Right-Click Menu Breaks After Installing Software – Fix Without Reinstall

Updated February 2026 — Windows 11 24H2

You installed a new program, and now your right-click menu either takes forever to appear, shows corrupted entries, crashes Explorer, or does not appear at all. This is one of the most common Windows problems — and it is almost always caused by a broken shell extension that the newly installed software registered.

The good news: you do not need to reinstall Windows or even uninstall the offending software. This guide shows you how to fix it in minutes.

Why Does Installing Software Break the Context Menu?

When you install desktop applications, many of them register Context Menu Handlers — shell extensions that add new items to your right-click menu. Examples include:

• 7-Zip → “Extract Here”, “Add to archive…”
• WinRAR → “Extract to folder…”
• Git / TortoiseGit → “Git Commit”, “Git Push”
• Antivirus software → “Scan with…”
• Cloud storage → “Share with OneDrive”, “Move to Dropbox”

This process usually works fine. But it can break the context menu in several ways:

Common Failure Modes

Quick Fix: Identify the Culprit in 5 Minutes

Step 1: Check If the Problem Is Recent

Open Event Viewer to confirm the issue:

1. Press Win + R, type eventvwr.msc, press Enter.
2. Navigate to Windows Logs → Application.
3. Look for errors with Source = “Explorer” or “Application Error” where the faulting module is a .dll file.
4. Note the DLL filename — this is likely your culprit.

Step 2: Disable with ShellExView

1. Download ShellExView (64-bit).
2. Run as Administrator.
3. Press Ctrl+F and search for the DLL name from Step 1.
4. Right-click the matching entry → Disable Selected Items (F7).
5. Go to Options → Restart Explorer.
6. Test: right-click a file. Is the menu working again?

Step 3: If You Do Not Know the Specific DLL

If Event Viewer does not show a clear culprit:

1. In ShellExView, use Options → Hide All Microsoft Extensions.
2. Sort by Modified Time — the newest non-Microsoft entries likely belong to the recently installed software.
3. Disable all entries that were modified today or around the time of installation.
4. Restart Explorer and test.
5. Re-enable extensions one by one until the problem returns — that is your culprit.

Fix Without Uninstalling the Software

Once you have identified the problematic extension, you have several options without needing to uninstall the entire application:

Option 1: Update the Software

Often the issue is a known bug that the developer has already patched:

1. Check the software’s website for a newer version.
2. Install the update — it will usually re-register a fixed DLL.
3. Re-enable the extension in ShellExView.

Option 2: Keep the Extension Disabled

If you do not need the right-click integration:

1. Leave the extension disabled in ShellExView.
2. The parent application still works — you just lose the context menu shortcut.
3. The disable persists across reboots.

Option 3: Registry-Level Removal

For a cleaner solution, remove only the context menu handler:

# Find the extension registry key
Get-ChildItem "Registry::HKCR\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers" | Where-Object {
    $_.PSChildName -like "*ProblemApp*"
} | ForEach-Object {
    Write-Host "Found: $($_.PSPath)"
    # Back up first
    reg export $_.Name "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\backup_$($_.PSChildName).reg" /y
}

Then delete the specific key in regedit (after backing up).

Option 4: Reinstall the Software with “No Shell Integration”

Some applications offer custom installation options:

• 7-Zip: Setup → Uncheck “Add to context menu”
• TortoiseGit: Custom Install → Uncheck “Shell Integration”
• WinRAR: Settings → Integration → Uncheck “Context menu items”

Special Cases

Antivirus Installing Hidden Extensions

Antivirus software often registers multiple shell extensions silently:

• Context Menu Handler (scan files)
• Copy Hook Handler (scan on copy)
• Icon Overlay Handler (show file safety status)

If your antivirus is the culprit, do not disable all its extensions. Instead, look for an option in the antivirus settings like “Disable Explorer integration” or “Disable context menu scanning.”

Visual C++ Runtime Missing

If the crashing DLL was built with Visual C++, the fix might be:

# Install all Visual C++ Redistributables
winget install Microsoft.VCRedist.2015+.x64
winget install Microsoft.VCRedist.2015+.x86

.NET Framework Required

Some extensions require a specific .NET version:

# Check installed .NET versions
dotnet --list-runtimes

# Install .NET Desktop Runtime
winget install Microsoft.DotNet.DesktopRuntime.8

Prevention: Avoid Future Context Menu Breaks

1. Create a restore point before installing new desktop software.
2. Check ShellExView after each installation to see what was added.
3. Prefer portable apps — they do not register shell extensions.
4. Use Revo Uninstaller when removing software — it catches leftover registry entries that standard uninstallers miss.
5. Keep a baseline — export your working context menu handlers with reg export "HKCR\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers" baseline.reg.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will Windows Update fix a broken context menu? A: Generally no. Windows Update does not touch third-party shell extension registrations. You need to fix it at the extension level.

Q: Can I reset the context menu to defaults? A: There is no single “reset” button, but disabling all non-Microsoft extensions in ShellExView effectively gives you a clean default menu.

Q: The problem came back after a reboot. Why? A: Some software re-registers its shell extensions on startup. Check the application’s settings for an auto-registration option, or use Autoruns to disable its startup entry.

Q: Is it safe to delete context menu handler registry keys? A: Yes, as long as you export a backup first. Deleting a handler key simply removes the right-click menu item — it does not affect the parent application.