Create New Directory – Gone!

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Several months ago, Windows Explorer lost the ability to create new directories. I have no recollection of anything happening to cause this, and thought I could get along without it, but now it’s downright annoying.

I have the feeling I lost a registry setting, but don’t know where or how to get that function in Windows Explorer back. Now, when I click “Create New Directory” nothing happens.

Any help appreciated. Thanks in advance

6rtury

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1. Does it give you any error messages that you can share with us?
2. Can you open a command prompt and create the same directory that fails from within Explorer?

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Riffraff:
As I said above, no message, informative or error, appears. Nothing seems to happen. I just opened a command prompt and created a directory that I was unable to create from within Windows Explorer. The option I click on in WE is the “new folder” link at the top of the screen.

6rtury

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Sounds like either you have some malware, or that something got corrupted in Windows.

Reminds me of an annoyance in IE: when a search engine takes over IE. You then type in a web address, including the http:// part, and rather than going to that website, it ALWAYS returns a screen full of links. No matter what you do, you can’t go directly to a web address. And in your situation, no matter what you do, you can’t create a directory.

Have you opened a command prompt and tried to create a directory there?

If you can’t create a directory while at a command prompt, try rebooting into Safe Mode and creating a directory in Safe Mode. If it works in Safe Mode but no where else, then it is very likely malware that is causing the problem.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Yes, I can create a directory from the command prompt (see above) and can also do it via Total Commander and X2. Sometimes, however, I am required to work in Windows Explorer (which I hate) by other programs. As for Malware, beside ESET Security Suite, my malware programs say there’s nothing going on. I think it’s a registry setting but don’t know which one or how it should be set.

6rtury

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I’d run a different malware scanner just to be sure. This sure smells like selective disabling of this critical function.

As far as having to create a directory in Windows Explorer, if a program requires that, you can open up one of these other programs you have in another window and create the directory with it, then go back to the Windows Explorer window that the other program opened up for you.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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