Windows ME menu problem

[delboy]

Hi
I have recently upgraded a PC from Win98(first edition) to ME.There is a slight problem however,when I right click on the desktop or within any drive or folder the sub menu which appears does not include the "new" option for creating a new folder or document etc.How can I get this option to appear?Cheers.

[GaryRouth]

If I remember, this happens when there's trouble in the Registry, and a file needs to be re-registered. Usually, for the "New" option in the right-click menu, this is the "shdocvw.dll" file - which I think in WinMe is located in the C:\Windows\System32 folder (but it's been a while).

I imagine the easiest repair might be to use the "IE Repair tool" --- usually found in either the "System Information" program in "System Tools" (go to "Tools" and choose the IE Repair from the drop-down menu) --- or you can use the Add/Remove Programs applet in Control Panel, and if you select IE, it will give the option to repair as one of the choices.

Let me know if that doesn't work, and we can try manually re-registering the file with regsvr32.exe
. . . Gary

[delboy]

Originally Posted by GaryRouth If I remember, this happens when there's trouble in the Registry, and a file needs to be re-registered. Usually, for the "New" option in the right-click menu, this is the "shdocvw.dll" file - which I think in WinMe is located in the C:\Windows\System32 folder (but it's been a while). I imagine the easiest repair might be to use the "IE Repair tool" --- usually found in either the "System Information" program in "System Tools" (go to "Tools" and choose the IE Repair from the drop-down menu) --- or you can use the Add/Remove Programs applet in Control Panel, and if you select IE, it will give the option to repair as one of the choices. Let me know if that doesn't work, and we can try manually re-registering the file with regsvr32.exe . . . Gary

Cheers Gary,tried using the IE repair tool,no joy I'm affraid.

[GaryRouth]

Hi again:

Well, there's still a few things to try:

1) If your current IE version is one of the 5.x versions, you could visit Windows Update and go to a current version of IE 6 (or if you have a version of IE 6 that's earlier than the latest Service Packs, you can add the latest IE6 Service Pack on)

2) If it's been awhile since you've visited Windows Update, you could try updating all the latest Security Patches (since many of them are for Internet Explorer) and hope to luck into a new version of the file that way.

3) You can try manually re-registering the file using regsvr32.exe
If you use IE5, type: regsvr32.exe /i shdoc401.dll
If you use IE6, type: regsvr32.exe /i shdocvw.dll

If you use IE6, & the first file yields no joy, you can try typing:
regsvr32.exe /i shdoclc.dll

Fun things happen with upgrade versions sometimes, this is likely one of them. Usually a file-version conflict, omission, or general "snafu" . . .
. . . Gary

[P.S. - Oops: forgot to mention where! To manually use regsvr32.exe, type the command I listed above into the Start/Run box]

[delboy]

Originally Posted by GaryRouth Hi again: Well, there's still a few things to try: 1) If your current IE version is one of the 5.x versions, you could visit Windows Update and go to a current version of IE 6 (or if you have a version of IE 6 that's earlier than the latest Service Packs, you can add the latest IE6 Service Pack on) 2) If it's been awhile since you've visited Windows Update, you could try updating all the latest Security Patches (since many of them are for Internet Explorer) and hope to luck into a new version of the file that way. 3) You can try manually re-registering the file using regsvr32.exe If you use IE5, type: regsvr32.exe /i shdoc401.dll If you use IE6, type: regsvr32.exe /i shdocvw.dll If you use IE6, & the first file yields no joy, you can try typing: regsvr32.exe /i shdoclc.dll Fun things happen with upgrade versions sometimes, this is likely one of them. Usually a file-version conflict, omission, or general "snafu" . . . . . . Gary [P.S. - Oops: forgot to mention where! To manually use regsvr32.exe, type the command I listed above into the Start/Run box]

Hi again Gary,

I have just upgraded to IE 6 with service pack 1,typed regsvr32.exe /i shdocvw.dll,a dialogue box appeared confirming that the file had been loaded ok,but the right click menu was still the same.Then I typed regsvr32.exe /i shdoclc.dll and received the following message : SHDOCLC.DLL was loaded,but the DLL REGISTER SERVER entry point was not found.

DllRegistryServer may not be exported,or a corrupt version of SHDOCLC.DLL may be in memory.Consider using PView(?) to detect and remove it.What is PView,how do I use it and how do I re install the file once it is removed.Apologies for all the questions,I have no experience in this department whatsoever.Cheers.

[delboy]

Format and re-install?

[GaryRouth]

Hi again

Hmm, take a look at this, from the aumha.org website - http://www.aumha.org/regfiles.htm (scroll down to the "Restore New Command" section) - I'll excerpt a little here for other readers:

"IMPORTANT NOTE Oct 2004: There is a new epidemic of these problems on Win ME machines that (per MS-MVP Mike Maltby) have been traced to installing a new nVidia driver. The driver isn’t a problem, but the nVidia install program deletes the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory key in the Registry. (This removes both the NEW command and the Thumbnails option in Windows Explorer’s View menu.)" --- They go on to mention they recommend using System Restore to workaround the problem. But I'm not sure that you have a Registry prior to that classes change while in WinMe, since yours is such a recent upgrade.

Aumha provides a patch in a download they call new.zip - I'm not sure if it includes recreating the classes file or not. [The patch can be downloaded from a link on that same page]

There is a file that seems to work on Win98 machines (I'm uncertain if it works on WinMe), that restores this value:

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\New]
@="{D969A300-E7FF-11d0-A93B-00A0C90F2719}"

It's successful use is mentioned in a few discussion over at computing.net. The handy-dandy patch that a member created is called new.reg - & if you wish to try that (this simply adds back in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT value that I just mentioned) you can download it directly from this link: http://www.mesich.com/download/new.reg
- I downloaded it, scanned it for viruses, opened it in Notepad, and it seems like it might be worth a try [you could always delete the value later if it doesn't work].

Sorry it's taken so long to hear about this one: I don't see very many WinMe machines. I built a few back in 2000, and haven't seen much of WinMe since! (The systems I built were pretty straightforward, and have worked fine = I sometimes wish they'd have a problem, so I could work on them again. I built them for a friend of mine's family at the medical lab).
____________________

You certainly could format & reinstall (if you have the time, disks, and good backups) - but if the trouble is caused by an nVidia driver install, it's possible you'd lose that New option in your right-click menu again. So - why not try a little Registry editing & see if they've got a solution that works? If successful, you won't have to do all that work of reinstalling.

Best of luck!
. . . Gary

[delboy]

BINGO! we have lift off!Thanks .Downloaded file,transferred it to other PC,unzipped the file,double clicked on the reg value file which was generated,hey presto the right click menu is now as it should be.Nice work Gary

[GaryRouth]

Glad it worked!

[just because I'm curious -- did it turn out that an nVidia driver was involved, or perhaps just a 98-to-Me upgrade fluke? - of course, we could also think of it as another of Discovery Channels "Unsolved Mysteries" ]

[delboy]

Originally Posted by GaryRouth Glad it worked! [just because I'm curious -- did it turn out that an nVidia driver was involved, or perhaps just a 98-to-Me upgrade fluke? - of course, we could also think of it as another of Discovery Channels "Unsolved Mysteries" ]

nVidia driver problem methinks,I have upgraded from 98 to Me b4 without any probs(without an nVidia graphics card installed)process of elimination,nVidia drivers to blame with this particular OS(ME).

[GaryRouth]

Thanks for letting us know.

And good work getting the repair done!
. . . Gary