When you click on a hyperlink in your mail clients such as Microsoft Outlook, Windows Mail, or Windows Live Mail, you may see the Application not found or General failure errors.
General Failure. The application cannot be found.
This error occurs if the default browser is not correctly set, or the html file association and/or http protocol associations are incorrect. The same error may occur when double-clicking an Internet Shortcut (.URL) file in the system.
To resolve the problem, use Default Apps/Programs to reset the default Web browser preference.
Fix for “Application not found” hyperlink error
For Windows 10 and 11
- Open Settings → Apps → Default Apps.
- Under Web browser, select a browser from the list.
- Repeat the same, but select your preferred (original) browser this time.
Switching the default browser back and forth will resolve the file association issues.
This should repair the hyperlink or http protocol associations automatically, thereby fixing the “Application not found” or “General failure” errors when opening hyperlinks from your mail client.
For Windows 8 and earlier
- Click Start, and click Default Programs
- Click Set program access and computer defaults
- Click Continue if you see the User Account Control prompt.
- Click Custom, select your Web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer), and click OK
- Close and re-open Microsoft Outlook.
Then follow these steps:
- Open Control Panel, Default Programs.
- Click Set your default programs.
- Select your web browser from the list.
- Click “Set this program as default.”
- Click OK.
Related articles
- How to Fix Outlook Hyperlink Restrictions Error
- Clicking a Hyperlink in Outlook Prompts to Select a Browser, With IE set as default
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Thank u very much. i solved my problem with ur answer.e xcellent solution.thank u once again
thank you so much, days of headaches are now resolved
Thank you, straightforward simply instructions solved the problem in 5 seconds !! :0)
Thanks after an hour of useless searching and unhelpful information this solved it in 5 seconds and worked right away
Thank you so much. I’ve been searching all over for what to do about this. Stupid Google Earth download forced Google Chrome as default and when I changed it back to Firefox, nothing worked. Your clear directions worked like a charm. Thank you thank you thank you!
Thanks. I looked all over for help, and yours worked, and was easy to follow. Thank you very much!!! That had been driving me up the wall.
Thank you so much, problems resolved!!!
I am so grateful to you … it’s all fixed and it was so easy to follow 🙂
Thank you so much. Really easy to follow and worked straight away.
Worked first time – Thanks a lot!
Regards
Neil Paddock
Brilliant!!! It worked! So easy to follow too! Thank you Thank you.
thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! worked in outlook 2010.
Excellent!! it worked!!!! Thanks!!! Cindy
hmm; method 1 Chrome is not in the list ;and using method 2 makes no difference when selecting chrome.
UR THE BEST worked For me too i just got so worried that now i have to Format but you HELPED me THANKS ALOT!
Thank you very much!! Did not know this error was because I no longer had a default browser set. I owe you 🙂
Works perfectly, thanks.
Rocked it… Worked just fine! my end user was about to bite a chunk from my ear. die mas-se gat,
Thank You!! Thank you!! I was pulling my hair out wondering what went wrong.
Mine still doesn’t work 🙁
Wonderful.. Worked for me…. Thanks a lot…..
Once i got to step two, when i clicked on set program access and computer default, a screen popped up with different icons on it. i chose internet explorer and hit OK, it opened a window in internet explorer which remained blank… HELP!
For a computer illiterate such as myself, this was much easier than I thought it would be.
Thank you, thank you!
Your awesome..I used it on windows 7 and it worked great..Thank you
WOW just what I was searching for. Came here by searching for application not found
Thanks. It worked for me.
Thanks it worked for me as well.
Thanks a bunch. This worked for me as well after a lot of searching.
But I do not get the (right-click) “Open with” shell command. I made Chrome my default browser, but I have two browsers and occasionally need to open an Internet Shortcut with the other browser.
Right-click and Open with works on other file types, for instance .mht so it is there, but not on Chrome links.
How can I add FF as my second browser, accessible with “Open with”?
Does not help when a default application is missing from the list.
@null: Which application are you trying to set as default?