Strange click/doubleclick problems

PaulBrooks · #1 November 3rd, 2009, 05:42 PM

Hello,
I wonder if anyone can suggest what might have gone wrong with my pc today?

Suddebly I can't doubleclic on desktop icons. I can doubleclick but it wont open the app. I need to rightclick then open from there.

Clicking my menus in firefox (bookmarks, tools etc) has no effect either.

I can click the start button, but then going to the All Programes bar has no effect either. Clicking on apps in the recently used section of the start area works fine.

Clicking on this text highlights a whole word as if I'd doubleclicked it.

I can click Start->Computer, but I cannot then open a drive by doubleclicking.

It is a strange collection of problems that has suddenly surfaced.

I'm on Vista Home Premium.

AVG free dosn't find anything. I'm running Malwarebytes now.
Any ideas would be much appreciated.

**Miz** · #2 November 3rd, 2009, 05:52 PM

Try the easiest thing first: Go to Control Panel>Folder Options and on the General tab, and change the "Click items as follows" option (if you have double-click enabled, check single-click). Then click OK to apply the change and close that window.

See if you can then open by single clicking an icon.

If that works but you prefer double clicking, go back and re-enable double-click, click OK and see if that sorted it out.

PaulBrooks · #3 November 3rd, 2009, 06:08 PM

Hi,
I did as you suggested and got mixed results. If I set it to single click I can launch desktop items with a single click. However, the All Programs bar from the Start button still does not respond. The menus (bookmarks, tools etc) in Firefox are also still unresponsive. If I browse to a drive within Computer it is now possible to single click the drive to open it.

PaulBrooks · #4 November 3rd, 2009, 07:47 PM

Mmm, reinstalled drivers for the mouse and reinstalled Firefox too but these odd problems remain.

PaulBrooks · #5 November 3rd, 2009, 07:51 PM

I've found another brand new problem - If I try to create a sale on EBay, my attempt to upload a photo results in no reaction from the click. In the same way that clicking on the firefox toolbar gets no reaction, clicking on the browse (to photo) button when creating an item for sale gets no reaction either.

It's all a bit strange as everything was working just fine a few hours ago.

**Miz** · #6 November 3rd, 2009, 10:30 PM

I know one other thing to try: Right click on the Start button, left click Properties and on the Start Menu tab, click the Customize button.

In the window that opens, scroll down to "Enable context menus and dragging and dropping." If it's checked, trying the same procedure of unchecking, clicking OK and OK again, then going back and re-checking it. As with the single/double clicking, toggling off and on works often enough to give it a shot.

PaulBrooks · #7 November 4th, 2009, 10:52 AM

Things seem to have pieced themselves back together again. Over the copurse of about 3 minutes everything has just started working again. It was very strange as each odd foible remedied itself in turn, bit by bit. All seems well at the moment though.
Thank you for the help, it is appreciated.

PaulBrooks · #8 November 4th, 2009, 05:41 PM

Aaaargh - I'm back to square one. Can't double-click desktop icons, can't launch "all Programs" from the task bar and can't click drop-down menus in Firefox or iTunes etc.

It's all very strange and I just don't get it.

When I click a drop-down such as tools or bookmarks I get the faintest briefest flash of an outline of where the drop down menu should appear but it dosn't appear. Likewise when clicking "all programs" from the start button.

**Miz** · #9 November 4th, 2009, 06:17 PM

If it's a wireless mouse, have you changed the batteries?

Have you checked the settings in Control Panel>Mouse to make sure the buttons assignments haven't changed?

If those settings haven't changed, try assigning left click to the right-hand mouse button. If that works, I would suspect a failing mouse to be the cause of the problems.

One sure way to identify the mouse as the cause is to use a mouse you know works properly. If the problems disappear with a different mouse, you've found the culprit.

PaulBrooks · #10 November 4th, 2009, 08:03 PM

I've changed the batteries and updated drivers so I don't think it's the mouse. It seems to be more fundamental than that. It's a very specific set of clicks that will or wont work and it's all very puzzling.

**Miz** · #11 November 5th, 2009, 12:11 AM

A number of people have reported fixing the problem you're having by cleaning malware from the system.

If you want to go that route, read this thread, then start a new thread in our Malware Removal forum for expert help in cleaning your computer.