed or gotten a recent one.
www.updatexp.com/scannow-sfc.html
In the case of Vista, however, this isn't necessary since your DVD would
have your build's files and it may not have the XP glitch of prompting you
often for the DVD--Vista usually goes to your files from DLL Cache on the HD
hopefully. That might be an interesting thing to ask the File Core Services
team, because the MSKB's on XP SFC stress that in 6 years the glitch was
never fixed that prompted users for a CD and many users will tell you they
have never owned an OS CD. This has been a pet cause of mine, and it
appears that in Vista, Dell at least plans to remedy that according to a new
entry on the Dell Blog here entered 10 days ago:
Dell Blog: Direct to Dell
Bloatware, Operating System Discs and Dell Software Support 10/17/2006
http://www.direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2006/10/17/3132.aspx
"Also, though this been in the works for some time before now, it's now
official. For U.S. consumer and small business customers, all systems will
now ship with an operating system disc. This change will take effect in
Europe by later next month. In Asia, things are unchanged-we've always
shipped OS discs with systems there."
This is what all 300 OEM named partners should be doing, but many
communicate to me when pressed that MFST has been in the forefront of
insisting they not provide an OS CD, (Accountant Scott Di Valerio OEM VP of
MSFT) something I'd like Mr. Allchin to push for changing as a final
recognition of his customers before he leaves soon after a record of one of
the largest contributions to computing on the planet.
3) If SFC does not correct this, then you can try correcting this in the
registry. I know there are registry changes of course in Vista from XP.
These work in XP and the Vista registry has many similar keys and values,
but of course many diffreent ones. I haven't spent a lot of time in the
Vista registry yet to map out significant differences and will probably wait
for some of the work of people like Jerry Honeycutt who do a great job with
the large task of mapping it out.
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.html and create a subkey ShellNew. Now select this
subkey and create a string value in it named FileName edit this to point to
your HTML template. You have to place the template file in the ShellNew
shell folder (this is usually C:WindowsShellNew if it's not the case with
you HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindows CurrentVersionExplorerShell
Folders can give you some clues) if you don't want to use fully qualified
names.
If you want to create an empty file just type in NullFile instead of
FileName and do not set any value to it. Usually the filename of the new
file will be of the form "New html document.html" without the quotes.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.htmlShellNew
FileName="mytemplate.html"
or
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.htmlShellNew
NullFile=""
To define a program that will be available with right click for any file
create a subkey shell in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT* if it doesn't exist and within
it another subkey with the visual prompt that will represent the command to
execute (tip: you can use & before the character to be used as a shortcut).
Within that key create a subkey called command and set its default value to
the command. Remember that you have to specify the filename passed as an
argument to the program with %1 and if you use long filenames (with spaces
in them to wrap %1 with quotes and/or the program name). The whole thing
should look like this (note you cannot place this in a reg file and import
it because backlashes have to be escaped)
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT*shellOpen with &Programcommand
@="C
rogram FilesSome programfilename.exe" "%1"
In similar fashion you can add your program that can handle directories in
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDirectoryshellOpen with &Programcommand or drives
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDriveshellBrowse with &Browsercommand.
Another useful method is to create a link to the Control Panel for example.
This is really a simple task just create a new folder and rename it to
Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} (the name really doesn't
matter but will surely help you distinguish this folder).
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARE MicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion
explorerMyComputerNameSpace contains CLSID's of shortcuts available in My
Computer. There is a corresponding key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARE
MicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion explorerDesktopNameSpace which as you
probably think is a placeholder for "shortcuts" on the Desktop, like the
Recycle Bin for example.
Good luck,
CH
(e-mail address removed)...
