lost Netscape 7.0 as default email and can't get it back

kendawes · 31st July 2003

Hi,
I have been happily using Netscape 7.02 as my default browser and email for some time. To look at some of my new website problems that I was told showed up in Netscape 4.7, today I installed NS 4.79 into it's own folder. Did not accept it as default anything. Now, when I start up my NS 7.0 email I get the following message (after it asks me if I want NS7.0 to be my default email)

"Netscape 7.0 Mail could not be set as the default mail application because a registry key could not be updated. Verify with your system administrator that you have write access to your system registry and then try again."

I click "OK" to close the window and then my NS e-mail works fine, as usual.

How can I make it my default email once again?

Thanks!

Ken

Alice · 31st July 2003

I found the following on your error so this looks like a Mozilla bug:
http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=206871
http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=141965

(I'm assuming you've tried also to make Netscape 7.0 mail the default using Edit Preferences.)

If there is no pressing reason to have Netsape 7.0 as the default e-mail program I would leave well enough alone. I have Outlook Express as the default but it doesn't bother anything since when I have Mozilla open, mailto links open in Mozilla, same with Netscape 4.79.

What is your default mail program, by the way? I have Netscape 4.79 installed and I remember specifically having to UNcheck the box making Netscape Communicator the default Mapi mail application, when I installed it. Look in your NS4.79 mail preferences for the setting (I'm on another machine right now and don't have NS4.79 to check)

**Ramona** · 31st July 2003

Hi Ken,

Found some workarounds which may address your problem:

You are unable to set Netscape Mail as the default mail application, because the following message is displayed: "Netscape Mail could not be set as the default mail application because a registry key could not be updated.

Workaround: Verify with your system administrator that you have write access to your system registry, and then try again." This message appears if you are running Windows 2000 or Windows XP and your file system permissions do not allow you to make changes to the Windows registry or to files in the C:\Windows\System directory. Inform your system administrator that you need write permission to the Windows registry and to the Windows System directory. This message might also appear if you are trying to enable or disable Netscape Mail as your default mail application, but another application is currently using the Mapi32.dll file located in your C:\Windows\System directory. Close all other mail applications, all MS Office applications, and any other applications (for example, Wordpad), that can be used to send mail. Then start Netscape, and try again.
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Could you inadvertently have turned off your "write access"? I know next to nothing about Windows XP, but it sounds very much like this could be your problem.

Also look in your Registry for this key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\mailto\shell\open\command
Is this what you see:
C:\Program Files\Netscape\Netscape\Netscp.exe -mail "%1"

Ramona