Help!! Crazy Word Paste Behaviour! (Word2000)

[nyhteg]

Hi

This is really weird.

Whenever a user here copies and pastes text in Word, they don't get the text - they get a screenshot...
Watching the clipboard carefully, I see that the text is actually copied, but is instantly followed onto the clipboard by two images of the screen.

This smacks of virus to me; does anyone out there recognise this as known behaviour - benign or otherwise?

Cheers

G

[HansV]

See if Phil Rabichow's <!post=Systematic Approach to Behavioral Problems in Word (97/2000),197827>Systematic Approach to Behavioral Problems in Word (97/2000)<!/post> helps to pinpoint the culprit.

[nyhteg]

Thanks for the replies so far, guys.

In response to the suggestions:

1. I've done a winword /a; also unloaded all startup templates; with no effect. I'll try out the suggested code to list all COM addins and see if that throws anything up.
2. I no longer have access to teh users machine right now, but the behaviour is essentially simple. You do Copy (or Cut, from menu, toolbar or shortcut keys) and Paste.
What gets pasted is not the text you copied, but literally a screen shot; an image of the currently open windows - exactly as if you'd used the Print Screen key.

There are no command reaplcements in operation, and creating my own Editcopy and EditPaste code does not alter the behaviour. This suggests to me there might be something dodgy going on at the COM level.

All further thoughts and suggestions gratefully received!

G

[DocWatson]

Hey G,

I'm not trying to be cute here, but could you post a screenshot of this behaviour ?? It may take 2 posts to get the text copy and clipboard shots posted but I'd be interested to see what the "screenshot" you are getting from the copy/paste routine looks like. I'd think that the behaviour is benign, but you never know.

<font color=blue>Edited by Doc to add</font color=blue> You could try this.... open a Word document with WordPad, which is blind to macros, then save the document in the RTF file format which doesn't include macros, then open the RTF version in Word, thereby guaranteeing the document being edited is macro-less and so, by definition, uninfected. Now try to copy and paste some text and see if the same behaviour occurs. If not, save the file as a .doc and then close and reopen Word and then open the new .doc file and try the copy/paste again. If it's ok, then go back to the original document and see if the behaviour is still present. Let us know the results.

[DaveA]

Sounds like a "Screen Capture" program has been installed.

[nyhteg]

Could you explain more on that, Dave?
What would I be looking for on the machine to confirm that?

Cheers

G

[jscher2000]

If you choose Edit>Paste Special, is text even an option? If not, then perhaps there is some kind of special clipboard software running. Whether it has a handy icon on the system tray, or in the control panel, or whether you need to try to find it in the Task Manager's Processes tab, I'm sure there is a way to hunt it down. <img src=/S/smile.gif border=0 alt=smile width=15 height=15>

[nyhteg]

Today's developments are:

1. the behaviour occurs across windows. Any application cpaable of pasting an image can reproduce the problem - includes Outlook 2003, Excel 2000, even Wordpad.
2. the behviour is linked to the use of navigation about a document using keystrokes - eg: page up and down; ctl+cursors - scrolling to the insertion point does not reproduce the behaviour
3. The behaviour is machine-specific
4. No viruses have turned up after a thorough scan of the system.

We're on the very cusp of simply wiping the PC and rebuilding it, to be honest.
Out of curiosity, I'm going to check the registry for keyboard mappings along the lines of this: http://vim.sourceforge.net/tips/tip.php?tip_id=75

Anyone got any other thoughts in the meantime?

G

[AlanMiller]

Before you "wipe out" the PC, I'd follow Dave's lead and look for a (background running) screen capture program. First look at what's visible in the system tray, then look at the list of running apps in the task manager. These programs typically "reserve" certain key combinations to invoke screen captures, on a system-wide basis. What you're describing sounds very much like this behaviour to me.

Alan

[nyhteg]

Sorry - forgot to mention that bit, yes.

In addition to the other thigns I listed, I also went through the Task manager, double-checking out each process for anything dodgy.
Again, nothing untoward there. Nothing in the system tray either.

Assuming there's nothing 'live' going on, my current theory is that something odd *was* installed (and subsequently uninstalled) previously and has left some keyboard mappings lying around.

Either that or I need to send for the holy water. [img]/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif[/img]

G

[AlanMiller]

<hr>Either that or I need to send for the holy water. <img src=/S/smile.gif border=0 alt=smile width=15 height=15><hr>Have you tried hanging a necklace of garlic cloves around the monitor? <img src=/S/grin.gif border=0 alt=grin width=15 height=15>

Alan

[nyhteg]

<img src=/S/smile.gif border=0 alt=smile width=15 height=15> I thought the garlic cloves might be my last resort, but I've finally got to the bottom of it.

Not virus. Not screen capture software. Not add-ins. Not Exorcist-style demonic possession.

Turns out they weren't using the keyboard that came with the machine. They had a PS/2 keyboard instead of a USB one, running through a converter cable.
Swapping out for the keyboard intended for use with the PC resovled the problem immediately.

Now we just need to work out how to get the PS/2 keyboard working properly... <img src=/S/hairout.gif border=0 alt=hairout width=31 height=23> <img src=/S/smile.gif border=0 alt=smile width=15 height=15>

Thanks for all your input, guys - I've really appreciated the moral support. <img src=/S/cheers.gif border=0 alt=cheers width=30 height=16>

G

[HansV]

Phew! Glad you found it!

[mlang]

I have searched everywhere for a solution w/o success until today. I have a A/B switch box and after moving the cable to the pc, no more pasting screen shots. <img src=/S/clapping.gif border=0 alt=clapping width=19 height=23> This has been sooo frustrating!