Windows 10 copy and paste is not working. It stopped working

Hi,

I am using Windows 10 with all the latest updates. Copy and Paste has stopped working.
I am not able to copy and paste from anywhere e.g. In Notepad highlight a line and copy it and paste it.
It will not paste anymore. In PyCharm as well, Notepad++, Word etc.

I have tried the following fix but it does not solve the problem: Open command prompt and type in %windir%\system32\cmd.exe /c "echo off | clip" to clear the clipboard
I have also tried SFC scanow

Anyone have a solution for this?

Thanks, Riaz

First, restart Windows. Sometimes it's all that's needed to clear such 'oddities'.

If that fails, try logging in with another account (create a new one if necessary). Does that have the same problem?

I have solved it now. There was a clear clip board app in one of the other posts whom had same problem.
Clearing the clipboard and then a restart has sorted it.
Ah i have spoken too quick. It worked for a few mins. Now it has stopped working again.

Thanks

Is your OneNote storing on the Cloud/OneDrive? Could be losing track of where the data is when OneNote is closed. Have you tried Selecting the data, Ctrl+C to Copy and Ctrl+V to Paste? Works in most things.

I have the same problem: copy and paste just stops working. I haven't found a solution or identified an exact cause, but I believe it's related to remote desktop connection (terminal services) use. I make extensive use of remote desktop connections in my job and rely heavily on the ability to copy and paste from one remote session to another, or to and from my physical workstation. This is normally possible because remote desktop allows you to share local resources, such as your clipboard, with your remote session.

The trouble is, for the last few weeks, this stops working a few minutes after establishing the remote session and making use of the clipboard. It's as if the clipboard becomes corrupt. The only way I can get it to work again is by killing all my remote desktop sessions. When I do this the local clipboard functions start working again. If I then re-establish the remote sessions, the clipboard will work for a while but will eventually fail.

This is very frustrating. I have tried the "sfc /scannow" and clipboard clearing measures and have even done a system restore to a three-week old checkpoint, but to no avail. I'm at the point where I'm considering wiping my workstation and re-installing Windows from scratch.

bluebird said:

It's as if the clipboard becomes corrupt. The only way I can get it to work again is by killing all my remote desktop sessions. When I do this the local clipboard functions start working again. If I then re-establish the remote sessions, the clipboard will work for a while but will eventually fail.

When the Clipboard fails, try restarting Explorer instead. If that works it's an easier fix.
explorer.exe Process - Restart in Windows 10

Thanks for the suggestion, Bree. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to help in this case. Maybe "corruption" is the wrong word for what's happening to the clipboard. Maybe "captured" - eg. by the remote session - is a more accurate way of describing what's going on. Further experimenting appears to have revealed that I'm still able to copy and paste within each remote session, but not between sessions or between a session and my physical workstation. Annoyingly, however, once it stops working I can't copy (or paste) anything at all on my physical workstation - eg. even within Notepad or Word, etc.

Bree said:

When the Clipboard fails, try restarting Explorer instead. If that works it's an easier fix.
explorer.exe Process - Restart in Windows 10

Worked for me, thanks!