Drag and drop problem 7

[rocmills]

The machine is a Dell Dimension 4600 running XP Home. Suddenly, we cannot drag and drop items in Windows Explorer. There were no new programs installed, nothing unusual before this started happening. We have run updated virus scans and AdAware with no results. Cut and paste works, but not drag and drop. Anyone have any ideas?


--Roc
"Whatever one man can dream, another can accomplish" - Jules Verne

 

[bcastner]

This is often an indication of the blaster worm or one of its many variants. Some of the early symptoms of infection observed by others in the newsgroups:

* If you see a process running called "msblast.exe", you have it.
* SVCHOST shuts down with errors
* Drag and drop stops working
* Add/Delete programs comes up blank with a "Cl&ose" button
* File Search will fail to launch
* Shift-Click in Internet Explorer (to launch in new window) does not work
* Internet Explorer shows a blank version number (Help->About Internet Explorer)
* Numerous programs (MS-Word/Excel, EZ-CDCreator, etc.), will not launch
* Outlook Express will fail with (insufficient memory) if one tries to send a new message

A check of your system for the msblast issue would be a good idea. Some resources:

http://www.newtechhelp.com/virus/blaster-welchia/

 

[rocmills]

Thanks for the prompt response, Bill, but I don't think blaster, or any other virus, is the problem. As I originally said, we ran a complete and updated virus scan (McAfee) and I also checked running processes... everything there looks normal. No "mblast.exe" - also not experiencing *any* of the other blaster symptoms you listed.

Any other ideas? Anyone?

--Roc
"Whatever one man can dream, another can accomplish" - Jules Verne

 

[bcastner]

Good, then we can try two other remedies. I am assuming by the way that you are not receiving any error messages during your attempts to drag and drop.

1. Check your settings in DCOMCNFG.

This is based on MS KB Q274696:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q274696

For XP the modified solution is to open dcomcnfg, go to the properties page for Component Services | Computers | My Computer, go to the Default COM Security page, under "Access Permissions" click "Edit Default" and make sure that the local SYSTEM and INTERACTIVE users have "Access Permission" with the "Allow" checkbox checked.


2. Re-register some DLLs.

Start, Run, and either type CMD and paste the below as a box into the CMD session, or enter each line one-by-one:

regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 Shdocvw.dll
regsvr32 Msjava.dll
regsvr32 Actxprxy.dll
regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll
regsvr32 Mshtml.dll
regsvr32 Browseui.dll
regsvr32 Shell32.dll
regsvr32 riched20.dll

 

[rocmills]

(laughing)

Bill,

Thank you very much for the directions. Only one problem... you wrote them as if I'd ever seen that page before! LOL I got as far as running DCOMCNFG and opened the tree as far as My Computer. But I don't know how, or see an obvious way, to:

a) go to the properties page
b) find the Default COM Security page
c) do anything beyond that

LOL again

I am new to XP and network issues have never been my forte. If you could provide more step-by-step instructions, my husband and I would be very grateful (it's his computer which is having this problem).

Thanks again!



--Roc
"Whatever one man can dream, another can accomplish" - Jules Verne

 

[rocmills]

Bill,

Never mind, I poked about a bit more and found where you sent me. I'm pretty sure I did everything right.

When re-registering the dlls, I got the following two failures:

1) "msjava.dll was not found"
(which might explain why most java doesn't work for my husband);
and
2) "riched20.dll was loaded, but the DllRegisterServer entry point was not found. This file can not be registered."

Rebooted with no change to original problem. We also discovered that he can't drag and drop desktop icons, either.

--Roc
"Whatever one man can dream, another can accomplish" - Jules Verne

 

[bcastner]

Start, Run, dcomcnfg

Expand Component Services
Expand Computers
Click on 'My Computer'
Click on the menu bar at roughly top center the little computer icon.
Click on the tab Default COM Security
Click on Edit Default

You should see both SYSTEM and INTERACTIVE. If only SYSTEM, click Add.
Click 'Advanced'
Click 'Find Now'
Scroll the list and click on 'INTERACTIVE'
OK, then on the next screen OK
You should see now where only SYSTEM was listed, INTERACTIVE listed as well.

Okay your way out back to windows.

 

[SYAR2003]

Just a longshot.
Right click on the start button
Select properties
Highlight the start menu tab
Click customize
Highlight the advanced tab
Scroll down
Enable dragging and dropping (checked)

 

[rocmills]

Yep, that's exactly what we did, plus a reboot. Problem remains unchanged. Did additional virus scan, just to be certain. Results negative.


--Roc
"Whatever one man can dream, another can accomplish" - Jules Verne

 

[rocmills]

Syar2003,

Thanks for the suggestion, but the box was already checked.

Sigh.


--Roc
"Whatever one man can dream, another can accomplish" - Jules Verne

 

[bcastner]

Last two thoughts for tonight:

1. Start, Run, sfc /Scannow

This will do a version and integrity check of XP system files.

2. You might consider removing (through Add/Remove) Hotfix Q824145. It does some odd things that are not consistent between XP versions. While yours is not the typical complaint, odd things happen with this particular Hotfix. See: thread608-707053

3. There are several Third-Party programs that can cause this. Have you installed any new software recently? A system restore to a point earlier than your issues would not be a bad idea.

4. Ignore any registration errors with the commands I gave above, many are normal.

 

[SYAR2003]

That one was for drag & drop to start menu.

 

[linney]

When you have run your Virus Scans are they set for "All Files"?


Try checking this setting.

IE/ Tools/ Internet Options/ Security/ Internet/ Custom Level/ Drag and Drop or Copy and Paste.

Specifies how you want to handle potentially risky actions, files, programs, or downloads. Select one of the following:
To be prompted for approval before proceeding, click Prompt
.
To skip prompting and automatically refuse the action or download, click Disable.
To automatically proceed without prompting, click Enable.
Note: Some options do not provide a Prompt setting. Also, these options do not apply to FTP folders.






If no luck try this site for a "Drag and Drop" XP fix. The zip file is a direct link to down load the file (21kb).

http://www.aumha.org/regfiles.htm

http://aumha.org/downloads/dragndropx.zip

Some general things to try.

See if System Restore will get you back to a restore point before your problem with Explorer.

Try Safe Mode (Do you have this problem in Safe Mode?).

Run the System File Checker program from the Run Box by typing.....Sfc /Scannow in it and have your XP CD handy.

HOW TO: Verify Unsigned Device Drivers in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q308/5/14.asp

If they don't work you could try repairing windows itself by running it over itself. You will lose all your windows updates but your files will be untouched.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP (Q315341)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q315/3/41.asp

For Java, you go to
Sun and download their full version. It's free:

http://java.sun.com/getjava/

Or you hunt around for a Microsoft Java VM. If you can get any old version of that installed you can then update to the current version through Windows Updates, but you must have some version installed to do this update. For legal reasons Microsoft cannot help you with Java any more, but are allowed to update older versions, for the present.

http://www.pppindia.com/intl/pppshar/

 

[Hk7]

I had the exact problem as rocmills, plus drag and drop problems with my desktop and start menu
I suspected it was a virus and used a w32.blaster worm removal tool and founded no virus
then followed the bcastner`s instructions, there were some dll and ocx files had a bad signature and sfc utility replaced them (you can see it in right click my computer-->system tools-->event viewer-->system type: information source: Windows File Protection)
AND AFTER IT I used the Microsoft Money Central Repair Tool (if you can`t find it i`ll send you;-) ) regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll again and finally rebooted my system
now it works fine
thanx a lot bcastner ;-)
and sorry because my poor english P-)

 

[exoticspice]

Hey,

Check out the FAQ on this issue: faq779-5242. Hope it helps!

exoticspice

 

[bcastner]

exoticspice,

. First, a warm welcome to Tek-Tips
. Perhaps you can provide a little more detail for your FAQ and fix. I am curious as to the regestry entries made.

 

[grungyspeed]

I followed the instructions in this post and have not been able to fix this problem. HK7 mentioned a Microsoft money central repair tool. Can anyone point me to this?

-A Hapless Rookie

 

[bcastner]

grungyspeed,

This post is getting long in the tooth. Try my updated and enhanced solution first:

Open a new notepad session, to be called IE_fix.cmd, and copy/paste the below:

regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 Shdocvw.dll
regsvr32 Msjava.dll
regsvr32 Actxprxy.dll
regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll
regsvr32 Mshtml.dll
regsvr32 Browseui.dll
regsvr32 Shell32.dll

Save the file, then double click IE_fix.cmd and answer the prompts. Ignore any error messages.

Reboot and test again.

 

[TekTippy4U]

hi folks;
couple of quick points;
[...as the long tooth becomes a fang ]
I'm not up on current MSOffice DLL versions, and associated apps, nor with all XP DLLs per se -- so some DLLs below may be older - feel free to update with the correct file name.
[1] I'm inclined to think it's related to an unregistered DLL ( improperly registered or overwritten/replaced, and even perhaps an OCX that needs re-registering - thinking an Explorer issue more-so than an IE one).
along these lines - I'd like to add a few to the list (that bcastner already posted);
regsvr32 Comctl32.dll
regsvr32 Shlwapi.dll
regsvr32 User32.dll
regsvr32 User.dll
regsvr32 Olepro32.dll
regsvr32 Ole2.dll
regsvr32 Ole2conv.dll
regsvr32 Ole2disp.dll
regsvr32 Ole2nls.dll
regsvr32 Ole32.dll
regsvr32 Olecli32.dll
regsvr32 Olecnv32.dll
regsvr32 Olesvr.dll
regsvr32 Olesvr32.dll
regsvr32 Olethk32.dll
regsvr32 Oleacc.dll
regsvr32 Setupwbv.dll
regsvr32 Softpub.dll
regsvr32 Wininet.dll
regsvr32 Wintrust.dll
(sorry bout the long list, but might as well try em all - and depending on which version of IE you're running these files will vary, and you'll definitely get some errors when trying to register them all).

The other quirky thing about this, is that you'd think that an SFC /Scannow would restore the Original DLLs - if some are wrong versions or have been maliciously replaced by malware (as certain usual Windows files can and are - such as rundll32.exe and regedit.exe and notepad.exe to name a few).

[2] Someone will have to follow up on the OCX theory, kinda like the way exoticspice's faq lists entries to the Interface Key - perhaps it's a TypeLib prob. I think the OCX files may need the full path listed in the command?

[3] I've heard of anomalies with drag-n-drop and cut and paste from having more than 1 Keyboard Language set in the Keyboard Properties > Language tab of Control Panel.

[4] Finally....anyone think this is an Accessibilty Setting option gone awry?

......oh well - a shot in the dark anyway.

TT4U

Notification:
These are just my thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs

 

[TekTippy4U]

here's a Regsvr32.exe article - uses and error messages;

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;249873

TT4U

Notification:
These are just my thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs