File association fixes for Windows Vista

Copyright © 2008 Ramesh Srinivasan
Windows Vista

Summary

This page contains the file association fixes for some of the most common file types. The fixes are applicable for Windows® Vista systems only.

File association fixes

audiocd	avi	bat	bmp	chm	cmd	com
dvr-ms	exe	gif	htm	html	ico	inf
jpe	jpeg	jpg	js	lnk	mp3	mpe
mpg	msc	mpeg	reg	scr	tif	tiff
txt	vbs	wma	wmv	xml	xps	zip
Folder	Directory	Drive

Usage instructions

To fix the association for a particular file type, download the corresponding fix from the above links table (Use Right-click - Save as option in your browser to download the fixes). Unzip the fix and extract the .REG file to the Desktop. Right-click the REG file and choose Merge. Note that you need to be an administrator to apply these fixes.

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Related Links

http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/incorrect-icon-shown-for-a-file-type-in-vista/

55 Responses to "File association fixes for Windows Vista"

jna

said this on 11 Jan 2007 5:07:04 AM PDT

Hello ! Sorry for my bad english ! You cannot modify this branch : HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Paint.Picture\shell The service TrustedInstaller is the owner of the Shell key. Have you an another suggestion ?

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dan

said this on 26 Dec 2007 12:47:09 PM PDT

ok, i usually dont ever reply to message boards or advice forums like this. but i just had to say a big thanx to this one because i was so pissed at my computer but this forum helped me fix the problem.......thanx

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Matt

said this on 24 Apr 2008 7:19:57 AM PDT

most helpful tool on the net thanks!

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Adam

said this on 14 Mar 2007 10:57:17 PM PDT

I was looking to fix this association problem! Thanks so much, you fixed my mpeg & mpg file association problems, Vista wouldn't...

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chris lively

said this on 24 Mar 2007 2:43:55 AM PDT

Thank you.

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said this on 24 Mar 2007 5:18:15 PM PDT

I can't get the fix for LNK to work. It's telling me that some keys are open by the system or other processes. Any way I can run it without opening these processes, because I have already tried closing all programs.

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Andre

said this on 30 Mar 2007 5:42:42 PM PDT

Wow! This is so useful! Thank you so much! Nero (un)installer messes with basically all these file extensions. This is very useful indeed!

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Sharon Corbridge

said this on 30 Apr 2007 3:37:23 PM PDT

Thank you so much - saved my life!!!

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Bob

said this on 01 May 2007 2:45:34 AM PDT

THANK YOU! Creative Suite 3 installer almost got me fired :/ Now I just need to fix png

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Larry Waibel

said this on 01 May 2007 12:06:01 PM PDT

I've found that after installing Visual Studio 2005 the association for the .sln file doesn't work. I've had to manually change it to run 'devenv.exe'. Don't know if that's the correct solution or not.

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Vincenzo Di Russo [MVP]

said this on 05 May 2007 2:30:11 AM PDT

Excellent post, Ramesh. http://blogs.dotnethell.it/vincent/File-association-fixes-for-Windows-Vista__10654.aspx Thank you.

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Joseph

said this on 12 May 2007 8:41:10 AM PDT

Thank you so much for this website, your registry script saved me from having to re-install Vista. I had somehow corrupted the EXE file association and NONE of my programs would run. I'm all good now thanks to you. :D

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Rami

said this on 29 May 2007 3:58:18 PM PDT

Thanks so much! My zip files were opening up in office instead of being extracted first. Thanks again! That was a lifesaver!

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Sylvie

said this on 22 Jun 2007 8:48:54 AM PDT

Thank you so much. I can now open my PPS and ZIP files. Nobody were able except you. I am so glad and I keep in file your address for future uses.

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Dré

said this on 14 Jul 2007 5:08:57 AM PDT

While it doesn't fix my problem, it sure sounds like one to keep in my favorites. My problem: I found the program to modifiy file associations on Vista, but it won't let me associate a file who's extension is not already known to the program. Any of you know how to fix that? Thanks. Dré

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M@

said this on 16 Jul 2007 5:11:43 PM PDT

thank, a real life saver here. One thing though, anyone know how to fix it for DivX files??? I HATE NERO!!!

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Luke

said this on 18 Jul 2007 8:14:04 PM PDT

For *.zip works perfectly, i know it's a small bug but VERY annoying... thanks a lot

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Rebecca Hewitt

said this on 23 Jul 2007 10:24:39 PM PDT

OH! I've found a truly helpful site..I'm transitioning from ME to Vista Home Premium and feel lost and alone. The file association list was enlightening. What else am I going to find missing ? Thanks for sharing your expertise. I'll be back.

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said this on 08 Aug 2007 9:46:50 PM PDT

Although the fixes worked for jpg and jpeg files, the fix for gif merely opens the entire windows photo gallery instead of opening the particular gif. I checked the actual registry entries and they seem the same but work differently.

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an unknown user

said this on 21 Aug 2007 11:44:25 PM PDT

This all works great, but does anyone have a reg file for ".mov"? That's the only file type that I have to fix still. Thanks!

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said this on 26 Aug 2007 12:26:59 AM PDT

Fantastic !! First time using this site and out of all the ones i tried this one had the answers, and pretty simple too. Thanks! and keep up the great work. Jimmy

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bob macqueen

said this on 06 Sep 2007 6:48:27 AM PDT

Excellent - fixed a problem with photos not showing in Vista Media Center. Now just got to sort out the Canon scanner!

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said this on 09 Sep 2007 8:01:59 AM PDT

very useful.it works.you save mylife.

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an unknown user

said this on 20 Oct 2007 12:05:15 AM PDT

Thank you so much!! I am so happy! This fixed my problems and now I can use my computer fully again!!

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Salomon Mejia

said this on 24 Oct 2007 3:17:29 PM PDT

very good services.

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ReyG

said this on 24 Oct 2007 8:48:45 PM PDT

This is great help. It restored back the correct zip file association to windows default zip program from an erroneous zip file association to word application.

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Robert P Hehenkamp

said this on 26 Oct 2007 8:41:30 AM PDT

Hi Ramesh, You are a life saver! I'm slicing and Dicing a VMS system and needed to look at .lnk files with my text editor [ Visual Slick ] ... SO I associated that extension with VS ... OOPS! I've never been so happy to find a web site [Yours]! My computer is working again [ And you made it so easy ]. Thanks Again! Bob

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Bharath

said this on 31 Oct 2007 2:28:30 PM PDT

Thank you verymuch Ramesh!, says i dont have permission to import the Mpeg registry, if u could help me figure why its not allowing it to import, would be great! ones again Thank you verymuch! Editor's note: Which fix are you trying to import, Bharath?

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an unknown user

said this on 04 Nov 2007 4:21:49 PM PDT

Thank you very much! Worked wonderfully.

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James White

said this on 11 Nov 2007 10:58:50 AM PDT

Thanks so much for your effort, I haven't been able to run .bat files for weeks all the "how tos" I found on the until didn't resolve it. Much appreciated! 8)

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Cindy

said this on 26 Nov 2007 8:55:20 PM PDT

Thank you so much. My .zip file would not work and now it's perfect!

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TS

said this on 27 Nov 2007 12:51:05 PM PDT

Ramesh, good that I found you in the Microsoft Windows Support Community posting. You are a real great EXPERT!!! After 3 weeks looking by myself in the WWW, I didn't find any solution. 3 weeks ago , suddenly - and belief me - I have done NOTHING, Vista was from one second to the other unable to creatre new folders in the shell. Good that I know some old MS-DOS function and could create a workarround. Now merged the "Folder Fix" and as fast the issue appears, it disappears without booting the system. Ramesh, I can't express myself how you had helped me. Thx a lot. TS from Germany.

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an unknown user

said this on 28 Nov 2007 8:27:53 PM PDT

Doesn't work with the exe file. I can not download updates due to exe file not having an association. It doesn't even appear in the file association list

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M O C

said this on 08 Dec 2007 7:47:37 AM PDT

The html fix wont work for me (others will though), the error mesage says, "Not all data was successfuly written to the registry. Some keys are open by the system or other processes." Can anyone fix this? Thanks

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Jen

said this on 24 Dec 2007 2:30:02 AM PDT

The exe fix didn't work for me :(

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Kevin

said this on 04 Jan 2008 3:28:58 PM PDT

Hey Jen, Your not alone the exe fix did not work for me either.

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Gumby

said this on 26 Dec 2007 11:24:50 PM PDT

PERFECT! Extracted, executed, re-booted and VIOLA! Thumbnail view is back! I've been working on this for 3 days. Fixed in less than 5 minutes! Thank You!

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Eugene

said this on 08 Jan 2008 7:42:13 AM PDT

Thanks Ramesh! I couldn't open an exe file and was about ready to reinstall Windows, now everything works.

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Serge

said this on 29 Jan 2008 7:59:25 AM PDT

Great resource, but I would really like to see one for .doc files. Friend loaded Off XP and then did upgrade disk to Off 2007. now .doc gives not valid win32 application. On Vista.

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Jerome

said this on 03 Feb 2008 4:38:06 AM PDT

Thank you SO MUCH. I've been scouring around trying to find a fix for me being unable to create a new folder. excellent work Thank you! This was quick and painfully easy! Cheers, Jerome

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dave

said this on 27 Feb 2008 10:20:20 AM PDT

nice touch many thanks keep up the work

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sbw07

said this on 01 Mar 2008 2:31:22 PM PDT

I hwve never been able to access the Create Shortcut Wizard until now! I downloaded the .lnk fix installed it, and right away I was able to open the wizard. Thanks!!

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joe

said this on 03 Mar 2008 8:55:40 AM PDT

Spent hours trying to fix - the registry fixes here did the job after reboot - thans

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said this on 16 Mar 2008 9:11:09 PM PDT

I was having a problem that when I selected more than one jpg from Windows Explorer on my laptop, it would open several instances of my photo editing software. with this fix, it set my files association back to windows picture viewer and I was able to reset it to Paintshop pro. Now it opens all the files up in one instance of PSP. Thank you for a great fix.

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Fauzan

said this on 17 Mar 2008 11:47:52 AM PDT

I waste 2 days only to find how to fix my .lnk files (was exe). And with a little handy mergering from this file, then.....WuppsS!!! Amazing!! My problem is solved just in a second. Thank you soooooooo much.

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Kyle

said this on 24 Mar 2008 11:03:43 AM PDT

Thank you so much, more helpful that the Windows site!

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Steve

said this on 25 Mar 2008 6:48:54 AM PDT

My exe problem is when I execute explorer.exe I get - "file does not have a program associated with it. Create an association". When I tried your exe fix I get - "Cannot inport c:\...\exefix_vista.reg: Error accessing the registry". Any ideas? Vista Home Premium SP1 . Thanks

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Ewald

said this on 30 Mar 2008 1:02:22 PM PDT

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! My son called me crying claiming that i couldn't run no programs at all on his Vista computer. This phenomenon appeared after he uninstalled 7-zip. After digging around the net I found this exe-fix. That solved the problem and it solved his total dispair and my frustration not be able to help him. Me myself runs XP and refuses to use Vista... Again, many thanks.

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said this on 01 Apr 2008 5:47:45 PM PDT

Many thanks your fix for folders worked, easy!

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s@r@h

said this on 02 Apr 2008 7:32:33 AM PDT

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>. thank you............ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>thank you........... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>soo much.......

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Pablo Smooch

said this on 08 Apr 2008 9:36:38 PM PDT

THANKS HEAPS!!! Sorted me out good n proper. Your a Scholar and a Gentleman.

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KARU

said this on 09 Apr 2008 3:46:31 PM PDT

fixewd my problem regarding video file thumbnails!!! i hope you can find a fix for ASF files..

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craigcu

said this on 23 Apr 2008 7:19:44 AM PDT

Thank you so much. For others who have had AutoCAD hijack the .scr extension, this is the fix! c²

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mez

said this on 13 May 2008 5:23:53 PM PDT

Thanks a lot!

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hayyuce

said this on 14 May 2008 11:51:10 PM PDT

Thank you so much.

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