7 Ways To Fix Double Click Is Not Working On Windows PC

“Even after several tries, double-clicking doesn’t open up the files and folders on my computer. The situation has surfaced recently and I am clueless about what needs to be done next. Please help.”

Windows users often bump into a file and folder-related issues. But, what if your files and folders are not the problem? What if your mouse is causing issues? What if the double-clicking operation doesn’t open folders and files?

If that’s you, this post will help you fix the issue quickly. Read on. Before trying out the steps to fix the issue, consider checking the following things  –

Some Checks That May Help

• Check for broken wire in case it’s a wired mouse.
• Wipe off the dirt on your mouse (physical as well as touchpad mouse).
• Check if your left click is broken or not.
• In case it’s a Bluetooth wireless mouse, check if it has run out of battery. You may also want to check your PC for Bluetooth issues as well.
• See if your mouse works on another computer

Double Click Is Not Working On Windows PC

This issue doesn’t just trouble users when, for instance, trying to double-click on a file to open it. But, at other places as well.

Double-clicking doesn’t select the complete word or sentence on a Word or Google Doc. What do I do?

1. Check If You Have Enabled Touchpad Settings

Some of us juggle between physical and touchpad mice. It could be that you had disabled the touchpad functionality to use the physical mouse. And, now since you don’t have a physical mouse with you, you are again working with your laptop’s touchpad.

To check if you have enabled the option –

1. In the Windows search bar, type Touchpad.
2. Click on Open from the right.
3. Toggle the switch to on as seen in the screenshot below.

2. Change Mouse Settings

It could be that you have mistakenly disabled the double-click option, hence it’s not working. Here are the steps to enable it  –

1. In the Windows search bar, type Folder Options.
2. Click on the General tab.
3. Under Click items as follows, click on the Double-click to open an item radio button.
   
4. Click on Apply and OK.

3. Change Mouse Speed

Sometimes, the speed of the mouse may be responsible for why folders are not opening when double-clicked. You can proceed to the settings and try changing the speed. Here are the steps to do that –

1. Head to Contro Panel.
2. Click on Hardware and Sound
3. Under Devices and Printers, click on Mouse.
4. Under Double-click speed, adjust the slider.
   

4. Run An Antivirus Scan

Malicious threats are known to interfere with the functionality of computers and their peripherals. If despite all tries, double-click refuses to work, it could be that your PC is affected by a virus. The best bet here is to use an Antivirus tool that’ll help you identify the malicious threat and remove it before it causes any further damage to your computer or the data.

5. Clean Your Mouse

At this point, if you are still not able to open the folder by double-clicking on it, you can try cleaning your mouse. More specifically, check for any dirt that the left-click has accumulated and clean it.

6. Modify Registry

1. Press Ctrl + R and open Run.
2. Type Regedit and press Enter.
3. Head to HKEY CURRENT USER > Control Panel > Mouse
4. Locate DoubleClickHeight and DoubleClickWidth and change the value to 4.
   
5. Restart your computer.

7. Use Any Other Mouse

Till you resolve the issue, might as well work with a different mouse and not let the tasks at hand get hampered.

Writer’s Tip – Use A Data Recovery Tool

If you have to delete the folder or, you find that it is corrupt, you can try recovering it using a data recovery utility. Advanced Disk Recovery is one such tool that can help you recover data. Here is a glimpse of what you can expect –

• Recover data from all data loss situations.
• Recover files across a variety of formats.
• Quick and deep scan modes to find hard-to-find files.
• Filter files for more accurate results
• USB drives are also supported

Wrapping Up

We hope that your touchpad or your mouse’s double-click is working fine and you can open files and folders, click on sentences, etc. Do let us know in the comments section which of the above fixes helped you out. For more such information, app and software listicles, troubleshooting guides, and everything tech under the sun, keep reading WeTheGeek. You can also find us on Pinterest, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Flipboard.