"No programs associated to perform this action" CPL.

Hi,

I have the 64-bit version of Windows 8.1 Pro. As far as I'm aware, all the latest updates are installed.



For some reason, I cannot open certain shortcuts on the Control Panel (Default Programs, RemoteApp and Desktop Connections, Connect To and Windows Update). An dialogue box titled "Explorer.EXE" appears stating: "This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Please install a program or, if one is already installed, create an association in the Default Programs control panel."



The irony is that the Default Programs panel doesn't seem to have a default program assigned to it!



This means that I cannot access the desktop Windows Update interface, which is obviously a problem. I can, however, use the 'Modern' version of it though the PC settings app.



This is really odd: I can't think of any explanation for it myself: maybe a shell extension that Explorer uses to display the interfaces above is corrupt?



I have run sfc /scannow and it returned with the result that it found corrupted files, but couldn't fix them.



I ran I virus scan; no joy.

And no, I've no idea of any settings that I might have changed / programs I've installed that might have caused this.



Here are some screenshots:

http://i.imgur.com/Il8rSTl.png

http://i.imgur.com/Y7jmZLw.png



Any ideas?



Thanks in advance.

Daniel Burgess said:

The irony is that the Default Programs panel doesn't seem to have a default program assigned to it!

Click to expand...

Heh heh

See if this tutorial has the info you need.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/8486-default-file-associations-restore-windows-8-a.html

Hi, thanks very much for your reply.
I downloaded the .reg files for both .cpl items and .exe items, and unfortunately, they still don't work.
This is a really strange issue. Any other ideas?

In the meantime, I'll have a dig around in the Windows folder to see if I can find the Update application manually.

Right, I found the wuapp.exe file in System32 which runs the Update GUI. This is obviously what runs when I try to launch Update. Believing that this might be corrupt, I replaced the file with a healthy one from another computer (both in Sys32 and SysWOW64). This didn't do anything to remedy the problem. Maybe the problem lies with one of the DLLs clustered around it?

By the way, running the Windows Update Diagnostic tool does nothing either: it runs into an error (code 0x80070002).

Thoughts?

Do you have an install DVD or Windows 8 iso image to use for a Repair Install? Since the reg settings did not fix you up and sfc reports corrupted files it sounds like some system files need to be replaced. Do you have a UPS on the system btw? I am just wondering if perhaps a power glitch corrupted some files.

If you have the means for a repair install there is a tutorial here:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/26095-repair-install-windows-8-a.html

It is also possible that a Windows Update caused an issue. According to the tutorial a repair install wipes out the updates. That may be a good thing if one of them caused a problem.

Do you have a Restore Point from before you noticed the problem? That may be the least destructive thing to try first. But if running ordinary programs is hosed processing a restore point may not work either.

I got Windows 8.1 by though upgrade from 8, which in turn was got from a disk installation of 7. So no, unfortunately, I don't have an 8.1 install DVD. I can't use the refresh / repair function because 'some files are missing'.

No, I don't have a UPS, but I do have a good-quality PSU, so I doubt a power glitch caused this.

I was planning to do a clean install of Windows 10 to resolve this issue, but then I need Update to do that...

I'll try rolling back to a restore point and then if that doesn't work, I'll try to reinstall Windows 7 and update to 10 from there. Will that work? Will I still be able to update to Windows 10 even after a system restore or even downgrade?

Restore didn't work. So here's the plan:

1. Dig out my DVD drive and reinstall Win7 from the disk.
2. When Win7 is installed, I should get the option to update to 10.
3. Update to 10, problems all fixed.
4. Replace all my personal files.

The only thing that worries me is that when I install Win7, I won't get the option to update to 10 for free. I've already 'reserved' my free upgrade.
Can anyone with sufficient knowledge of the Windows activation process predict how this will play out?

On the Windows 10 upgrade I would ask on Windows 10 Forums. Many of the regular posters there upgraded a bunch of times during the various trial builds and will know what to do. The other thing to ask about is MBR vs. UEFI. Windows 10 will want to be installed on a UEFI/GPT system. The GPT is not compatible with MBR of Windows 7 and earlier. Again, those posters will know how to approach it. Check with them before installing W7. I believe W7 64 bit can be installed as UEFI but find out what they say.

I only have a Laptop so I installed Windows 10 only n a VM to check it out.

Ok, I'll do that. My computer isn't UEFI though.

Thanks very much for your help. I really appreciate it.

Sure thing. I am on W10 forums also. I just don't have the install/upgrade experience of the other posters.