Right Click Crashes Windows Explorer

Each time I attempt a right click to access the context menu Windows
Explorer crashes. This is true whether I use Explorer or PowerDesk Pro 7 as
my file manager. As a result I am unable to zip files, rename files or run
executables as the Administrtor. The error message I get is simply that
"Windows Explorer has stopped working." I suspected that possibly Norton
360 was the culprit, but I disabled Norton 360 and the problem persists. I
believe this problem did not start until I installed Vista's SP1. I am
running Vista Home Premium on a powerful MicroExpress machine with ample
RAM. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

This is most likely caused by a third-party shell extension. See "Method 2"
here:

Right-click is slow or weird behavior caused by context menu handlers

Before I posted I tried ShellExView and
disabled all non-MS context menu handlers, but the problem continued
nonetheless.

It is in fact a conflict between Power Desk 7 and Norton 360.
Hope it helps.

I am familair with the Avanquest patch. However, to iinstall it I must be
acting as the Administrator. To run the patch as Administrator, I must be
able to right click. And all of of a sudden I am caught in a Catch-22: I
have no right-click functionality to run the patch that will restore
right-click functionality.

Is there a way to run the patch as Administrator without right-clicking?

BTW, I uninstalled PowerDesk; and I still had the same problem with Windows
Explorer -- no ability to right click, e.g., to change a file's name

What about other shell extensions (not only Context Menu handlers). Have you
tried temporarily disabling them as well?

Secondly, see if the Event Viewer provides any clue on the Windows Explorer
crash. Click Start, type eventvwr.msc. Check the Application and System logs
(match the date/time when the crash occurred.)

What about other shell extensions (not only Context Menu handlers). Have you
tried temporarily disabling them as well?

Secondly, see if the Event Viewer provides any clue on the Windows Explorer
crash. Click Start, type eventvwr.msc. Check the Application and System logs
(match the date/time when the crash occurred.)

Someone tipped me off to a simple fix. Using Regedit I changed Powerdesk
Menu to zPowerdesk Menu in
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\PowerDesk Menu. Apparently
by doing this I insured that PowerDesk's Context Menus load last, and that
was all it took. Thank you for your attentitive responses.

Interesting! So, it's the context menu handler shell extension in either
case. Wondering why troubleshooting using ShellExView did not isolate the
problem...

I have a VERY similiar issue....Just installed SP1 and now right-clicking on the desktop backgroundfreezes the system for aprox 20 seconds.  I might have to try ShellExView.Matthew

I gotta tell ya... I regestered in this forum even though I am running
windows xp pro to say thanks on the reg edit of "Someone tipped me off
to a simple fix. Using Regedit I changed PowerdeskMenu to zPowerdesk
Menu in
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\PowerDesk Menu.
Apparentlyby doing this I insured that PowerDesk's Context Menus load
last, and that was all it took. Thank you for your attentitive
responses."

It worked in XP too. Thanks

Context Menu Editor (free)

[RAG]

I am using Windows Vista Ultimate with SP-2, Norton Anti-Virus 2009, and PowerDesk 7. And when I used the following tip from this thread it fixed my problem. Thanks for the help. RAG

Using Regedit I changed Powerdesk Menu to zPowerdesk Menu in
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\PowerDesk Menu.

RAG Note: Because of the Right Click Crash problem, I didn't think I could Right Click to rename PowerDesk while I was using Regedit. So, to rename PowerDesk I left clicked on File, while I was using Regedit. Then I left clicked on PowerDesk, then left clicked on Edit, and then left clicked on Rename, so that I could rename PowerDesk to zPowerDesk.

[Asamp]

Hello All, does anyone have a fix for this in Vista Ult 32 because I also used the Shiminview app with no success. I cant right-click on the desktop to create a simple folder. This is what I have in regedit:

Key Name: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
Class Name: <NO CLASS>
Last Write Time: 22-Nov-09 - 13:26

Key Name: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\BriefcaseMenu
Class Name: <NO CLASS>
Last Write Time: 02-Nov-06 - 04:51
Value 0
Name: <NO NAME>
Type: REG_SZ
Data: {85BBD920-42A0-1069-A2E4-08002B30309D}


Key Name: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\McCtxMenu
Class Name: <NO CLASS>
Last Write Time: 16-Nov-09 - 09:25
Value 0
Name: <NO NAME>
Type: REG_SZ
Data: {01576F39-90DE-4D6E-A068-5B20C22BAAEE}


Key Name: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Open With
Class Name: <NO CLASS>
Last Write Time: 02-Nov-06 - 04:51
Value 0
Name: <NO NAME>
Type: REG_SZ
Data: {09799AFB-AD67-11d1-ABCD-00C04FC30936}


Key Name: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Open With EncryptionMenu
Class Name: <NO CLASS>
Last Write Time: 02-Nov-06 - 04:51
Value 0
Name: <NO NAME>
Type: REG_SZ
Data: {A470F8CF-A1E8-4f65-8335-227475AA5C46}

As you can see some of these have "NO NAME." How do I disable these to find the culprit.

Hi Rick, and thanks for the reply. The link you provided is for an app to remove items from the right-click menu. This thread is for users who right-click cause explorer to crash - this is also the problem I have, and I cant create a folder without right clicking.
I've tried:
chkdsk
Change DEP
Turned off Areo
SFC /Scannow
context menu editor

Dont know what else to try.

Hello again Rick, I realized that this was an old thread but I just migrated to vista, and as you can see I've already used the context-menu app with no success. Yesterday, I tried the Clean Boot method to find the culprit again with no success. I'm convinced that in my case, this is a Microsoft service problem perhaps a service that has not started.

It's an old thread and I only see what you recently posted since you did not
include the contents of the thread you entered. If you are having context
menu issues, the solution is usually to use an editor such as the one I
provided a link for to selectively remove third party entries until it
behaves correctly.

What convinces you that this is a service issue?

There are only two services that directly affect the explorer shell, the
Themes service and the Windows Desktop Manager, and niether would manifest
itself as a problem by crashing explorer when a context menu is invoked. The
Themes service not running would invoke a classic shell, and the WDM not
loading would result in no shell at all.

Again, context menu crashes are nearly always third party related. Common
culprits include those that deal with compressed folders (winrar, for
example), and antivirus on-demand extensions. If your installation of Vista
was an upgrade, then there is a strong chance that something you had
installed in XP is not compatible with Vista (either the application itself
or the version that was in use during the upgrade).

Believe what you will, but I think you're heading in the wrong direction
with resolving this.

[Asamp]

Well, my vista install was clean included sp1 and not an upgrade. I dont have anything such as Winrar, and I've disabled all Mcafee extensions with no success which only leaves windows services.

What else is left??

Hi Rick, can you guarantee me that this is the definite cause of my problem otherwise uninstalling then reinstalling would be a major pain.

P.S. Your link is for XP and I have Vista also, I dont have hi-speed internet, so reinstalling upgrading then downloading the definitions would take weeks!

Well, your link is to an app that's mcafee reads is for XP, your last reply indicated that it was more likely a context handler than an antivirus problem. What antivirus app will work and not cause this problem??

This does'nt make sense! What antivirus doesn't have these types of context menu handlers in explorer menus. I need a antivirus solution, so which can I use that will not cause this problem.

I'm also using an app called TweakNow Powerpack 2009, have you heard of it causing this type of conflict.

Uninstall the McCrappy (McAfee) software and run their cleanup tool:
http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?id=TS100507, see if this resolves
the problem. Just disabling extensions does not remove them.

Can I guarantee it? No, but it's a likely suspect. Troubleshooting means
trying different things to isolate the problem. Were the machine on my
workbench, I would take the same approach. I can only recommend based on
past experience when working support groups, it's up to you to decide what
to do.

Antivirus solutions, nearly all of them, add context menu handlers to the
operating system for on-demand scanning. It's not the program itself causing
the problem so much as the handlers. Sometimes, removing the program is
insufficient, you need to clean out the remnants, which is why I recommended
the cleanup utility (which is rated for Win's 2000, XP, and Vista according
to its documentation).

They all have them, but they aren't all implemented the same. Each version
of Windows requires changes in programming, and sometimes program vendors
are lax in following the new parameters.

FWIW, both McAfee and Symantec antivirus solutions have long been the bane
of support folk as both are overly intrusive, bogging down good systems, and
are well-known to cause numerous system issues for the masses since both are
commonly included in preinstalled systems. Removal is usually best way to
resolve the issues. Replacement solutions commonly recommended include, but
are not limited to, AVG, NOD32, Avira, Kaspersky, Avast, and BitDefender.

I know nothing of the tweaking utility you list. Simple question: Was the
system exhibiting this behavior before you installed it? If not, then it's a
possible cause.

Many 3rd party packages that claim to make a Window system run better cause
far more problems then they resolve because there developers do not have the
resouces to test them against all of the different permutations and
combinations of applications that may be installed each different version of
each OS.

[Asamp]

Hey!! which antivirus should I use that wont cause me these problems. You made the point of trashing macafee, so now what. I never had these problems with XP, and I used the same third party software.

Well, I dont know if these two app are the cause jointly or otherwise. Both of them were use in XP with no problems, it was only recently when I tried to create a folder on the desktop, or click on the file menu in my user directory that the problem was discovered.

I will uninstall both of these apps over the weekend to see if there's any change. I still think that this is a windows problem because I never experience anything like this in XP using the same apps.

[Pirat360]

In my situation, problem is just like in topick.
But never used any macAffe apps on this pc.
The latest apps I'v installed were some games, witch one of them needed aegia phisics app.
After I noticed the problem, ad-aware & Spybot S&D was insttaled and run full scan,... But here the problem occures one more time. Ss&d needed administratior rights to repair some damadged files,... no way :(
please help!!

[Pirat360]

I'v deinstalled aegia, and it helped,... BUT just for about an hour,.. ?!?!? WThack,...? help please
Oh the problem got even more massive,...
I can right click on screen but not on an icon, and now it crashes while launching skype (?!)

[meamy81]

I dont know about others... but after reading many post on various forums i thought to run Trojan Remover on my machine... and it detected an invalid key in registry and let it remove and rename the reference. now i'm able to right click as much as i can and this problem is not coming...

hope this will fine if anything occur even after that i'll update my reply...