Windows 8.1 context menu closes suddenly and sporaddically

0

I have no real idea what I could have done to cause this - it has happened in the past on some installations, but after getting this new machine set up with Windows 8.1 Professional (x64) and configuring things to my liking (colors, backgrounds, installing apps, etc) I have this strange and difficult to describe problem with the right click context menu.

It isn't localized to one specific "place". It just seems that when I right click and start to browse the context menu, it has these random fits of "closing" whenever it wants to. Sometimes it is within an instant of opening - sometimes it is as I drag the mouse closer to the bottom. I can determine no distinguishable pattern to it though.

The list of programs I have installed are as follows;

  • Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Adobe Photoshop CC 2014
  • Adobe Illustrator CC 2014
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Professional All features installed via web installer
  • Axialis IconWorkshop 6.0
  • Google Chrome no extensions
  • Mozilla FireFox no extensions
  • Microsoft Web Platform Installer
  • GitHub for Windows
  • nodejs for Windows
  • Acronis TrueImage 2015
  • Carbonite
  • Skype
  • Notepad++
  • RaidCall
  • Steam
  • CCleaner
  • Speccy
  • BitDefender Small Business Edition
  • Stardock Start8

I cannot think of anything else. I have made one registry change, which was to enable PowerShell on the context menu. I think this may be a culprit, but I've done it dozens of times before on other installs with no such side effects. The exact code I executed for that is here;

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\powershell]
@="Open PowerShell Here"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\powershell\command]
@="C:\\windows\\system32\\WindowsPowerShell\\v1.0\\powershell.exe -NoExit -Command Set-Location -LiteralPath '%L'"

I would really love any suggestions or help that can be offered. This problem is fairly obnoxious and I cannot even begin to conceive of a root cause.

Derek

Posted 2015-01-21T12:45:18.470

Reputation: 101

1One thing to try is a different mouse, and a different keyboard. there might be noise coming in from defective hardware. – pgr – 2015-01-21T12:48:02.937

I will try that momentarily, thank you. However, they are both brand new, so I do not believe that is the issue. It is always possible, though. – Derek – 2015-01-21T12:51:44.663

1Honestly. I suspect Start8 since that is one of the only programs you have installed that might effect Explorer.exe – Ramhound – 2015-01-21T12:56:02.937

1Is this a laptop or a desktop? If it's a laptop you could also explore the possibility of an overly sensitive touchpad interfering with what you're trying to do. You could disable the touchpad if you use a mouse. – pgr – 2015-01-21T12:57:16.250

This is a desktop. I also did try a new mouse and keyboard and it did not fix the problem. I will try removing Start8 and seeing if that has an impact. – Derek – 2015-01-21T13:04:54.240

Removing Start8 did not resolve the problem, I am sorry. – Derek – 2015-01-21T13:15:57.170

Yes, removing apps on e by one as Ramhound suggested is a good test. You can actually make it more radical and try Windows in safe mode - if it works there, you could be more certain that it is a software problem. – pgr – 2015-01-21T13:16:55.763

Another direction you can explore: items in the context menu. Try it with different menus (on Windows Explorer, in a browser, in Word, etc.). If the problem is specific to Explorer, there could be items that are provoking an error when Windows tries to fetch more info. For example, it's common for context menus to lag when they include references to Network shares that are offline. – pgr – 2015-01-21T13:19:34.967

No answers

Asked: 2015-01-21T12:45:18.470

Viewed: 165 times

Active: 2015-01-21T12:45:18.470