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Resolved 'Open with' doesn't work

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by rikki, 2014/07/28.

  1. 2014/07/28
    rikki

    rikki Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    I have an older Toshiba laptop with XP. I just noticed that when I use 'open with' on any file type, I get the correct list of suggested programs but if I then select 'choose program' nothing further happens, just a blank screen. Does anyone know how to fix this?
     
  2. 2014/07/29
    antik

    antik Well-Known Member

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    Go to Control Panel > System > Advanced tab
    Under Performance, click the Settings button
    Visual Effects tab
    Select Adjust for best performance
    Click Apply, Click OK
     
    Last edited: 2014/07/29

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  4. 2014/07/29
    rikki

    rikki Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately it didn't work.
     
  5. 2014/07/29
    antik

    antik Well-Known Member

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    Always worth trying easy things first. Next step is to go back to basics and try a cold boot. Shut the laptop down, unplug it from the wall, remove the battery, wait at least 20 minutes, then put everything back together and start it up again. You are giving Windows a chance to heal itself. The system file protection feature will check system files and replace them if they are damaged.

    When it comes back up, run ccleaner and empty the trash, cache, temp files, etc.

    If all the above steps don't do the trick, and you know for sure when the problem started, try a system restore to a date before that.

    If the problem persists, then restart in safe mode, and see if the menu then works. If yes, then the cause is probably with some program outside of Windows. If the problem is still there in safe mode, then the cause is more likely a damaged operating system or malware.

    Run scans with malwarebytes and your anti-virus program. If you get detections, then clean your system of malware before trying any other fixes.

    If the system is clean and the problem is still there, you are facing more involved troubleshooting and probably a system repair after booting from your install disks or recovery partition. Back up all your files before going any further.
     
    Barbara-Ann likes this.
  6. 2014/07/30
    Arie

    Arie Administrator Administrator Staff

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    Arie,
    #5
    Barbara-Ann likes this.
  7. 2014/08/11
    rikki

    rikki Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Running the command changed the blank screen to an error message that the file (any file) has no program association, which is untrue. I have decided to do a clean reinstall, but it will be awhile before I get to it.
     
  8. 2014/08/12
    retiredlearner

    retiredlearner SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    I found this answer which was provided by a MSVP:
    You need to enable the "Enable Dragging and Dropping" Option in your start
    menu properties. Follow these steps:

    Classic Start Menu:
    Right-click Taskbar, Properties, click Start Menu tab, choose Customize
    Enable the option "Enable Dragging and Dropping. "

    For New Start Menu:
    Right-click Taskbar, Properties, click Start Menu tab, choose Customize
    Click "Advanced" tab and enable the option "Enable Dragging and Dropping. "

    I would imagine it's worth checking to see if it is enabled. Neil.
     
  9. 2014/09/16
    rikki

    rikki Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    My apologies for neglecting this thread. I got sidetracked by something else and forgot about it. None of the suggestions received have fixed the problem and I still intend to reinstall the computer but haven't got to it yet. I am just juggling a lot of things at the moment, the main ones being issues with my new wireless broadband connection.
     
  10. 2014/09/22
    rikki

    rikki Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    I have finally got around to reinstalling my laptop. As expected, this has solved the problem and everything is working correctly again. I don't feel I can mark this as resolved though because I still don't know what caused the problem in the first place. My thanks once again to everyone who tried to help me with this.
     
  11. 2014/09/22
    antik

    antik Well-Known Member

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    Congratulations on getting your computer working properly once again.

    The fact that reinstalling Windows fixed your problem almost certainly means the cause was damaged files or a conflict of some kind in settings.

    David Karp, in his book Windows ME Annoyances, quoted Bill Gates as saying that Windows 98 had seven times as many lines of code as the air traffic control software that is used in the U.S.

    Windows XP was said to have 45 million lines of code.

    There is a lot that can go wrong in something that complicated. If you use tweaking programs and utilities that meddle with the operating system, the problem is worse, but any application can fail in a way that causes damage. Programs require things to be in an expected location. When that isn't true, they stop working. That's why Microsoft added things like System File Protection and System Restore.

    Now, software developers are making running changes on a more frequent basis. That leaves less time for testing while creating more things to test. You are constantly admonished to keep every program up to the most current revision, yet every update risks upsetting the apple cart, and if you are running an older operating system version, you are installing updates that are intended for something newer. They may have no benefit at all for you.

    It's not surprising when things go wrong, but rather how well Windows works most of the time.
     

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