Lost Media File Associations

[Guest]

I have somehow lost file associations for most (if not all) media types. Any
time I double-click a wmv, mpg, avi, mp3 (and others), I get the 'Open
with...' dialog and have to choose the approriate program. I do this, and
check the box to 'always use this program', but it does not keep the
association.

I have already tried to reinstall WMP with no success.

Now, here's another kicker - I can go into 'File Types' from any window File
menu, and these files types aren't even listed! I tried to recreate MP3, but
it didn't stay in the list. Also, when I choose Winamp or WMP to open this
file type, the option stays blank, and the association is lost again.

This looks like a registry issue, but I don't know where to look to make the
appropriate changes. Someone please help!

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Login as Administrator (built-in). Open the Set Program Access and Defaults
option in Control Panel Add/Remove Programs applet. Click Custom, and under
"Choose a default media player", select "Windows Media Player" and then
click OK.

--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User

Windows XP Troubleshooting
http://www.winhelponline.com

 

[Guest]

Done - but didn't change anything. Same problem exists. I even tried to
make the change in Safe Mode, and it still does what I described below.

Anything else to try?

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

1. Create a new user profile and see if the problem exists. If not, we can
deal with the "per-user account" issue.

2. Download FileExtInfo.zip from the following URL and generate a report for
..MP3 file type using that utility. Post the entire report in your reply.

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/fileextinfo.htm

--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User

Windows XP Troubleshooting
http://www.winhelponline.com

 

[Guest]

I have done what you said below with all file types that I seem to be having
trouble with. I have enclosed a link to get the FileExt .txt files directly
from my website here -

http://www.netncs.com/fileext.html

I also have been doing some searching in the registry and found I cannot
access the registry keys of the file types in question, as well as many
others. I get a message saying I "do not have permissions to access this
key."

I have rebooted to Safe Mode, logged in as local Admin, and still got the
same message.

Is this supposed to be this way by design? I found many other file types in
the registry list that gave me this error. Many didn't seemed to standard
Windows or MS file types.

Can I copy this whole registry key from another PC and merge it to mine to
fix this?

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

This is a Permissions issue. To update the permissions of the registry
subkey, follow these steps:

a. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK to start Registry
Editor.
b. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
c. Right-click the key, and then click Permissions.
d. Under Group or user names, click Administrators.
e. Under Permissions for Administrators, make sure that the Allow check box
for the following entries is selected:

•Full Control
•Read

f. Click Apply, and then click OK.
g. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.

-or-

Using SubInACL
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...56-d8fe-4a91-93cf-ed6985e3927b&displaylang=en

This is the command-line you use (from C:\Program Files\Windows Resource
Kits\Tools folder ):

subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT /grant=administrators=f

--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User

Windows XP Troubleshooting
http://www.winhelponline.com

 

[Guest]

I really appreciate all your help. Unfortunately, nothing has helped so far.
I did what you said in the last post, but I got an error saying something
like "Registry Editor could not set security in the key currently selected,
or some of its subkeys."

The exact error I get when I hit the file ext under HKCR\.avi (and the other
files we've discussed) is this - "Could not open .avi. Error opening key."

Also, when I try to change the permissions directly to these keys, I get
this message - "You do not have permission to view the current permission
settings for .MP3, but you can make permission changes." It opens the
Security Settings window, and I can add my user account to the list, but when
I hit 'OK', I get this error - "Unable to save permissions changes on .MP3.
Access is denied."

I had some domain trouble not too long ago, which was when all these
problems started. I had to create a new profile and move the settings to the
new one. I have this many times before, but I have NEVER had THIS happen!

Am I going to have to reload my PC? I don't want to have to if I can keep
from it. What else is there?

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Have you tried SubInACL?

--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User

Windows XP Troubleshooting
http://www.winhelponline.com