Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (
More info?)
On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 08:08:22 +0100, Terry Pinnell
>I have for years used a keyboard macro program, (called Stiletto, now
>obsolete and unsupported), which lets me enter commonly used text with
>a hotkey. I use it widely when opening and saving files, to go to
>specific folders. For example, typing '=ma' (without the quotes) in
>any application's File Open dialog enters 'D:\Docs\My Pictures\Maps'.
>(The '=' character is a user-chosen prefix; it could be anything I
>like. Changing it doesn't solve the problem.)
>Recently something very odd has started happening, and after much
>research I've still not isolated the cause. The *first* time I enter
>say '=ma', nothing happens. But if I backspace or delete and re-enter
>it, the keyboard macro works as usual. While the dialog remains open,
>further hotkey entries all work OK. It's just that very *first* one
>that fails. The whole of it needs to be re-typed; not just the 'a' or
>the 'm' but the '=' too.
It does sound like some sort of failure to init, doesn't it? Maybe a
difference between what is active in RAM and what is on disk, or
something like that? Yes, you may need the help of someone with
insight into how .DLL loading and core APIs work.
Prompted by your assertion that this used to work, I'd start by
state-charting your mileage in these environments:
- Safe Mode
- Normal Windows with MSConfig startup suppression
- Normal Windows
If none work, then you may want to try NirSoft's excallent Shell
Extensions Viewer, to reversably disable shell integrations that
MSConfig offers no control over, and Safe may not suppress.
You may also want to formally exclude malware, and after that, compare
the date of onset of your problems with your OS patching history.
Problems with patches may be supported by MS, so if you get this far,
and can pin it down to a particular month's patches, enquire further.
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The most accurate diagnostic instrument
in medicine is the Retrospectoscope
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