Fix Drag and Drop Not Working in Windows 7, Vista, or XP — Historical Guide

Historical support note: This article covers unsupported Windows releases.

If drag and drop stops working, first determine whether the problem is limited to one application or affects Windows Explorer and several applications.

1. Restart the affected application or Explorer

Save your work and restart the program. If Explorer itself is affected, log off and back on or restart Windows.

2. Check for an elevation mismatch

Windows Vista and Windows 7 can block drag and drop between processes running at different integrity levels. For example, dragging from a normal Explorer window into an application launched as administrator may not work by design.

Run both applications normally where possible instead of elevating programs unnecessarily.

3. Test the mouse and keyboard

Confirm the primary mouse button works reliably and that no key such as Esc, Ctrl, or Shift is physically stuck. Test another mouse if the behavior is erratic.

4. Use a clean boot or new user profile

If the problem occurs across applications, a shell extension or background utility may be interfering. Test in a clean-boot environment or another user account before making registry changes.

5. Repair Windows files

On Windows Vista/7, run:

sfc /scannow

The original article’s broad registry repairs are not retained as a default because drag-and-drop failures have multiple causes and indiscriminate shell/registry changes can create additional problems.