Lost CTRL-V

Regardless of app, CTRL-V does not PASTE. CTRL-X works. Don't know if CTRL-C works or not. How do I resolve this?
BTW, right-clicking the mouse and selecting "Paste" doesn't work either.

What version of Windows 11 are you running? cmd prompt type winver

I started to experience this shortly before my Ctrl key started failing almost all the time.
I thought the problem was, like yours, Ctrl-C or Ctrl-V failing yet Ctrl-X working only because, as it turned out, my finger positioning / weight distribution was different for Ctrl-X.
It was only when the Ctrl key problem became worse that I recognised the situation for what it was. Before that, I was convinced that it was a Ctrl-C or Ctrl-V problem.

Unless you already have a spare keyboard to test with, try using Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, Ctrl-X on the onscreen keyboard. The OSK still exists in WIn11 - C:\WINDOWS\system32\osk.exe
Turn On or Off On-Screen Keyboard - ElevenForumTutorials
If the OSK works then it rather confirms that it is a keyboard defect.
- To use the OSK, first run C:\WINDOWS\system32\osk.exe
- then select the window you want to copy from / to, and
- then press the OSK keys you want [without first clicking on the OSK's titlebar because that takes the focus away from the window you want].
- For Ctrl-C, just for example, you single click on the Ctrl key and then click on the C key. The OSK knows that you mean the same as pressing the combination Ctrl-C on your normal keyboard.


Best of luck,
Denis

Thanks for the reply. I'll check. Remember, 'Paste' doesn't work when using the mouse.
WinVer - 21H2

lunisj said:

Remember, 'Paste' doesn't work when using the mouse

Click to expand...

Sorry, I meant to comment on that as well but forgot.

Does right-click Copy work?
You can look in Clipboard history to find out using WinKey-V
Enable or Disable Clipboard History - ElevenForumTutorials
Pin and Unpin Items in Clipboard History - ElevenForumTutorials

Denis

WinKey-V does nothing

Then it must be disabled, read the tutorial about enabling it.

All the best,
Denis

Clipboard hx is ON. Turned off/on. Winkey-V still does nothing

Try using the OSK to 'press' WinKey-V.

By the way, I have not found another way of getting to it other than WinKey-V but while I was looking around I stumbled across
How to Enable and Use Clipboard History - HTG
which seems to me to be a good guide for your objective [seeing if things get copied there].



Denis

CTRL-V in OSK does nothing.

Are you managing to see your Clipboard history yet?
- If you can see it then you can check if Ctrl-C and, where appropriate, right-click-Copy work.
- If copying works then you can return to considering problems with Paste.
- Without knowing whether copying works or not, you won't know where the problem lies.

Denis

Pressing WIN-V results in a spinning circle for 2-3 seconds. Then . . . nothing.
I've found if I open NOTEPAD on my PC, I can Copy/Paste within that app. Thus, I know? CTRL-C copies. However, copying from Notepad to Winword or to Reply here results in nothing.
Copying from here to Notepad fails.
I've tried quite a few apps. Only Notepad allows copy/paste

Why don't you try a quick clean boot. There could be some piece of software messing your right click or KB shortcuts up. Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 11 to Troubleshoot Software Conflicts Tutorial

Rather than a clean boot, I suggest testing in
Safe mode - ElevenForumTutorials
because that is a specifically MS-only form of Clean boot and is a lot quicker.
- I never use Option 2, the MSConfig method, to get into Safe mode because I was once trapped in a limited-boot mode after using MSConfig.
- As glasskuter points out below, Safe mode is more limited in scope than Clean boot but Clean boot can be used iteratively to dig down further to identify a specific cause.

If it also fails in Safe mode then I suggest using / creating another user account and testing it in that.
- If it works in another user account then the conclusion must be that the original user account is corrupted.
- The remedial action is then to stop using that original user account.
- Use another user account and make it an Admin one if required.
- Always make sure you have at least one spare, functioning Admin account so you'll know you'll always have the ability to create new accounts in cases like this.
- Personally, after having seen so many reports of user account corruption during Windows 7 days, I always keep two spare, local, Admin, password-protected Admin accounts so that one of them can be kept pristine, never logged in to and therefore imprevious to corruption [user account corruption happens in use not while the thing is just sitting there unused].
- User account corruption cannot normally be fixed but I did once see a claim that it was fixed by repeatedly relegating the original account to a standard one then promoting it back to an Admin one then relegating it again then promoting it again, then .... Apparently, after six cycles of this relagation-promotion, the user account started performing correctly again.

If it also fails in Safe mode and in another user account then I suggest running a Repair install [aka In-place upgrade]
Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade - ElevenForumTutorials
Whilst a Repair install should not affect installed applications or your own files, I always do a full backup first [including a new system image] so I can at least get back to where I started from if it all goes haywire.

If it still fails in normal mode, in Safe mode & in another user account after completing the Repair install then I'd run Clean boot procedures.
Clean boot - ElevenForumTutorials
- You might have to run this several times with iteratively-changed startup items in order to identify the culprit.
- This would still be preferable [for most users] to a Clean install.
Clean Install Windows 11 - ElevenForumTutorials


Best of luck,
Denis

Try3 said:

Rather than a clean boot,

Click to expand...

Denis, I know they both do some of the same thing, but, forgive me if I'm wrong here, a clean boot assumes that there is nothing wrong with the Windows OS, its files, or its drivers, so it focuses strictly on interference caused by third party apps and allows the user a means to use process of elimination to determine what app is causing their problem.

Whereas, a safe boot assumes there is something wrong with the hardware or drivers or software. Safe boot disables every non-essential driver and service, including those that come directly from Microsoft. If a problem goes away while in safe boot, it just tells the user he has a problem outside of windows but does not give him a means to troubleshoot which problematic software it is.

Guess what I'm saying here is if the trouble lies with software, one can boot into safe boot and the problem go away but the user would still have to use clean boot to isolate the problem (if it's caused by 3rd party software.)

Is that not correct?

glasskuter,


I agree that Clean boot is more useful in that it can be used to drill down to a specific cause.
I've always felt that Safe mode was preferable as a first step. I have not found any MS documentation that gives sufficient detail to endorse my preference; perhaps I'm just frightened of Clean boot because I once got trapped in a limited-boot mode by using MSConfig.

I've adjusted & expanded my previous post to include my reasoning.

All the best,
Denis

lunisj said:

Regardless of app, CTRL-V does not PASTE. CTRL-X works. Don't know if CTRL-C works or not. How do I resolve this?
BTW, right-clicking the mouse and selecting "Paste" doesn't work either.

Click to expand...

Just a shot in the dark, did you recently install any windows updates?

Updates are automatic. Don't know the recent update date.
Nonetheless, Reboot fixed it. Thanks for the responses.

Try3 said:

glasskuter,


I agree that Clean boot is more useful in that it can be used to drill down to a specific cause.
I've always felt that Safe mode was preferable as a first step. I have not found any MS documentation that gives sufficient detail to endorse my preference; perhaps I'm just frightened of Clean boot because I once got trapped in a limited-boot mode by using MSConfig.

I've adjusted & expanded my previous post to include my reasoning.

All the best,
Denis

Click to expand...

The only thing I don't like about using Safe Mode is that none of my devices can access the internet because they all use Wi-Fi, and the drivers won't load.

@Winuser That's the trouble with most laptops these days and where a $15 usb ethernet adapter comes in handy. You'd have to troubleshoot within near proximity of your router, but, hey, that beats nuthin. It's handy to have one when troubleshooting connectivity problems, too.