After seeing reports of Nokia Video Manager wiping out the Set Your Default Programs list in Windows Vista, I tried to replicate the problem to check if it was really caused by Nokia Video Manager. I installed the latest version of Nokia PC Suite and Nokia Video Manager in my Windows Vista PC. Then I uninstalled Nokia Video Manager, which in fact wiped out the Default Programs programs list completely. This certainly is caused by a glitch in Nokia Video Manager’s uninstaller.

I used the current stable builds (version numbers are below) of the following Nokia software:

• Nokia Video Manager v1.5.20 (link)
• Nokia PC Suite v6.86.9.3 (link)

Nokia Video Manager adds a registry value to the RegisteredApplications key when installed. The uninstall process deletes the entire RegisteredApplications branch, rather than deleting the Nokia Video Manager specific registry value. The RegisteredApplications is located here:

The above location is where the Default Programs gets the list of registered applications from.

You may be able to restore the original settings using a System Restore rollback. If that’s not a feasible solution for you, then you may use the registry fix below to restore the standard entries to the Default Programs dialog.

REGISTRY FIX

To restore the system default entries to the Default Programs dialog, download registeredapplications.reg and save to Desktop. Right-click on the file and choose Merge. This should restore the following entries to the applet:

• Internet Explorer
• Windows Address Book
• Windows Mail
• Windows Mail (News)
• Windows Media Player
• Windows Media Center
• Windows Calendar
• Windows Photo Gallery Viewer
• Windows Search

If you have Mozilla Firefox installed, you can restore the Firefox entry using firefox.reg.

SEE ALSO

• Outlook 2003 not listed in Default Programs
• Windows Mail missing from the default programs listing
• Register Windows Live Hotmail with the Default Programs tool in Windows Vista

Editor’s note: After installing Nokia PC Suite and Nokia Video Manager, I opened the System Restore dialog where I saw 7 System Restore points created by Nokia installer. Sounds absolutely unnecessary! This is another glitch in their install/uninstall routine. Check this screenshot:

If you have any questions on Nokia software, you may post in Nokia Support Discussions board.