Technical Advice request

[Geoff Parry]

For some reason, when I right click on any of the files in "My Documents", they won't open. Instead, I get returned to the home page screen. Can anyone suggest a remedy?

[NigelWaring]

I've never had this problem nor can I re-create it. I did think that it might be caused by the program that you are using to open the file being corrupt but if I try to simulate that it just lists other programs.

What operating system are you using? It might be that you have a corrupt file and carrying out a repair using the original disk might help but this doesn't work if you've since installed a service pack. Beddo, any ideas?

Incidentally, when I last worked as a contractor I cheated a bit when it came to difficult problems. I was a member of http://help.lockergnome.com/ and I would often ask questions similar to yours, in no time at all I'd get a really good answer back, sometimes from a young person or similar who ran the computers at school. Generally I'd have a solution within a couple of hours to the most obscure and difficult problems, don't tell IBM, they thought I was good.

[Geoff Parry]

I'll try "System restore".

[beddo]

Be careful with system restore, it often causes as many problems (or more) than it fixes.

Can we have a bit more info as Nigel asked?

What Operating System?
- XP/Vista/Windows 7/MacOS/etc?
What exactly are you doing?
- How are you accessing My Documents: through a shortcut on the desktop; through a shortcut on the start menu or through File and Open from a third party application such as Microsoft Word?
- Are you right clicking and the right click menu (known as a context menu) does not appear or are you right clicking and selecting an option from the context menu?
- If you are selecting an option, which option are you selecting?
- When you say you are returned to the "home screen" do you mean that the My Documents window itself is disappearing and you are being returned to the desktop or is the context menu simply disappearing and nothing appears to happen?
- If the My Documents window is disappearing, can you observe the rest of the screen? Does the start menu disappear and reappear? Do the desktop icons do the same?

These days corrupt settings and odd behaviour tend to be sign of either malware being present in the system or malware having been improperly cleaned by an antivirus program, but it is also possible that an old build gets corrupted through updates or other applications going wonky.

[Geoff Parry]

Sorry not to reply sooner, beddo. I still have XP and still using the same PC after 7 years. Normally, I access "My Documents" via a short cut on the desktop. When I right click on any of my files, folders or documents, no drop down menu appears at all - I just end up back on the desk top. Interestingly enough, I can still carry out all the missing menu functions by using powerdesk.
I probably need a new computer!

[beddo]

It sounds like you've either got some OS corruption or a piece of software interfering with the menus.

You could spend hours trying different things, but you'd probably be much happier with a shiney new quick PC that doesn't require the faff

[Geoff Parry]

Many thanks, Beddo. It's an irritant, rather than a problem. As far as buying a new computer goes, which is the better bet nowadays, buying from a store, such as PC World, or buying from a small local shop? My present PC is an Advent T9 which I bought from PC World years ago and has been fine. On the other hand, I'm told it works out cheaper to buy from the local shop. I'd be grateful for any advice on this score.

[beddo]

Depends on the local shop. Quite often you'll end up with cheap hardware in PCs from stores and from local shops.

Something like this is pretty good these days on the cheaper end:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/179442