Computer problems

[blueshift]

Windows had to be reloaded by a tech. However, I now have a problem that I didn't have before. I can't seem to copy and paste like I used to. Only when I highlight some text can I succeed. But when highlighting something in the URL bar it won't do it. Is Intenet Explorer the problem? I used to use At&T Yahoo! before but I haven't reinstalled it yet. Should I reinstall it? Or is there some way I can copy and paste things at will from page to page using Internet Explorer?

[Alan G. Archer]

What version of Windows are you using? Can you describe your computer to us? Is the new Internet Explorer 8 now installed on your computer?

Is there legitimate antivirus software installed on your computer? If your tech person was not careful, the freshly installed Windows operating system on your computer could have become infected while it was at the shop or during the tech's visit to your place. And if you have been using your restored computer without antivirus protection and Windows Firewall (or a third-party firewall) and it is connected to the Internet, it can become infected, especially if it is missing security updates from Microsoft.

Did your tech person test your computer's RAM to see if it was faulty? Is your keyboard and mouse working OK?

What software did AT&T Yahoo! provide you with? You shouldn't have to add software to your computer to enable copy & paste functions.

[blueshift]

I have a Windows XP system with Internet Explorer 7. I had Norton anti-virus installed at the shop. The thing is, I can do copy and pasting when I just highlight a part of a page or the contents of a whole page. What I can't do now, that I used to do before, is to simply highlight the address in the URL, copy, then paste it into Notepad to add to a list of URLs containing material related to lightsources.org web pages.

As for the disc that has the AT&T Yahoo installer all I can make out is the following numbers on the disc...one reads ATT62930448 while the other reads MV6.5ACSX.

Each web page was different when I used it that way before. The URL bar was located beneath the File..Edit..View...Bookmarks..Tools...row. There was no Favorites there. With Internet Explorer the locations are reversed, with the URL located at the top. I am dubious that these positions have anything to do with anything at all related to the question at hand.

[Alan G. Archer]

By default, the address bar (URL bar) in IE7 is at the very top of the browser. The menu bar (File, Edit, View, etc.) will be displayed underneath the address bar. As far as I know, to move the menu bar to the top of the browser requires a registry modification.

You might try going to Tools > Internet Options > Browsing history and clicking the Delete... button. There you can delete your temporary Internet files, history, and form data.

[jja]

Some things to try:

In regards to the address bar location, you can right click on the gray areas around the address bar and uncheck "lock the toolbars". This lets you drag them around to where you want them to be. You can also turn toolbars on and off here. Remember to turn the lock back on when you have everything the way you want it.

In regards to the inability to copy the URL:

You may have an add-on in IE that is not functioning. Try right clicking on the IE icon on the desktop and selecting "Start without add-ons." If it then works, use the "tools/manage add-ons/enable or disable add-ons" windows to turn them on and off until you find the defective one.

If you haven't installed IE8 yet, download and run Dial-A-Fix (http://wiki.lunarsoft.net/wiki/Dial-a-fix). Click the green checkmark at the lower left and hit the Go button. (If you have installed IE8, the program may throw some error messages).

You can reinstall IE by clicking on the hammer button at the bottom center, and selecting that option from the list that follows.

You can also go to Internet Options as Alan describes, then click the Advanced tab. At the bottom is an option to reset all IE settings. This blows away all custom options, disables all extensions, and restores IE to its default state.

You can also try installing IE8 and see if that changes anything.

I hope that one of these works for you!

[Alan G. Archer]

Disabling 'Add-ons currently loaded in Internet Explorer' one at a time and resetting Internet Explorer settings sound like good possible fixes.

blueshift, have you tried using copy and paste with another browser?

[blueshift]

Some things to try:

In regards to the address bar location, you can right click on the gray areas around the address bar and uncheck "lock the toolbars". This lets you drag them around to where you want them to be. You can also turn toolbars on and off here. Remember to turn the lock back on when you have everything the way you want it.

In regards to the inability to copy the URL:

You may have an add-on in IE that is not functioning. Try right clicking on the IE icon on the desktop and selecting "Start without add-ons." If it then works, use the "tools/manage add-ons/enable or disable add-ons" windows to turn them on and off until you find the defective one.

Boy that sure didn't work. Now I lost all my bookmarks. How do I get them back? There is no "Start with add ons" or do I have to go looking for them? How many did I lose? So far none of what is posted is helping at this point. Things are getting worse.

[Alan G. Archer]

I have not been able to drag toolbars around by unckecking "Lock the Toolbars."

If you want to be selective with the add-ons that start when IE7 is launched, you should not right-click on the Internet Explorer icon on your desktop and select "Star Without Add-ons." Instead, you should start IE7 and on the Menu Bar or Command Bar go to Tools > Manage Add-ons > Enable or Disable Add-ons.... By default, Manage Add-ons will then display the "Add-ons currently loaded in Internet Explorer."

Were your lost bookmarks (favorites) created before you had Windows reinstalled? If so, did you export them to a bookmark.htm file created by the Import/Export Wizard in IE7 and save the file to, for example, an USB thumb drive so that your bookmarks can be imported into IE7 after the reinstall of Windows?

View > Explorer Bar > Favorites or Ctrl+Shift+I in IE7 will open the Favorites pane.

Have you updated Norton and run a complete virus scan?

Some advice from Microsoft (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318378): "How to reinstall or repair Internet Explorer in Windows Vista and Windows XP."

[blueshift]

I have not been able to drag toolbars around by unckecking "Lock the Toolbars."

If you want to be selective with the add-ons that start when IE7 is launched, you should not right-click on the Internet Explorer icon on your desktop and select "Star Without Add-ons." Instead, you should start IE7 and on the Menu Bar or Command Bar go to Tools > Manage Add-ons > Enable or Disable Add-ons.... By default, Manage Add-ons will then display the "Add-ons currently loaded in Internet Explorer." That I tried but could only wind up at a web page that wanted me to download IE 8. I can't believe that it is not possible to retrieve my bookmarks at this point.

Were your lost bookmarks (favorites) created before you had Windows reinstalled?Yes. If so, did you export them to a bookmark.htm file created by the Import/Export Wizard in IE7 and save the file to, for example, an USB thumb drive so that your bookmarks can be imported into IE7 after the reinstall of Windows?I didn't but after Windows was reinstalled, I had them right away by clicking on "import bookmarks" after clicking on a bookmarks icon. It was only after following the advice from jja did I lose the icon from the page. There has got to be some simple way to retrieve them all.

Have you updated Norton and run a complete virus scan? Yes

BTW, I am able to use bookmarks and copy and paste from the URL address bar using Mozilla Firefox. I just can't seem to import the bookmarks right yet but will try a few things first. And, thanks for all the inputs here from everyone. I took the risk that things would work out and some haven't.

[novaderrik]

the fix can be found here:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/

[Alan G. Archer]

I'll be back to this thread a little later, blueshift. I'm off to my brother-in-law's place to work on his aircraft hanger door.

[Alan G. Archer]

blueshift, have you been storing your bookmarks online with Yahoo! Bookmarks (bookmarks.yahoo.com/) and perhaps using Yahoo! Toolbar (http://toolbar.yahoo.com/) with IE7? Your AT&T Yahoo! CD most likely has software, such as the Yahoo! Toolbar, that will allow you to store your bookmarks on a Yahoo! server. If so, your bookmarks should be accessible from any Web-connected computer when you sign in to Yahoo!

See Pete Cashmore's story, "Yahoo MyWeb Shuts Down, Becomes Delicious (http://mashable.com/2009/02/15/yahoo-myweb-shuts-down/)."

[blueshift]

blueshift, have you been storing your bookmarks online with Yahoo! Bookmarks (bookmarks.yahoo.com/) and perhaps using Yahoo! Toolbar (http://toolbar.yahoo.com/) with IE7? Your AT&T Yahoo! CD most likely has software, such as the Yahoo! Toolbar, that will allow you to store your bookmarks on a Yahoo! server. If so, your bookmarks should be accessible from any Web-connected computer when you sign in to Yahoo!

See Pete Cashmore's story, "Yahoo MyWeb Shuts Down, Becomes Delicious (http://mashable.com/2009/02/15/yahoo-myweb-shuts-down/)."I did get them back. I did just that. Apparently, when I unchecked the tool bars I apparently got a Google tool bar instead. But I can't do cut and pasting of a URL bar still.

[Alan G. Archer]

Ramesh Srinivasan (http://windowsxp.mvps.org/) has made available David Candy's Clipboard function utility, GetOpenClipboardWindow.exe (http://www.howtofixcomputers.com/bb/ftopic140408).

The utility opens and closes the Clipboard. If the Clipboard is functioning properly, the utility will report this, as it did on my PC:

Sucessfully [sic] opened and closed the clipboard. Does not appear to be any problems.

If some other application is interfering with the utility's use of the Clipboard, the utility should identify the offending application. As noted by Srinivasan, the utility works best when run as soon as you encounter a problem with copy and paste. Please keep in mind that this utility will only report a problem. It has no ability to fix a problem.

GetOpenClipboardWindow.exe is 20,480 bytes in size when unpacked from its .zip archive. VirusTotal (http://www.virustotal.com/analisis/bb755a83f8f0dff46b0e9f5cbd4241a1) reports no malware associated with the file. My security scanners likewise detected no malware, but you should always scan files of this type and not take my word that it is safe.