Unable to Copy and Paste on Windows? – Try these 8 Fixes

Copy-paste often stops working due to interference from third-party background applications that stops the Rdpclip process, which is responsible for managing copy-paste process. If the rdpclip process gets terminated from the background by the third-party application or antivirus, you cannot use the copy-and-paste functionality on your Windows until you restart the rdpclip process.

Before moving down to the methods, make sure to restart your computer because it often helps fix issues like this.

1. Run the Rdpclip process

Rdpclip is an executable file that handles the copy-paste between the user and the server. It means if the rdpclip process gets terminated, you won’t be able to copy and paste. Therefore, try running the rdpclip process by following the steps to ensure whether it is causing the issue or not.

1. Open File Explorer by pressing Win + E on the keyboard.
2. Navigate to the following directory.

   C:\Windows\System32

3. Locate the Rdpclip.exe file and right-click on it to run it as administrator.

   

4. Once done, try to copy and paste something to check if the problem persists.

Check to see if the issue reoccurs after restarting computer.

2. Clear the Clipboard history

The clipboard history saves the most recent 25 items that you copy or paste, including images. It is possible that there is a problem with the clipboard history, preventing the new data from copying to the clipboard. Hence, try clearing the clipboard history by following the steps.

1. Open Command Prompt by searching it from the Windows search.
2. Right-click the command prompt and select Run as administrator.

   

3. Once done, enter the following command to clear the clipboard history.

   cmd /c "echo off | clip"

   

4. Once done, type exit to close the command prompt and check if the copy and paste is working.

3. Restart Windows Explorer.exe

Since copy and paste is an essential process for Windows, it is associated with Windows File Explorer, which is a file manager responsible for giving (User Interface) UI and starting the essential Windows services. Restarting Windows Explorer is like restarting the computer, which restarts the services and drivers from the RAM and also helps fix issues like this.

1. Right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager.
2. Once it is opened, right-click Windows Explorer and select Restart.

   

3. Once done, check if the problem is resolved.

4. End Task Third-Party Programs

As we know, this issue mainly occurs when third-party programs take control of the copy-and-paste functionality. In some cases, users are able to use copy and paste in a third-party application, but they cannot use it outside the application. If that’s not the case, still try closing all third-party programs and see whether it resolves the issue or not.

1. To do so, open the Task Manager by right-clicking the taskbar and selecting Task Manager.

   

2. Here find the third-party applications and close them one by one by right-clicking on them and selecting End Task,

   

3. Once done, check if copy-paste is not working issue is fixed.

5. Run System File Checker to restore Rdpclip.exe

The rdpclip file is located in system32, which can be restored through System File Checker if it is corrupted. System File Checker is a built-in command line utility that allows users to restore corrupted files such as Dynamic Link Library (DLL) and Executable (Exe) files from the cache folder, which is located in %WinDir%\System32\dllcache.

First, you need to delete the rdpclip file, then restore it using the SFC command. To do this, follow the steps:

1. Launch the File Explorer by pressing Win + I together.
2. Navigate to the following path and right-click rdpclip.exe file.

   C:\Windows\System32

3. Go to Properties, then go to Security.

   

4. Click Advanced and then click Change.

   

5. Enter the user name of your account and click Check Names.
6. If Windows cannot find the username of your account, click Advanced, then click Find Now.

   

7. Select the user name of your account from the results and click OK.

   

8. Again, click OK and click Apply to take permissions from the trusted installer and click OK.

   

9. From the rdpclip properties, click Edit.

   

10. Select the user names and groups one by one and tick all the permissions to take full control over the rdpclip file for every user name and group.

    

11. Now you can delete the rdpclip file without any error.

    

12. Once done, press the Windows key and type Command Prompt.
13. Right-click on it to run it as an administrator.

    

14. Once it is opened, enter the following command to verify the protected system files.

    sfc /scannow

    

15. Once done, check copy and paste is working or not.

6. Perform a Clean boot

Oftentimes, this issue is caused by the interference of third-party applications such as TeamViewer. In this case, you can try performing a clean boot. It is a troubleshooting technique that is used to determine which application or service is causing the issue.

Once you perform the clean boot, all the third-party services and applications won’t run in the background. If the issue is fixed, that means there is a program or service interfering with the copy-paste process of Windows.

To perform a clean boot:

1. Press the Windows + R keys simultaneously to open the Run Program.
2. Enter msconfig in the box and click OK to open the system configuration Window.

   

3. Choose Selective Startup and move on to the Services from the top.

   

4. Check Hide all Microsoft services and click Disable All.
5. Once done, click Apply and click OK.

   

6. After that, go to Startup from the top and click Open Task Manager.

   

7. Here right-click the applications one by one and select Disable.

   

8. Once you have disabled all the applications, restart your computer and check if the problem persists or not.

7. Reinstall the application

If you are encountering this issue on a specific application, either try reinstalling the application or use an alternative version of the application. If reinstalling the application does not fix your issue, switch to an alternative version.

To reinstall the application:

1. Open Settings by pressing Windows + I keys simultaneously.
2. Navigate to Apps > Installed Apps.

   

3. Find the application in which you are causing copy paste not working issue.
4. Click Uninstall and again click Uninstall.

   

5. Once done, download the application from the official source and check if the problem persists.

8. Use the System Restore utility

If you had created a restore point in the past when you were not encountering this issue. Restoring your Windows to that version will fix this issue. The system restore utility takes a snapshot of protected system files located in the system 32 folder and saves it into a restore point. Hence this will help restore the rdpclip file, which will help fix this issue.

To use a system restore point:

1. Click Start Menu and type rstrui in the search box.

   

2. Open the System Restore settings and click Next to proceed.
3. Select a restore point that you think it is created when you were not encountering this issue.
4. Once done, click Next and click Finish to restore Windows.