missing the Confirm File Replace dialog

hello

i am no longer receiving the Confirm File Replace dialog when, for instance, i drag and drop an url from my browser's address bar into a desk top folder, when the url has already been dropped into the folder previously.

the reason i like this Confirm File Replace dialog so much is because it affords me the opportunity to see what the file is naming itself in the folder (sometimes the name it goes by has no obvious connection to the file's content, and i elect to rename it).

with this in mind, whenever i drag and drop a file (like a web page) into a folder, i do it twice, prompting the Confirm File Replace dialog to pop up asking me if i want to replace the existing file named _______. this way i get to view the file's name and decide if it's something i prefer.

i believe this to be a win2000pro operating system issue, as i have two other operating systems running (win98se & winxphome) and both of them DO display the Confirm File Replace dialog.

i have looked at my folder options and i don't see anything there that would effect this dialog's appearance or disappearance.

the dialog just recently vanished, and, as i say, it DOES appear for me on cue in both win98se and winxphome, just not in win2000pro.

i welcome all suggestions!

thank you



mark

 

If the behavior is a recent change, maybe a restore to a time when it was acting correctly. This smells like a registry ding of some sort but I can't figure out exactly where.

If that isn't possible and if you are only dealing with one file type that is behaving this way (or maybe with several) open windows explorer~tools~folder options~file types and take a look at the advanced properties for the one you are having problems with.

There should be a check mark by "confirm open after download ". If that is not checked, I've seen some very strange behavior for that file type.

And I hope one of the above does the trick 'cause if not, I'm about out of ideas on this one. Strange issue and would have to be annoying.

 

hi newt

thank you for trying to track down this unusual problem.

i had high hopes that you'd hit upon the answer, for when i checked explorer file options for HTM extensions, "confirm open after download" was not checked. i really figured you'd found the cure when i further noticed that this option was checked in the two operating systems which are not giving me this problem.

but 'lo and behold, when i checked the box (and even rebooted to be certain), the same behavior was still occurring, that is, no Confirm File Replace dialog displays.

maybe something else will come to mind. <g> and if anything changes, or i hear of a fix, i'll surely report same.



mark

 

Perhaps try SFC but use good judgement and back up any files before replacing them. We don't wanna make things worse.

Are you perhaps running any trouble maker like Norton Utilities or some tweaking utility? It almost like something has added the /y switch to the drag/drop command line.

Other than that, you may want to consider a maintenance over-install of the OS. This is a toughie!

Sometimes a reinstall or repair of IE cures Windows problems since they share lots of common dll's so consider that too.

Good luck.

 

hi zeph

thank you for your input.

i ran sfc, and unless it replaces corrupt files automatically, i didn't note anything being singled out. to be honest with you, i didn't even know win2000 had a sfc (i knew that win98 has one). so it was a learning experience to run the sfc command from a DOS window.

you asked if i was "running any trouble maker like Norton Utilities "... LOL! yes, i run NU as a component of systemworks. been running each new version of the symantec utility suite since 1997. my general impression is that it helps, and i never seem to have stability problems.

anyway, i think that as you have pointed out, this may be more of a browser issue than an os issue. here's what leads me to say so....

only the internet url shortcut extensions are failing to make the Confirm File Replace dialog appear when i double up on dragging and dropping them into a desk top folder. jpeg and txt files trigger the dialog, but not the browser url shortcut extensions.

i am running ie6.0, sp1. perhaps i'll run the ie repair tool and see if that puts me right. maybe even a reinstall, as you have mentioned.

one other recent issue that may somehow be connected to browser funkiness.... from time to time when trying to open a new web page in an existing window by clicking on a toolbar link, the window will shut down instead.

i am current on all windows critical updates, btw.

i wish that this was not such a nagging little problem. it doesn't really handicap me in my work or fun online, but it does force me to do things differently than i have been doing them, and i know that something is wrong because this used to work just fine.

i'll keep trying things and get back with any discoveries.



mark

 

well, the browser repair tool did not fix the problem.

interestingly, the dialog DID appear ONE time upon dragging and dropping a web page into a folder for the second time. i thought i'd corrected the prob, but then it (the Confirm File Replace dialog) reverted to its recent behavior of not appearing when it should.

i guess i'll try reinstalling ie6.0. that might put things right.



mark

 

in the interest of feed back....

reinstalling ie6.0sp1 did not fix this little problem.

guess i'll have to put it to rest, learn to live with it, as they say.

it sure does bug me, though, why this Confirm File Replace dialog quit showing up when i drag an url to a desk top folder more than once.

maybe i'll figure it out one day...



mark

 

Just as a WAG sort of thought - do you have SP3 installed? It fixed a bunch of annoying little glitches.

If you don't, you might try

- chkdsk /f (just to make sure everything is as it should be)
- load SP3

and see if you are back to normal then. As I said, WAG or voodoo fix would be the best way to describe this effort. OTOH, couldn't hurt.

And you might want to take another look at the setting for the htm files. It may have unchecked itself somehow. Also a good spyware scan (never heard of one doing this specific thing but there are some strange ones out there). Try Ad-aware and Spybot both.

 

hi newt

i thought i replied to your most recent message, but i don't see it anywhere, so i guess i never submitted it.

anyway, thanks for the added input.

yes i have sp3.

no the file option setting has not reverted, or unchecked itself.

yes, i run ad-aware, frequently performing deep scans.

i followed your suggestion and installed and ran spybot, to no avail. that is, some added spycrap was found, but my prob is not fixed.

if anyone would care to verify that the Confirm File Replace dialog does in fact pop up when an url is dragged and dropped into a desk top folder twice, i would love to hear it.

just grab the tiny ie icon in the address window and drag it and drop it into a folder. then repeat. the dialog should appear, saying that the file already exists and asking if you'd like to replace it.

it's always been so for me until recently, for some unknown reason.

i'll keep trying whatever.



mark

 

hi newt

still no joy with the attempts to repair the Confirm File Delete dialog.

but in the interim, i was pointed at SpyBot, by you, and have been pleased with it.

while installing SpyBot on another pc this afternoon, i noticed that on this download site ( http://soloti.com/spybot.htm ), the hyper link says:

Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.1 Spyware, Dialer, Key logger, scanner, ect. 2.5 MB (.exe file)
<my bolding>

so my question is, does this program profess to detect key loggers? it doesn't contain key loggers, does it? that would be a drag.

i did email patrick kolla, the author, and have not received his reply. he did help me out earlier with an upgrade question. i know he is very busy doing tech support with this freeware.

even patrick's download page ( http://security.kolla.de/index.php?lang=en&page=download ) contains a reference to key logger... "Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.1 Spyware, Dialer, Keylogger etc. scanner, 2.5 MB "


i thought you might care to address this key logger question?

thanks



mark

 

LOL - I see why you would be concerned. It tracks/locates/removes (if you want) malware keyloggers, dialers, etc. The keylogger piece is fairly new as they only started finding those critters last summer.

Take a look at their history page.

And I just checked the behavior of IE6 on XP-pro when dragging the icon thingy to a desktop folder. The second time it did alert me that I already had one. Same with 2KServer and IE5. So I'm still completely stumped re: your original issue. Grrrr. I hate it when that happens.

 

hi newt

so that history page, it shows all of the key loggers that Spybot has busted? not bad. quite extraordinary, actually, don't you agree?

i really am glad you mentioned that program, newt. immediately upon installing, one should make a point of looking for an upgrade, as version 1.13 is now available.

think i'll send a few bucks to germany. the author deserves it, and, in his words,

"sadly, development isn't free for me any more; your downloads are using much more bandwidth than I have rented, so I have to pay my provider, and, (At this point a big thanks to my mirrors who relieve me greatly! ) I also need to buy different operating systems so I can test and a newer compiler that will provide a smaller and more stable application ... "

btw, are you aware of any other freeware apps that detect key loggers? i don't think AdAware does.



mark

 

Ad-aware certainly does not. And I don't know right off hand of any others that do.

I sent em some $$ too.

 

AV's and AT's detect quite a few loggers. This and this do too. More here.

BTW - the main problem has me intrigued. And baffled too, unfortunately

 

hi brett

thanks for the input on key logger detection software. i wasn't really aware that nav finds that stuff. now i'll have to go checking around to see how many key loggers they flag.

as for the main problem, the missing Confirm File Replace dialog, it baffles me too. i wish i could fix it. i would add that the problem has now evolved into an intermittent one... that is, since originally posting here on BBS about the dialog failing to appear, it has in fact shown itself several times. if i were to give it a percentage, i would say that it has worked properly for me (since 10/26 when i first posted about it) about 5% of the time.... just often enough to annoy me and to remind me of how it used to work!

my instinct is to say that it's a browser prob, in that ie6.0 is giving me small doses of grief in other areas, and that's despite having run the repair tool and reinstalled the browser on top of the last ie6.0 installation. perhaps i should uninstall ie6.0 and reinstall fresh rather than on top of?

anyway, i hope you'll holler if you get any hunches, suggestions or brainstorms, and if i get it fixed i'll surely report back.



mark

 

I’d be inclined to suspect the OS rather than IE. But why should this issue arise only intermittently "¦ ? Strange!

It would appear that comdlg32.dll and commdlg.dll are the files responsible for Windows’ common dialogs; try re-registering (regsvr) them. If the problem persists, replace each file and then re-register again.

 

hi brett

to re- register those two files, do i enter

Regsvr32.exe C:\Winnt\System32\filename.dll

in the run box?

btw, i have four comdlg32.dll files on my machine. the newer versions (7/22/02) came along with a service pack install, replacing the original version (5/4/01), which appears to still be residing in the service pack uninstall folder.

don't know if any of that means anything.

i have three commdlg.dll files, all dated 12/7/99

anyway, i'm not clear on how to re-register these babies.

thank you



mark

 

Ok. Rather than replacing any files at this stage, try re-naming all but the most recent versions of the DLL's (to something like comdlg32OLD.OLD). Be sure to make a note of the new names in case you need to track 'em down and re-name them again.

If the problem still persists, boot to DOS, type "CD C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM" and hit Return. Type "REGSVR32 COMDLG32.DLL" and hit return again. Now repeat the process for the other file. These steps might very well throw up some rather strange error messages!

If this yields no joy, re-name again to restore the original file names.

I should point out that I'm really just fishing here and have no confidence that anything I have suggested will fix the problem! I'd maybe be inclined to tout for some views and ideas in comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.misc - the issue may be rather OT for that group but theu should be familiar with the working of these particular files.

 

hi brett

you commented,

and i think it is the browser. here's why. in the third post i made on this topic back on 10/26, i noted:

"only the internet url shortcut extensions are failing to make the Confirm File Replace dialog appear when i double up on dragging and dropping them into a desk top folder. jpeg and txt files trigger the dialog, but not the browser url shortcut extensions. "

this really seems to point to browser-type activity. bwdik, right? if i knew, i wouldn't be here asking you folks for thoughts, help and ideas!

anyway, i'll try the renaming of the oldest comdlg32.dll file, though as i mentioned, it's in the service pack uninstall folder.

please advise if you think an uninstall of ie6.0, then a reinstall, would produce better results than what i have already done, which is reinstalling ie6.0 on top of ie6.0?

i appreciate the advice



mark

 

here's the error message i got when i followed the steps above...

______________________

"Comdlg32.dll was loaded, but the DllRegisterServer entry point was not found. DllRegisterServer may not be exported, or a corrupt version of Comdlg32.dll may be in memory. Consider using Pview to detect and remove it. "

______________________



mark