7 Tips to Fix Copy and Paste Not Working in Windows 11

The Copy and Paste command is the most basic command for Windows PC and one of the most familiar operations in our life and work. It has been used with the operating system from the very beginning. However, due to system failures, third-party program conflicts or some other reasons, some users report that Copy and Paste does not work on Windows 11.

If you are facing the same problem, you can try the following methods to fix it.

Method 1. Keyboard troubleshooter

Troubleshooter is the method that comes with Windows to troubleshoot the problem for you, so you can first try to use it to fix the problem automatically.

Press the Windows + I shortcut to go to Windows 11 Settings.

Click on the “Troubleshoot” option, and then choose “Other troubleshooters”.

Click on the “Run” button next to the “Keyboard” option.

Windows 11 will now run a troubleshooter to find the item that is causing the problem. Once found, it will automatically resolve the problem.

Method 2. Remove the Windows clipboard cache

Everything you copy on your computer is stored in the Windows clipboard memory. If Windows stores too much clipboard cache, it may also cause the copy and paste to not work properly. Therefore, you can delete the Windows clipboard cache just in case.

Press the Windows key to open the Start menu on Windows 11.

In the search bar, type “Command Prompt”, and then choose “Run as administrator”.

In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press the Enter key.

The command prompt will take a few seconds to execute the command. This command will clear all Windows clipboard cache. After the execution process is complete, check if the problem has been resolved.

Method 3. Restart Windows Explorer

Copy and paste problems can also be caused by temporarily clicking on Windows Explorer. If this is the case, you can restart Windows Explorer by following these steps.

Open the Task Manager on your system. Under the “Processes” section, right-click on “Windows Explorer” and select the “Restart” option.

Windows 11 will take a few seconds to restart Windows Explorer. When finished, check that the copy and paste commands work.

Method 4. Run a CHKDSK scan

CHKDSK is one of the best ways to get rid of any corrupted files. Therefore, this is the step required to perform the scan.

Press Windows + E shortcut key to open File Explorer on Windows 11 PC.

Now right-click on the drive where Windows is installed (usually C:) and select “Properties”.

In the properties window, switch to “Tools” tab.

Finally, click on "Check" in Error checking section.

Now Windows will check the drive for file system errors. If it finds any, it will automatically delete them. Once the process is complete, check if the problem has been solved.

Method 5. Download the latest Windows update

If none of the above methods work, the problem you are currently facing may be caused by a temporary error or system failure. At this point you can detect and download the latest Windows update to fix the problem.

Press the Windows + I shortcut key to open the Settings menu.

Click on the “Windows Update” option on the left panel of the screen.

Click the "Check for updates" option.

Windows will now check for any available updates. If you find one, download it to fix the above issue.

Method 6. Restart rdpclip.exe

If you are experiencing the above problem with remote desktop connections, then you can try restarting rdpclip.exe.

Ctrl + Shift + Esc shortcuts to open the Task Manager on your system.

Navigate to the "Details" section. It contains data about the different system files running in the background.

Find and right-click on "rdpclip.exe" and select the task.

Now, go to the "system32" folder in the drive where Windows is installed. In the search bar, type "rdpclip.exe" and press enter to run the program.

Now check if the problem of copy and paste not working on Windows 11 has been solved.

Method 7. Uninstall third-party copy and paste manager

If you install a third-party copy tool on your computer, there is a possibility that it may conflict with the copy and paste that comes with Windows so that it does not work properly. Therefore, you can check whether such programs are installed on your computer. If so, uninstall them and see if the problem still persists.

In addition, if your copy-paste problem occurs only with a specific application, then you can also try to update that program to fix the problem.