NEED HELP -- Windows Explorer locking up

[Guest]

XP is not allowing me to do certain tasks after I attempt to do anything
administrative to the system, whether those tasks include deleting files,
creating shortcuts, etc. PLEASE HELP.

For starters, I cannot right-click an icon on my desktop to create a
shortcut (or anywhere else, for that matter). When I right-click the file,
it thinks for a second (like the old hour glass) and then nothing happens.
Then, if I try to (normally) double-click that icon to open the file (or
program), it won't let me. XP seems to be hung-up.

This is also happening in my folders. When I try to delete files using
right-clicks or from the manual top navbar menu system, the drop down menu
won’t even open. Furthermore, when I try to close the open folder using the
'X' button in the upper right hand corner – you, know, the “close†button –
XP provides me one of those "error" noises. *BONK*

So... When I open the Windows Task Manager, it says all open programs are
"running" even though that is apparently not the case. When I click "End
Task," it gives me that BONK "error" sound again. But after about five
seconds, the "End Program Now" menu finally box appears and I am able to end
the "hung-up" program. Note: When it finally closes, Windows provides me a
message saying Windows Explorer encountered an error and needed to shutdown.
Then, for a moment, the entire bottom OS taskbar disappears and then
reappears, as if Windows Explorer restarted itself.

This sounds like an issue with Windows Explorer. ANY IDEAS WHAT TO DO???

I'm thinking of trying to revert to a much older system image to restore my
system to hopefully before this was ever an issue (it's been about five
months since this started happening, about a month after I bought my new
ThinkPad!). UGH.

Thanks for any help you can provide! Happy holidays!
Alex

 

[Ramesh [MVP]]

Right-click is slow or weird behavior caused by context menu handlers:
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/slowrightclick.htm

Right click causes and error and crashes Explorer.exe after installing Windows XP SP2?:
http://www.winxptutor.com/sp2/divxcrash.htm

--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User
http://windowsxp.mvps.org


XP is not allowing me to do certain tasks after I attempt to do anything
administrative to the system, whether those tasks include deleting files,
creating shortcuts, etc. PLEASE HELP.

For starters, I cannot right-click an icon on my desktop to create a
shortcut (or anywhere else, for that matter). When I right-click the file,
it thinks for a second (like the old hour glass) and then nothing happens.
Then, if I try to (normally) double-click that icon to open the file (or
program), it won't let me. XP seems to be hung-up.

This is also happening in my folders. When I try to delete files using
right-clicks or from the manual top navbar menu system, the drop down menu
won’t even open. Furthermore, when I try to close the open folder using the
'X' button in the upper right hand corner – you, know, the “close†button –
XP provides me one of those "error" noises. *BONK*

So... When I open the Windows Task Manager, it says all open programs are
"running" even though that is apparently not the case. When I click "End
Task," it gives me that BONK "error" sound again. But after about five
seconds, the "End Program Now" menu finally box appears and I am able to end
the "hung-up" program. Note: When it finally closes, Windows provides me a
message saying Windows Explorer encountered an error and needed to shutdown.
Then, for a moment, the entire bottom OS taskbar disappears and then
reappears, as if Windows Explorer restarted itself.

This sounds like an issue with Windows Explorer. ANY IDEAS WHAT TO DO???

I'm thinking of trying to revert to a much older system image to restore my
system to hopefully before this was ever an issue (it's been about five
months since this started happening, about a month after I bought my new
ThinkPad!). UGH.

Thanks for any help you can provide! Happy holidays!
Alex

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your help. Unfortunately, I tried everything and nothing seems to
have worked; I don't see any changes.

I seem to have some of/a combination of the symptoms that are listed via
these links, but nothing concrete... Nothing that makes me go "THAT'S IT...
That's the culprit!"

Any additional advice is appreciated!
Alex

 

[Ramesh [MVP]]

Alex,

What exactly have you tried? Have you used Shellexview and disabled all of the following:

icon handlers (non-ms)
contextmenu handlers (non-ms)
propertysheeet handlers (non-ms)

Post the contents of this registry key:
HKCU\Directory\Background\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

How do I view the error messages registered in Event Log?:
http://www.winxptutor.com/eventlog.htm


--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User
http://windowsxp.mvps.org


Thanks for your help. Unfortunately, I tried everything and nothing seems to
have worked; I don't see any changes.

I seem to have some of/a combination of the symptoms that are listed via
these links, but nothing concrete... Nothing that makes me go "THAT'S IT...
That's the culprit!"

Any additional advice is appreciated!
Alex

 

[Guest]

Ramesh,
Thanks for your note. I appreciate your help.

I used Shellexview and disabled all items in all three categories (non-ms)
-- icon, contextmenu and propertysheet handlers. No improvements.

Note: I am assuming I don't need to reboot my system after every inidividual
disable, right? I'm assuming I just need to disable each item via
Shellexview and then right-click on a desktop item. If the problem doesn't
immediately improve, I re-enable that item and move on to disabling the next
applicable item until something improves... Which unfortunately didn't
happen.

I could not find that registry key on my system. By "HKCU" I am assuming
you mean HKEY_CURRENT_USER. There is no Directory subfolder within that
registry key. (Excuse me if I'm not using the correct terminology... You'd
think being an ex-IBM'er, I'd know a little more about this stuff!)

I was able to view the error messages in the error log. Following is a copy
of the message I am receiving:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Application Hang
Event Category: (101)
Event ID: 1002
Date: 12/30/2004
Time: 2:55:28 PM
User: N/A
Computer: ALEX
Description:
Hanging application explorer.exe, version 6.0.2900.2180, hang module
hungapp, version 0.0.0.0, hang address 0x00000000.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 41 70 70 6c 69 63 61 74 Applicat
0008: 69 6f 6e 20 48 61 6e 67 ion Hang
0010: 20 20 65 78 70 6c 6f 72 explor
0018: 65 72 2e 65 78 65 20 36 er.exe 6
0020: 2e 30 2e 32 39 30 30 2e .0.2900.
0028: 32 31 38 30 20 69 6e 20 2180 in
0030: 68 75 6e 67 61 70 70 20 hungapp
0038: 30 2e 30 2e 30 2e 30 20 0.0.0.0
0040: 61 74 20 6f 66 66 73 65 at offse
0048: 74 20 30 30 30 30 30 30 t 000000
0050: 30 30 00

Please let me know if you have any additional thoughts. Once again, I
appreciate your help. Happy New Year!
Alex

 

[Ramesh [MVP]]

Hi Alex,

My mistake. It should be HKCR (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT) and not HKCU. BTW, the event log does not reveal a module name.

--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User
http://windowsxp.mvps.org


Ramesh,
Thanks for your note. I appreciate your help.

I used Shellexview and disabled all items in all three categories (non-ms)
-- icon, contextmenu and propertysheet handlers. No improvements.

Note: I am assuming I don't need to reboot my system after every inidividual
disable, right? I'm assuming I just need to disable each item via
Shellexview and then right-click on a desktop item. If the problem doesn't
immediately improve, I re-enable that item and move on to disabling the next
applicable item until something improves... Which unfortunately didn't
happen.

I could not find that registry key on my system. By "HKCU" I am assuming
you mean HKEY_CURRENT_USER. There is no Directory subfolder within that
registry key. (Excuse me if I'm not using the correct terminology... You'd
think being an ex-IBM'er, I'd know a little more about this stuff!)

I was able to view the error messages in the error log. Following is a copy
of the message I am receiving:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Application Hang
Event Category: (101)
Event ID: 1002
Date: 12/30/2004
Time: 2:55:28 PM
User: N/A
Computer: ALEX
Description:
Hanging application explorer.exe, version 6.0.2900.2180, hang module
hungapp, version 0.0.0.0, hang address 0x00000000.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 41 70 70 6c 69 63 61 74 Applicat
0008: 69 6f 6e 20 48 61 6e 67 ion Hang
0010: 20 20 65 78 70 6c 6f 72 explor
0018: 65 72 2e 65 78 65 20 36 er.exe 6
0020: 2e 30 2e 32 39 30 30 2e .0.2900.
0028: 32 31 38 30 20 69 6e 20 2180 in
0030: 68 75 6e 67 61 70 70 20 hungapp
0038: 30 2e 30 2e 30 2e 30 20 0.0.0.0
0040: 61 74 20 6f 66 66 73 65 at offse
0048: 74 20 30 30 30 30 30 30 t 000000
0050: 30 30 00

Please let me know if you have any additional thoughts. Once again, I
appreciate your help. Happy New Year!
Alex

 

[Guest]

Hi Ramesh,
No worries. There was one folder under that file path: "New" Following
are its contents:

Name: Default
Type: REG_SZ
Data: {D969A300-E7FF-11d0-A93B-00A0C90F2719}

Does that help at all?

Btw, what is the significance of the error log not revealing a module name?

 

[Ramesh [MVP]]

Hi Alex,

{D969A300-E7FF-11d0-A93B-00A0C90F2719} is the system default (New object service) and no additional handlers found. The event log usually reveals the DLL module name which has caused the error, but in this case it has not. Though there is no solid clue about the error, I'd try a clean-boot, and follow-up with malware cleanup. Also, if you have a older DivX product, and running SP2, the right-click issue will be seen.

How to perform advanced clean-boot troubleshooting in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434

The Parasite Fight - Quick Fix Protocol:
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.php

Additional Note: Ronald posts that the "Shell Image Verbs" - shimgvw.dll itself was causing a _similar_ issue:
http://groups.google.co.in/groups?hl=en&lr=&[email protected]

Happy New Year!!

--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User
http://windowsxp.mvps.org


Hi Ramesh,
No worries. There was one folder under that file path: "New" Following
are its contents:

Name: Default
Type: REG_SZ
Data: {D969A300-E7FF-11d0-A93B-00A0C90F2719}

Does that help at all?

Btw, what is the significance of the error log not revealing a module name?

 

[Ramesh [MVP]]

Also worth looking Gary's post here:

AumHa Forums :: View topic - Specific Issue - Win Explorer crashes on right click:
http://forum.aumha.org/viewtopic.php?t=7307

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875352
--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User
http://windowsxp.mvps.org


Hi Alex,

{D969A300-E7FF-11d0-A93B-00A0C90F2719} is the system default (New object service) and no additional handlers found. The event log usually reveals the DLL module name which has caused the error, but in this case it has not. Though there is no solid clue about the error, I'd try a clean-boot, and follow-up with malware cleanup. Also, if you have a older DivX product, and running SP2, the right-click issue will be seen.

How to perform advanced clean-boot troubleshooting in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434

The Parasite Fight - Quick Fix Protocol:
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.php

Additional Note: Ronald posts that the "Shell Image Verbs" - shimgvw.dll itself was causing a _similar_ issue:
http://groups.google.co.in/groups?hl=en&lr=&[email protected]

Happy New Year!!

--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User
http://windowsxp.mvps.org


Hi Ramesh,
No worries. There was one folder under that file path: "New" Following
are its contents:

Name: Default
Type: REG_SZ
Data: {D969A300-E7FF-11d0-A93B-00A0C90F2719}

Does that help at all?

Btw, what is the significance of the error log not revealing a module name?

 

[Guest]

What is DEP and how do I disable it? One of the threads on the AumHa forums
says they used this as a work-around and it seems fine.

I tried the clean boot -- no improvements. This is very perplexing.

Thanks!
Alex

 

[Guest]

Sorry... I figured out what DEP is and how to disable it. I'm going to try
that now. If that doesn't work, I'm going to use System Restore.

Thanks!
Alex

 

[Guest]

Ramesh,
Thanks for all your help. Unfortunately, nothing we've tried has worked.

Apparently, I don't have DEP on my system, so I couldn't disable it. So...

I decided to revert to System Restore using XP. Unfortunately, for some
reason, the only system restore image XP had was from this morning. That's
not going to help me a whole heckuva lot since this problem has been
occurring for a few months. I thought XP took multiple system restore images
and saved those. I have the max memory for system restore selected. Not
sure why I didn't have more restore dates/options available. Odd.

So... My ThinkPad also has Rapid Restore. I am confident you are familiar
with this program... Very similar to system restore. I tried using that...
But it didn't have any earlier system points to which I could revert. Again,
odd.

Since I am not able to revert to any earlier system snapshots, I guess the
only option I have left is to reload my entire OS. Any last suggestions
before I move onto that option?

Thanks!
Alex

 

[Ramesh [MVP]]

I've heard about the the restore option, but I'm more familiar with Compaq/HP systems (as a past Compaq technician). Good Luck, and keep us posted, Alex.

--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User
http://windowsxp.mvps.org


Ramesh,
Thanks for all your help. Unfortunately, nothing we've tried has worked.

Apparently, I don't have DEP on my system, so I couldn't disable it. So...

I decided to revert to System Restore using XP. Unfortunately, for some
reason, the only system restore image XP had was from this morning. That's
not going to help me a whole heckuva lot since this problem has been
occurring for a few months. I thought XP took multiple system restore images
and saved those. I have the max memory for system restore selected. Not
sure why I didn't have more restore dates/options available. Odd.

So... My ThinkPad also has Rapid Restore. I am confident you are familiar
with this program... Very similar to system restore. I tried using that...
But it didn't have any earlier system points to which I could revert. Again,
odd.

Since I am not able to revert to any earlier system snapshots, I guess the
only option I have left is to reload my entire OS. Any last suggestions
before I move onto that option?

Thanks!
Alex

 

[Guest]

Service Pack 2 is the answer...it has the new DEP module in it that will shut
down everything it doesnt like...and it is not descriminatory. You cant turn
DEP off...it is a fact of the Pack 2. Go back to 1. Complete restore.

 

[Ricky]

You can't turn it off but you can exclude programs from it.

 

[Joshua Smith [MSFT]]

Hi Juan,

Here is an article on DEP. It discusses how to turn it off if you want, but
the purpose of it is to stop executable code from running in memory that
executable code is not supposed to be. This is how worms use buffer
overflows to execute and infect your system.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2mempr.mspx

The section of this article that deals with turning it off in the system
says you need to add/edit a parameter in your boot.ini file so that it has:

/noexecute=AlwaysOff

Joshua Smith
OpenGL Test Lab
Microsoft