Solved 8.1 Choose default program - always gives an error message

NessPJ

Member
Messages
47
Location
The Netherlands
Hey there,

Started using my freshly installed Windows 8.1 Pro this week...
After a few days I started noticing something odd and have no idea why this started happening.

When i go to a file (any filetype...i tried like 10..) and click "choose default program..." in the context menu, the following error message will always come up:

w8-openwith2.jpg

Sure i can go to Config panel > Select default programs etc.
But this is odd... since i am 100% confident it used to work fine before.
I already did a 'sfc /scannow' checkup with an original 8.1 Pro x64 image but it says integrity is completely fine.

Any idea what might be causing this?

Could it be a random piece of software i uninstalled which was perhaps freeware and did not state it was Windows 8 compatible, leaving a cluttered registry key which is affecting this command from my context menu?
(A little far fetched perhaps...but i really can't think of anything else).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7-TH
    Memory
    2 x 4GB G-Skill RipjawsX 1600 MHz DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    HIS IceQ R9 290X (LC)
    Sound Card
    RME Babyface Pro
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell U2412M 24" WUXGA
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    1 x Intel SSD750 PCI-e NVMe SSD 400GB
    4 x Sandisk Ultra Extreme 2 120GB SSD in RAID0,
    2 x Seagate ST4000VN000 4TB in RAID1
    PSU
    Seasonic X-850
    Case
    Lian Li PC-A61 USB 3.0
    Cooling
    CoolIT Vantage PRO
    Keyboard
    Logitech G710+
    Mouse
    Logitech G302 Daedalus
    Internet Speed
    90 Mbit DSL
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    It flies. :)


Hello there,
Thanks for the reply. You seem to be implying that a specific set of file associations would be broken (for some reason). I see a lot of regfiles in the download link of the article you linked to..
Do you happen to know of a file extension i could use to test and see if the context menu option would still work?
Because if that isn't the case this would not help me, but show that the problem is elsewhere (like the actual 'Open With...' dialog that windows is supposed to call).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7-TH
    Memory
    2 x 4GB G-Skill RipjawsX 1600 MHz DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    HIS IceQ R9 290X (LC)
    Sound Card
    RME Babyface Pro
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell U2412M 24" WUXGA
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    1 x Intel SSD750 PCI-e NVMe SSD 400GB
    4 x Sandisk Ultra Extreme 2 120GB SSD in RAID0,
    2 x Seagate ST4000VN000 4TB in RAID1
    PSU
    Seasonic X-850
    Case
    Lian Li PC-A61 USB 3.0
    Cooling
    CoolIT Vantage PRO
    Keyboard
    Logitech G710+
    Mouse
    Logitech G302 Daedalus
    Internet Speed
    90 Mbit DSL
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    It flies. :)
Hello Ness,

If you don't have to many, you would need to download and merge the .reg file any affected file type to restore it's default associations.

If you do have a lot, then you could do a system restore using a restore point (if available) dated before this happened to undo it.

Hope this helps, :)
Shawn
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Pick a filetype that you can't set a default association for (using your failed method). Click the specific .reg file for that filetype and merge it into the registry. Retest you method on that filetype.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel G2020
    Motherboard
    ASRock B75M-DGS R2.0
    Memory
    8GBs @ 1333 MHz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 EVO
    PSU
    400w
    Internet Speed
    57/11
I will look into the System restore, since i was only thinking in terms of my Acronis backups before..
But i left my System restore settings on default so maybe i can just go back an entire week to see if that fixes it.
If not i'm guessing some handler of a non-windows8-validated piece of software messed up the handling of file associations. :/
I will get back to you, thanks both! :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7-TH
    Memory
    2 x 4GB G-Skill RipjawsX 1600 MHz DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    HIS IceQ R9 290X (LC)
    Sound Card
    RME Babyface Pro
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell U2412M 24" WUXGA
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    1 x Intel SSD750 PCI-e NVMe SSD 400GB
    4 x Sandisk Ultra Extreme 2 120GB SSD in RAID0,
    2 x Seagate ST4000VN000 4TB in RAID1
    PSU
    Seasonic X-850
    Case
    Lian Li PC-A61 USB 3.0
    Cooling
    CoolIT Vantage PRO
    Keyboard
    Logitech G710+
    Mouse
    Logitech G302 Daedalus
    Internet Speed
    90 Mbit DSL
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    It flies. :)
Hey guys,

This is me getting back at you.... :)

I looked at system recovery and i noticed there were no recovery points there (i must have cleaned them manually or by the use of ccleaner before my automated acronis backups started).

Anyhow, i downloaded the zip file with .reg fixes you linked to and tried the txt.reg for .txt files. Logged off, logged on again...sadly this did not help a single bit. The error message is still there.

Any other ideas? (i do hope so).

Funnily enough have you seen anyone else post this? I really wonder what made this occur....
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7-TH
    Memory
    2 x 4GB G-Skill RipjawsX 1600 MHz DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    HIS IceQ R9 290X (LC)
    Sound Card
    RME Babyface Pro
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell U2412M 24" WUXGA
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    1 x Intel SSD750 PCI-e NVMe SSD 400GB
    4 x Sandisk Ultra Extreme 2 120GB SSD in RAID0,
    2 x Seagate ST4000VN000 4TB in RAID1
    PSU
    Seasonic X-850
    Case
    Lian Li PC-A61 USB 3.0
    Cooling
    CoolIT Vantage PRO
    Keyboard
    Logitech G710+
    Mouse
    Logitech G302 Daedalus
    Internet Speed
    90 Mbit DSL
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    It flies. :)

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hey Brink,

Thanks again for your help. Sadly, still another no-go i'm affraid. :(
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7-TH
    Memory
    2 x 4GB G-Skill RipjawsX 1600 MHz DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    HIS IceQ R9 290X (LC)
    Sound Card
    RME Babyface Pro
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell U2412M 24" WUXGA
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    1 x Intel SSD750 PCI-e NVMe SSD 400GB
    4 x Sandisk Ultra Extreme 2 120GB SSD in RAID0,
    2 x Seagate ST4000VN000 4TB in RAID1
    PSU
    Seasonic X-850
    Case
    Lian Li PC-A61 USB 3.0
    Cooling
    CoolIT Vantage PRO
    Keyboard
    Logitech G710+
    Mouse
    Logitech G302 Daedalus
    Internet Speed
    90 Mbit DSL
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    It flies. :)
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Ok. Please try this enhanced version of that one to see how it may work. Restart the PC after merging it to fully apply.
W000p! You fixed it! And for each and every filetype too! :D
Thanks a lot! This just made may day...

Just out of plain interest (as i have been wondering this ever since i noticed the vast amount of fixes/information on this site)... are you a programmer or do you consider yourself a very advanced system administrator? :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7-TH
    Memory
    2 x 4GB G-Skill RipjawsX 1600 MHz DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    HIS IceQ R9 290X (LC)
    Sound Card
    RME Babyface Pro
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell U2412M 24" WUXGA
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    1 x Intel SSD750 PCI-e NVMe SSD 400GB
    4 x Sandisk Ultra Extreme 2 120GB SSD in RAID0,
    2 x Seagate ST4000VN000 4TB in RAID1
    PSU
    Seasonic X-850
    Case
    Lian Li PC-A61 USB 3.0
    Cooling
    CoolIT Vantage PRO
    Keyboard
    Logitech G710+
    Mouse
    Logitech G302 Daedalus
    Internet Speed
    90 Mbit DSL
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    It flies. :)
You're most welcome Ness. That's great news. :)

I used to program some in BASIC, but it's been a while. I play with other languages, but mostly just small stuff now.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Back
Top