can't move/resize/close windows

[nObRaIn]

this is a new one for me, even though i did find some references to the problem from older builds, i can't find a solution.

i did a clean install of 7201 32bit, installed some drivers, avast and office and i created a standard user for every day use. even though almost everything works great with the initial administrator account, when i login as a standard user i can't close or move or even resize any of the windows that i will open. i can still use alt+f4 or the small x on the window preview and it works.

i already tried changing the standard account to administrator, disabling all visual effects from the windows performance options, reinsalling the graphics drivers, but nothing changes the situation. whith all the visual effects dissabled i noticed that the x button on the top right of every window is completely disabled (grayed out).

so, any ideas anyone?

 

[Brink]

Hello nObRaIn,

You may have a corrupted account. As a test, create another new Standard account to see if it works properly in it.

 

[nObRaIn]

Hi Brink, i did try deleting the account and creating a new one both as a standard user and as administrator but that didn't change the situation. After your sugestion I tried creating a new account with a different name (just in case) but still, the new account has the same issue.

i am not sure if it is at all related but i was trying to remember any changes that i did before noticeing the problem, and i remembered that i did use some kind of a patch to remove the watermark from the desktop. I'll try restoring the original user32.dll.mui and I will report back.

 

[Orbital Shark]

That will be your issue, watermark removers cause unpredictable behaviour. If your restore fails you could try this;

Open Start and type CMD
right-click cmd (when it comes up) and select 'Run as administrator'
type sfc /scannow in command prompt

This will scan your system file integrity & restore any system files that have become corrupt or damaged & even changed.

 

[nObRaIn]

this solved it in fact. i don't even know why i bothered trying to remove the watermark in the first place. i always liked it as a reminder in my previous installs. i didn't have any issues restoring the file, i kept a copy of the original file before patching and i just replaced the pached one after changing the permissions. i'll have to make a note of the sfc command for future reference though. btw, isn't that the same functionality as a system repair?

 

[Orbital Shark]

Glad you sorted it. And no, it's just for major system files, system repair is actually a lot more in depth.

 

[nObRaIn]

this sounds very useful as i generally try to avoid repairing and restoring as much as possible. thanks for the info.

 

[Brink]

I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted.