Unable to rename files and folders

rocks911 · 27 Nov 2018

I have a w10 Pro 64 bit PC and for whatever reason today this machine has decided it wont let me rename files or folders. I built this PC a few months back and it has been operating flawlessly, except now this.

When I go to rename a file or folder I get "if you change a file name extension, the file might become unusable. Are you sure you want to change it?"

This is the first time I have seen this behavior on this PC.

I also have to wonder what is going on with my Firefox browser. It has just started to block a lot of pages with the warning "Your connection is not secure", and under the advanced tab on the dead end page it directs me to it indicates "SEC_ERROR_UNKNOWN_ISSUER" This is occurring with 50% or more of the pages I visit. It even happened trying to access a Microsoft site.

These two behaviors started today out of the blue. I have multiple security software apps to include Malwarebytes and Bitdefender among others and they are all coming up with nothing.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

rocks911 · 27 Nov 2018

Upon further investigation I found that the fix is:
Check the option Hide extensions for known file types.

Now I just have to figure out why Firefox is doing whatever craziness its doing. Every day's an adventure with PC's!

Bree · 27 Nov 2018

rocks911 said:

When I go to rename a file or folder I get "if you change a file name extension, the file might become unusable. Are you sure you want to change it?"
This is the first time I have seen this behavior on this PC.

That has been a standard warning message in Windows for a long time, first seen in Windows '95 as I recall. The only question is how have you have avoided it until now?. It's just for information, click 'Yes' and it should allow you to rename.

Unable to rename files and folders-change-extension-warning-xp.png

f14tomcat · 27 Nov 2018

Another possibility is the OP is clearing the entire rename box to type a new name. With extensions enabled to show, that would constitute "changing the Extension".

Example:

MyDocument.txt if all wiped clear before typing MyDocument1 would in essence change it to a file with no extension. Hence, the message.

If I remember correctly, with extensions set to show, and a rename is attempted, the cursor should be placed by default just before the ".", and only the name portion of the file would be highlighted to change...not the extension itself. It would have to be purposely typed over or cleared.

Bree · 27 Nov 2018

rocks911 said:

Now I just have to figure out why Firefox is doing whatever craziness its doing...

Start here: How to troubleshoot security error codes on secure websites | Firefox Help