Right-click drop-down menu sticks

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Maybe you can help or send me in the right direction. For several months I have been trying to fix this problem. This is a Toshiba laptop about 18 months old running Win7 Premium Home (to my chagrin!). When I right-click on a menu item the drop-down menu shows as a faded image. If I chose an item from the dropdown, the item I choose remains on the screen until I re-boot…alternate programs…desktop, etc. I can’t move it and it is inactive. Any function behind the item functions normally. Problem is intermittent, but is VERY frequent.. Happens on all programs. Checked Win7 diagnostics and hardware checks out OK. Called MS ($60), they say it’s a hardware problem due to faulty mouse… tried different mouse… same problem. Called Toshiba… software problem…. go back to factory setup and reinstall every thing!!!! MS Answers report many people with same problem without resolution… Answers Chat is not working now!???

thanks

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Have you attempted a Repair Install of Win 7 (don’t know if you have an installation disk or not) or the non-destructive Reinstallation mentioned by Fred Langa.

If you have SP1 installed you can download the Win 7 iso file that includes SP1 here. You should be able to use the key with your present installation.

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Hi Ted,

I have Win 7 Home Premium OEM with SP1 installed, and no installation disc. I tried several System Restores thinking I might get back to clean version without success. I have not tried a Repair Install.
I’m confused about proceeding given the Warnings on the download page. Can you clarify please?

Thanks

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Is your graphics card driver up to date? Have you tried this after booting in safe mode, to see if it still occurs?

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I have std MS win7 graphics card with automatic updates checked. Wouldn’t that keep me current? I have not tried safe mode since problem may not appear into a session for some time, or sometimes immediately. I don’t think such a test would be reliable. Am I wrong?

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I have std MS win7 graphics card with automatic updates checked. Wouldn’t that keep me current? I have not tried safe mode since problem may not appear into a session for some time, or sometimes immediately. I don’t think such a test would be reliable. Am I wrong?

My guess here is that the issue is related to graphics card. Your graphics card has a manufacturer and that manufacturer can have new drivers without having them show with Windows update, so Windows update is no guarantee that you have the latest drivers.

The suggestion about safe mode has a rationale – in safe mode, your card is used through a generic driver, not the same driver you use normally. If you didn’t experience the situation, you would know it is the driver causing it. Of course, you stated that the problem is very frequent, so that led me to believe that it would be easy to get a session in safe mode and do a lot of stuff to see if the problem cropped up. It’s absence would not allow a definitive conclusion, but could be very telling, IMO.

If the problem is the graphics card driver, the potential for the issue to be there after the reinstallation is big…

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I think I have checked for updated drivers, but I’m not sure I am looking in the right place. Control Panel>Device Manager> audio controller? Don’t see video card as in ‘old OS’.

What should I be looking for? It’s a Toshiba laptop… do I need to call them (heaven forbid)?

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I am not sure which warnings you are refering to. I have downloaded the iso file and burned it to disk (right click the file and choose Burn to disk, works like a charm) This site, Digital River, is one of the authorized MS download sites and has been mentioned in several different threads.

The repair install has been an approved method of fixing difficult windows problems since before XP. Without the installation disks you would most likely need the iso file I linked to. Your PC may also include a recovery partition, but this would take you back to the factory settings as your PC left the factory. I would think this a last resort as all the changes you made would have to be redone. I suspect you are talking about the warnings listed on the repair install page. If you read through them, using the downloaded iso file should work fine.

I would also take a long look at Fred’s article to see if this method might be helpful. Because you have SP1 you would have to use the downloaded iso file with SP1 included.

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OK Ted,

I have read and re-read Freds Articles and your procedure. Two questions:

1. Fred’s approach seems a long way around the solution. Is there a reason NOT to take your more direct route?
2. The SP1 ISO file says a license key must be purchased after 30 day trial. Is this required or does my original product key suffice?

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Your original key should be able to be used with the downloaded iso file. The purchase key mentioned in the iso download is meant for those who do not have a valid key already. I have found Win 7 installations go much smoother than any other previous version in the vast majority of instances.

I cannot comment on whether Fred’s approach or a more direct approach would be best since I have not done either. I actually use Images. Once you get your system back to where it should be, start creating Images. These reinstallation problems will become a thing of the past as they have for many of us.

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I have done the Repair Install and it ‘appears to have gone flawlessly. Instructions said ‘do not automatically activate window…’ Can’t find ‘Activation’ window now. Will it autonmatically appear at the appropriate time? Can I force it so I can finish cleanup and backup image?

That’s the good news… bad news is that it did not fix right-click problem!!!!!!

Many thanks for your re-install assistance!

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You might want to try setting your visual effects for best performance to disable most windows 7 display features.

Go to the Control Panel System applet. (hold Windows key down and hit PauseBreak).
Click on advanced System settings
Click on the Visual Effects tab
Click on the adjust for best performance
Click OK
See if this fixes your problem. If It does, you can go back to the Visual Effects tab and re-enable the features one at a time to see which one is causing your problem.

Jerry

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I’ve seen a good number of Windows 7 PCs have a problem with right-clicking on files and folders, with the symptom generally being “my system hangs” or “I get a long delay (90 secs) before I can do anything”. Many times, the problem is an app or feature on the right-click menu being the problem. One of the apps that I’ve frequently found to be the problem is Zip programs (not WinZip). Reinstalling the zipping/unzipping program was found to be a temporary solution. Replacing that particular app with one known to be reliable, such as 7zip or WinZip, solved the problem. 7zip is free, WinZip is not — you choose!

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I don’t think I have used anything other than WinZip unless it is embedded in a program.exe. Any way to confirm presence?

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pdb430:
For what it’s worth, I have a W7 Home Premium setup, with a valid key.
I downloaded the SP1 file Ted is refering to; and did a repair install.
When it came up, it told me my system needed to be activated.
It failed activation with my valid key.
I used the Microsoft-provided automatic ‘phone procedure, and my system was successfully activated.
The first thing I did after that was to take an image, and I have saved that as my “gold image” to fall back on if I ever need it.
Since then, I take other images; but I hang on to my “gold image.”
Perhaps my story will reassure you.
Dick

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Installation went well, although it didn’t solve the right-click problem. Your assurances helped me take the plunge! Didn’t check ‘activate when online’ as suggested. Don’t see way to get back to activate copy now.

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I wonder if your right click problem is related to your hardware. Perhaps the mouse is bad.

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Yes possible although I have had same problem with built-in mouse and my Logitec wireless mouse.

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Yes possible although I have had same problem with built-in mouse and my Logitec wireless mouse.

Displaying a menu is not a mouse-dependent activity. You can display a context menu through the keyboard and maybe you should try that. Probably the easiest way to try it is select the item you wish with a left click and then press SHIFT + F10. See what happens then.

If you question is more related to a drop-down menu, you can also open it through the keyboard. Pressing ALT in Window Explorer will bring the dropdown menu and move the focus to it. Press the underlined key and open the menu, or just use the LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to move to the option you want to use and then use DOWN and UP to open the menu. Does it still persist when you select an option?

I would think this is a graphics card issue, as I stated before. Have you tried this in safe mode?

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Ted,

I can tell when its going to do it. There’s a delay in the grayed-out menu before it becomes full menu color. (Does that explanation make sense?)

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I guess my brain cell is refusing to fire because at this point I’m clueless what else might be causing this.

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Hi Ruirib,

It still does it in shift+F10. I don’t understand your second option. Pressing ALT in programs takes me to a different place. I’m not in Windows Explorer then.

Graphics Card… I go to Control Panel<Device Manager<Sound, video,etc. I see 'Intel Hi Def Audio HDMI' and Realteck Hi Def Audio'. I have checked for updated drivers and they are current and device is reported as 'working properly'. Am I missing something here?

I'll try safe mode next.

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If it does it with SHIFT+10 it clearly is not mouse related, as I suspected. My suggestion to use ALT was admiting that you were using Windows Explorer. So if you want to try that, open windows explorer and press ALT. That will bring the menu and you can open it. At this time, however, it’s clear that the issue is related to the menu’s display and not with the mouse, which I suspected all along.

Now, this can be caused by your graphics driver or the graphics adapter itself. Safe mode can also shed some light on that. Let me know how it goes.

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I am using xplorer, however problem occurs within programs… not just explorer-based apps. I just tried ALT on TOOLs>popups menu on this screen and it took me to the ‘FILE’ menu?

I don’t see video card in device manager. Where should it be?

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I don’t know xplorer. Any app with menus should allow you to open them through the keyboard, but the SHIFT+10 test clearly proved it’s not a mouse issue.

Did get to try using menus in safe mode?

Video card shows under Display Adapters.

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Fumble fingers,sorry… its Internet Explorer8. Display Adapters show device working properly and driver uptodate. Try safe mode tomorrow.

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Hmmm, no longer sure what happens with IE 8, I am already on 9. I think if you click ALT, the menu still opens and you can click one of the underlined letters, to open one of the corresponding sub-menus.
What is interesting now,anyway, is safe mode. That will tell give a good indication whether this is caused by the video driver or even the video card.

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