Why my Win7 suddenly goes amnesiac?

[lanux128]

I am running Win 7 Pro 64-bit with an admin level account. At times I would drag a url shortcut from the desktop on to the browser window but the action would fail silently, causing much frustration. I have to exit the browser and relaunch in admin mode for the drag-n-drop to be successful. the same goes if i am trying to interact between an explorer window and totalcmd window.

my uac setting is at default so why do the apps lapse into non-admin mode? does anyone else experience this situation?

[MilesAhead]

I don't remember having that issue in W7.  But I don't drag urls on often.  I had my UAC slider all the way down though.  I believe I took ownership of the Program Files trees in W7 as I have in W8.  Otherwise it just hampers me too much.

[Stoic Joker]

Win7 x64/Admin here

I am running Win 7 Pro 64-bit with an admin level account.

-lanux128 (February 23, 2014, 02:11 AM)

Sorry about chopping this up so much, but minutia can be really important with this kind of stuff.

So you are logged in with an account that is a member of the local administrators group (which would include Domain Admins)... Yes?

At times I would drag a url shortcut from the desktop on to the browser window but the action would fail silently, causing much frustration.

-lanux128 (February 23, 2014, 02:11 AM)

I can't honestly say I've ever tried doing that. But I did try it just now and received a would you like to save or open link prompt from IE.

I have to exit the browser and relaunch in admin mode for the drag-n-drop to be successful. the same goes if i am trying to interact between an explorer window and totalcmd window.

-lanux128 (February 23, 2014, 02:11 AM)

Okay, this part is starting to make sense, if you are running an alternate shell as admin it's not supposed to work because DnD does not work between sessions. I frequently trip myself up with this when editing system files. If I run notepad as admin, then drag a file from desktop/explorer and drop it in notepad, nothing will happen because they're both in separate sessions.

my uac setting is at default so why do the apps lapse into non-admin mode? does anyone else experience this situation?

-lanux128 (February 23, 2014, 02:11 AM)

Even domain administrator accounts (and their shell's) run with restricted user level permissions when UAC is enabled. So any system level changes require selecting run as admin or clicking yes/ok on a UAC prompt at some point. So if something is being run as admin it will be in a different session and therefore not available to interact directly with other non elevated applications.

[MilesAhead]

You might find this useful:
Take Ownership Context Menu Shortcut

[lanux128]

You might find this useful:
Take Ownership Context Menu Shortcut

-MilesAhead (February 23, 2014, 10:53 AM)

thanks MilesAhead, i knew about this tweak but didn't see the need for it. i might give it a whirl and see if it solves the drag-n-drop issue.

[lanux128]

@Stoic Joker: thanks for breaking down my thoughts, easier to digest i assume.

So you are logged in with an account that is a member of the local administrators group (which would include Domain Admins)... Yes?

-Stoic Joker (February 23, 2014, 08:39 AM)

yes, i believe i had given myself the highest possible access.

I can't honestly say I've ever tried doing that. But I did try it just now and received a would you like to save or open link prompt from IE.

-Stoic Joker (February 23, 2014, 08:39 AM)

i can provide a use-case. e.g. you have a link shortcut (files ending in *.url) that you want to open in the non-default browser. so instead of double-clicking (which will open in defalt browser), i just drag the url shortcut to the non-default browser. of course assuming that non-default browser is already open.

Okay, this part is starting to make sense, if you are running an alternate shell as admin it's not supposed to work because DnD does not work between sessions. I frequently trip myself up with this when editing system files. If I run notepad as admin, then drag a file from desktop/explorer and drop it in notepad, nothing will happen because they're both in separate sessions.

-Stoic Joker (February 23, 2014, 08:39 AM)

ok, this is the part that is missing from the manuals. i always thought i am some sort of superuser who could cut through layers of security but apparently MS thought otherwise.

Even domain administrator accounts (and their shell's) run with restricted user level permissions when UAC is enabled. So any system level changes require selecting run as admin or clicking yes/ok on a UAC prompt at some point. So if something is being run as admin it will be in a different session and therefore not available to interact directly with other non elevated applications.

-lanux128 (February 23, 2014, 02:11 AM)

again, "different session" is the keyword here. so the mantra is: "all sessions are not created equal".

thanks again, SJ. i will keep these points in mind for the next time i start dragging and dropping.

[MerleOne]

Just my 2 cents : did you try with another physical mouse ?  Mine has an issue that seems close to yours, I could change it but I just hope it will fix itself in time (just wishful thinking).

[lanux128]

thanks MerleOne, it didn't seem like a hardware issue. anyway, what is the situation at your system?

[MerleOne]

thanks MerleOne, it didn't seem like a hardware issue. anyway, what is the situation at your system?

-lanux128 (February 27, 2014, 07:06 PM)

Sometimes, when I click on something I get a double click and when I drag/drop an object, the operation fails as if I had unpressed the LMB before destination.  If I press a little harder, the problem goes away, so it is the mouse (LMB), but it's a high end model (Alienware/Logitech) and I would prefer to repair it than change it.

[lanux128]

i used to have that problem a long long time ago but back then i was using a cheapo mouse. nowadays, i alternate between Logitech MX518 and G602. however if your Logitech mouse is causing the problem, can't you just RMA it?

[MerleOne]

i used to have that problem a long long time ago but back then i was using a cheapo mouse. nowadays, i alternate between Logitech MX518 and G602. however if your Logitech mouse is causing the problem, can't you just RMA it?

-lanux128 (February 28, 2014, 06:08 AM)

The warranty has expired, I bought it 3 years ago…  I just wonder if I can clean it somehow before discarding it and replacing it with another model.

[Vurbal]

i used to have that problem a long long time ago but back then i was using a cheapo mouse. nowadays, i alternate between Logitech MX518 and G602. however if your Logitech mouse is causing the problem, can't you just RMA it?

-lanux128 (February 28, 2014, 06:08 AM)

The warranty has expired, I bought it 3 years ago…  I just wonder if I can clean it somehow before discarding it and replacing it with another model.

-MerleOne (February 28, 2014, 10:19 AM)

You might be able to fix it but probably not by cleaning.

It largely depends on which of the moving parts is causing the problem. The most likely culprit is the return spring for the button flattening out over time. If you're careful (and don't have the manual dexterity of a small child like me) you can bend it back into shape. Of course it's just a thin strip of metal so any time you bend it there's a risk of it breaking.

That's also assuming the problem isn't elsewhere. Any moving part in between your finger and the electrical switch could technically be at fault. The spring just happens to be the most common.

[MerleOne]

You might be able to fix it but probably not by cleaning.

It largely depends on which of the moving parts is causing the problem. The most likely culprit is the return spring for the button flattening out over time. If you're careful (and don't have the manual dexterity of a small child like me) you can bend it back into shape. Of course it's just a thin strip of metal so any time you bend it there's a risk of it breaking.

That's also assuming the problem isn't elsewhere. Any moving part in between your finger and the electrical switch could technically be at fault. The spring just happens to be the most common.

-Vurbal (February 28, 2014, 11:11 AM)

Thanks ! I'll try this if it gets worse. If I can manage to open it !

[Deozaan]

Sometimes, when I click on something I get a double click and when I drag/drop an object, the operation fails as if I had unpressed the LMB before destination.  If I press a little harder, the problem goes away, so it is the mouse (LMB), but it's a high end model (Alienware/Logitech) and I would prefer to repair it than change it.

-MerleOne (February 28, 2014, 05:28 AM)

I literally just fixed this in my mouse this past week. The problem is as Vurbal said. It's in the micro-switch. There's a very thin strip of metal that is bent in such a way that when you press down on the mouse button, it clicks down. Over time, it gets a bit bent out of shape and the click isn't as reliable, resulting in double clicks or clicks canceling even though you're still holding the button down.

You can try to fix it by opening up the switch and bending that little metal strip. Or you can just buy a new switch and either open it up and replace the little strip or replace the entire strip with some soldering.

I did it both ways. I have two Logitech M570 mice that both exhibited this click misbehavior. One started almost immediately after I bought it (as a replacement for a previous Logitech mouse with the same behavior!) so Logitech sent me a new one for free and didn't ask me to return the defective one. That was a couple of years ago. Lately the replacement started to have the same problem, so instead of buying a brand new mouse for $60 (or whatever) I decided to repair it for $0.60. I bought some micro-switches, but didn't have any soldering gear, so I just swapped out the thin strip of metal and my mouse is working fine. Then I decided to repair the older mouse which was essentially brand new and unused since I bought it, but this time I bought a soldering iron and solder wick (also known as desoldering braid) and fully replaced the micro-switch on it. Now I have two mice that both work better than they did when they were brand new. (c:

You can find some micro-switches for pretty cheap here: OMRON D2FC-F7N

You can also search on eBay.

(Special thanks to Edvard for giving me most of this information in the IRC channel a couple of weeks ago)

[MerleOne]

I literally just fixed this in my mouse this past week. The problem is as Vurbal said. It's in the micro-switch. There's a very thin strip of metal that is bent in such a way that when you press down on the mouse button, it clicks down. Over time, it gets a bit bent out of shape and the click isn't as reliable, resulting in double clicks or clicks canceling even though you're still holding the button down.

You can try to fix it by opening up the switch and bending that little metal strip. Or you can just buy a new switch and either open it up and replace the little strip or replace the entire strip with some soldering.

I did it both ways. I have two Logitech M570 mice that both exhibited this click misbehavior. One started almost immediately after I bought it (as a replacement for a previous Logitech mouse with the same behavior!) so Logitech sent me a new one for free and didn't ask me to return the defective one. That was a couple of years ago. Lately the replacement started to have the same problem, so instead of buying a brand new mouse for $60 (or whatever) I decided to repair it for $0.60. I bought some micro-switches, but didn't have any soldering gear, so I just swapped out the thin strip of metal and my mouse is working fine. Then I decided to repair the older mouse which was essentially brand new and unused since I bought it, but this time I bought a soldering iron and solder wick (also known as desoldering braid) and fully replaced the micro-switch on it. Now I have two mice that both work better than they did when they were brand new. (c:

You can find some micro-switches for pretty cheap here: OMRON D2FC-F7N

You can also search on eBay.

(Special thanks to Edvard for giving me most of this information in the IRC channel a couple of weeks ago)

-Deozaan (February 28, 2014, 11:43 PM)

Thanks a lot for this very detailed and helpful information.  It seems to be really worth trying.