Right Click Menu won't close stuck open

I have googled a lot to find an answer to our problem.
Yesterday, I re-formatted XP due to viruses, did all the 60+ updates from MS and updated the audio and video drivers from Dell, so now have XPsp3 and viruses are gone.
But, now, when I right click on the desktop or in a program, the menu won't go away and whatever I chose when I right clicked whether it is "Copy, or "Properties, or "Send To, or anything, the words stay highlighted on top of everything, til I go to the desktop and right click on the stuck words which brings up the menu in a fade effect, then I left click in a blank spot on the desktop, and it goes away.
What is doing this? The 5 new things I installed after re-formatting was the SP3, IE7, Avast anti virus ware, and the video and audio drivers.:cry

 

Have you looked in your Device Manager for any yellow exlamation marks? (Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device manager) It would seem to me to be a video problem. Are you sure you got the correct drivers for your system? Do you have a video card or onboard video (on the motherboard). I ask because there is a video chip on the motherboard that helps to direct the video traffic on the board that also needs drivers as well as loading drivers for a card. Fool around with stuff for video, check connections, reload drivers, make sure you get the drivers from the correct place for the correct thing. You can also load drivers for the monitor. Monitors do not come with drivers but if you go to the manufacturers site you can get them. It can help get you the most out of the device, it tells the system exactly what the monitor is capable of, what its default settings should be and the color scheme to use for the best picture.

 

There are no yellow marks or anything in the Device Manager. That is what has got me puzzled too. I thought it could be a video problem--didn't realize that monitors could use a driver from their site, so might try that. And re-install the drivers after checking with Dell chat about being sure they are the correct drivers for this machine. Thanks.

 

tanks 4 da info but I see da Z in your name/what may I ask does it stand for?My 1st name is with a Z..very unique.

 

The next thing I would do is to run a diagnostic on your hard drive. Use adia32 or everest home to find out the brand of drive and download the diagnotics utility from their site. Run it on your drive to see if it thinks its about to fail and if it says yes then you had better get a new drive before it fails completely and transfer your data.

When a hard drive starts to fail it can freeze during command executions and cause the screen to freeze waiting for it to complete. This can also occur from bad memory but the hard drive is more critical to check now. If it fails completely you can loose your data.

 

It fixed itself, or else, some MS updates took care of it because the problem is gone! :wave Thanks a bunch!!

 

I would still run the diagnostic both on your drives and your memory (memtest86). Bad drives have been known to get better for a short period and then BOOM fail out of the blue. Its a good idea to check your hard drives on occasion anyhow.

I activate Smart Drive in the bios so it checks my drives at every startup, but I still use the floppy version at least once a year or more.

 

Dear Appzalien,
Thanks for your help, but tho I am not a newbie on the PC, I haven't heard of some things you are saying, so I wouldn't know how to go about doing that. I guess I could find a diagnostic software like you recommended. Thanks. Thanks everyone for helping.

 

It should be simple enough, google "aida32" its free and a no install program, just extract it and put it where you like. When you run its exe file (aida32.exe) it examines your system and opens a window with the results and when you look under (Storage > Windows Storage) you should see your hard drive manufacturers name. Visit their site and search for utilities or go to (usually) Support > Downloads > Utilities. and get the utility best suited for you. If you have a floppy drive get the floppy utilty and extract or run it to make a floppy. If you do not have a floppy you will have to get the iso version and burn it to a cd. Either way you would then go into your Bios (usually del key at startup) and change the boot order to floppy first or cd first depending on which you made and let the cd or floppy load. Test your hard drive and afterwords you can do the same thing with Memtest86 (which also can be put on floppy or cd and booted to from a cold start).

In your bios if you go through the different pages, you should find a line that says Smart Drive enable/disable and usually by default its disabled. If you enable it, everytime you start your pc it will check to see if the drive(s) is failing and stop and warn you if it is. This gives you time to save your data as well as and early warning to RMA the drive if its under warranty.