Windows 7 will not "move" 1

[avatarTX]

I searched the internet but have not seen anyone with this problem yet. It just started about 2 days ago. I have Windows 7 Ultimate.

I cannot move anything on my desktop. Icons can be selected but will not move. Its not that I drag them and they return to their original location when I let go, they do not move in the first place. Auto-arrange is turned off.

I cannot move or resize an open window. If I right click on a window border I get the double arrow pointer but thats it. No stretching allowed. No grabbing the title bar to slide the window to a new location. No scroll bar movement to move up and down any open window either. The three buttons in the upper right work if I want to fill my screen or close an open window and I can click on the arrows to move a scroll bar too, but I cannot slide it.

If any program has a slide bar of any kind, it will not move.

Basically, if you want to move it, it wont move.

I rebooted
I rebooted in Safe Mode
I ran Malwarebytes, found nothing
I cleaned the registry using RegSeeker
Auto Arrange and Aero Snap are turned off

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[linney]

Did you try System Restore?

Have you tested with another user?

Have you tried another Mouse?

Try running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors. Right-click your Drive icon/ Properties/ Tools/ Error Checking. Try it first by not checking either box (this will run it in a Read-only mode) to see if it flags any hard drive or file problems. If it does, restart it by ticking both boxes, and rerun it to allow it to attempt to fix any found problems.

How to repair the operating system and how to restore the operating system configuration to an earlier point in time in Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936212/#appliesto

How to analyze the log file entries that the Microsoft Windows Resource Checker (SFC.exe) program generates in Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928228#appliesto

Something from XP, so it is probably irrelevant and not applicable but missing out on this registry location stuffed up dragging dropping etc in SP3.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\4, do you have a value called "180D" with a data values of 1 ?

I have it in Windows 7 for what it is worth.

 

[avatarTX]

I have tested with another user on the same box and its the same thing.. no moving.

I have not tested a different mouse but I can do that once I get home tonight. I read some other threads where a similar problem was caused by a bad mouse wheel. I hope its something simple like that.

I am pretty good about running CHKDSK and other utilities to keep my drive healthy, so I do not think thats the issue. The drive does not have that many miles on it anyway.

Do not know about the suggested registry setting, can check that once I get home too.

I wonder .. what would the log files in Event Viewer show? Anything worth looking at?

 

[linney]

It is always worth looking in the Event Viewer, trouble is you might find more than you bargained for, in that my Event Viewer is full of strange errors and yet the machine seems happy enough.

Working with Vista’s new Event Viewer

http://www.petri.co.il/vista-event-viewer.htm

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/What-information-appears-in-event-logs-Event-Viewer

What about System Restore?

ChkDsk in your case is more for corrupted files than hard drive bad sectors, you would be using it to check for file corruption, which can occur at anytime.

What type of mouse are you using? Does it run on batteries?

 

[avatarTX]

Have not considered a System Restore.. not even sure when my most recent one was done. Something to consider for sure.

No, I have a plain jane USB LED mouse, no batteries. But it has been around the block and might be the culprit. I dont see how a stuck mouse wheel, or similar, would cause these symptoms but I have been around computers long enough to know that stranger things have happened. The wheel appears to be fine.

I suspect something to do with Explorer, is it not the program that controls a lot of this type of stuff? If it were corrupt then CHKDSK should detect that for me..

 

[kjv1611]

For reference, question originally asked here:
thread602-1604965

I haven't tried it yet with Win7, but I wonder if the Live Desktop option is turned off, if it'll give this kind of behavior? I'd imagine it could be pretty easy to accidentally change the setting... but I'll have to look when I'm at home to be sure.

 

[GrimR]

What about gpedit.msc
Local Computer Policy –> User Configuration –> Administrative Templates –> Control Panel –> Personalization in the left panel’s tree view.

"Prevent changing desktop icons."

second option

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
see if you have a NoActiveDesktop set to 1

or
someone done a print screen and pasted it as your desktop

MCITP:EA/SA, MCSE, MCSA, MCDBA, MCTS, MCP+I, MCP

 

[avatarTX]

Well now, I do feel a little silly. Problem solved.

It was a hardware issue, the mouse had run its final laps and the right click button was failing. Its when it totally failed and forced me to swap it out that I discovered everything was fine again.

I knew I should have checked the mouse but I never did, I kept thinking it was a software issue. Thats what I get for being stubborn.

 

[kjv1611]

That mouse deserves to be stepped on for its deeds! Death to the mouse! Oh wait, it's already dead. Hmm...