Resolved Windows Explorer Will Not Associate a Program

I have Windows XP Home Sp3 with all updates.

For several weeks I have been working back and forth with a graphic software tech support person and we don’t seem to be getting anywhere. The more we "talk" the more it seems to me that the problem may relate to Windows in some way. I suppose it would not be appropriate to mention the name of the software here.

The "bottom line" is that Windows Explorer cannot find the program to associate a file type with. The old version of the software worked fine in this regard. The new version "wizard" has been told to associate with the file type. In Explorer, when you right click on the file and select "open withâ€, 9 programs are listed. When "choose program" is selected, 9 programs are shown in "recommended programs" and 41 programs are listed in "recommended programsâ€. The program in question is not shown in any of these. The old version of the program was shown there. When "browse" is selected and the "programâ€.exe is selected nothing happens. Any the other programs shown can be selected and made the default file opener.

In short, the program cannot be used to open files in Explorer.

The reason I think that Windows may be involved in some way is that in the past, Windows Picture and Fax Viewer has been known to "hijack" and open files regardless of which software is selected as default, although that is not the case here,

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thank you

 

You can mention any software without a problem so please tell us what the software is. There is little advise we can give without knowing this information.

 

Thanks for the response. I have used Graphic Workshop for years and it has always been my default viewer. I am familiar with selecting viewers in Windows Explorer. Alchemy Mindworks recently went through the beta process and have now introduced Graphic Workshop Professional 4. However, my Windows Explorer can’t find it. The "browse" function associated with "open with" doesn’t do anything. The "folder optionsâ€, "file types" and "change" results in basically the same path and won’t work, either.

Mindworks FAQ says that GW3 and GW4 are totally independent and can reside in the same machine at the same time. So I installed both. GW3, the older version, associates fine in Explorer, but the new one, GW4 can’t be found.

I have an old computer in the basement with the same OS, and I installed the new version , GW4, in it just for the sake of trying to solve the problem. It worked fine! Then I experimented a bit and installed GW3 in it, also. Then GW3 would not work! I deleted both and reinstalled GW4 and it wouldn't work. By "not working" I am referring to Windows Explorer association, and not the program when opened manually. GW3 and GW4 are both excellent programs.

Thinking there might be some kind of residual in the registry, I deleted both using Revo, which does a better job than the Windows uninstall. It did find a lot of things that the regular uninstall didn’t. Then I reinstalled GW4. GW4 still wouldn’t associate.

I think there is something really peculiar in the way Explorer works with GW4, and I would think that it would be obvious to Alchemy Mindworks at this point. Their reputation of patching improvements and problems over the years has been excellent. Their response to me has been like "it should do this or it should do that" or "you should do this or that" which keeps me on the defensive about obvious things. Never have they said they tried it and it did or didn’t work.

Giving them the benefit of the doubt, now I am thinking that there may be something about Windows XP that is causing the difficulty. As I mentioned, I have experienced the problem where Windows Picture and Fax viewer would take over regardless of which viewer is chosen. But I have not experienced this lately. Maybe it was fixed in a revision.

I am only familiar with the registry enough to know not to mess around with it, but I am wondering if the list of programs to be associated is in there somewhere. Then it could be said "see, GW4 is not in the egistry where it should be" or something like that.

 

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307859

This link shows how to set up file associations with selected software. It may just be worth running through this process exactly as it is written. If you still have a problem then there is every chance that the uninstall of the earlier version of GW3 has left some registry keys behind that your uninstaller missed. These remnants may well be interfering with the new installation of GW4.

For the moment I can only suggest reinstalling GW3 and then uninstall it with windows 'Add Remove Programs' which as Arie has suggested will activate its own uninstaller and may just do a better job of the uninstall. Then try the installation of GR4 again.

My final thought for now would be to download CCleaner which is a free registry scanner. That might remove the redundant registry entries which are the most likely cause of the problem.

http://ccleaner.en.softonic.com/download

 

I agree that XP is a very mature OS and finding something “wrong” with is is unlikely. It is interesting and fun to occasionally run into something that XP will do that is not widely known. My intent in getting into this forum was to perhaps learn something about Explorer that I didn’t know or was perhaps overlooking so that I could be more convincing in dealing with GW tech support.

What I meant about the “browse” button not working was this: In Explorer, when one right clicks on a file and then selects “open with”, a list of programs to choose from is shown. If the desired program is not there, the “browse” button can be used to locate a program. Then you work your way down to the desired .exe, which in this case is gwspro.exe. At this point, in the case of gwspro.exe, if “open” is selected, nothing happens. Explorer just can’t seem to find it.

I agree with your comment about perhaps leftover registry keys from GW3 interfering with GW4 installation. That was pretty much demonstrated by GW4 installing correctly in a computer which previously had no installations of GW. That was further demonstrated when GW3 was installed, then uninstalled and then GW 4 was reinstalled. Then GW4 would not register in Explorer. That is why I chose to use Revo as an uninstaller. I realize that Revo first calls on the software uninstall.exe via Windows, but then it does a more thorough search in the registry. Vendor software is not often completely removed by the uninstall program. Nero basically admitted this when it came out with General-CleanTool.exe to get rid of the “leftovers”. In the case of GW, however, Revo didn’t seem to help.

I am now convinced that there is something left in the system that is not removed by uninstall that interferes with the installation of the GW4 connection with Explorer. GW4 works fine when opened manually. I will try the Alchemy Mindworks uninstall program again just to make sure, and then try CCleaner and see if it finds anything. Hopefully, it will and I can go back to tech support with something concrete. But I’m a bit nervous about using registry cleaners. It is really hard to believe that as popular as Windows XP and GW are that I am the only one with this problem. When I mentioned to them about my experiment with a computer that previously had no GW installed, all I got back was a comment about my single user license not being respected. In view of the time and effort I have put in to try and solve this problem I thought that was a bit unfair. I hope I’m not being stonewalled. It looks like all I have left is to battle it out with tech support or live with some other picture opening software in Explorer. If and when I ever get a solution I will post it.

Thank you all again for your help and suggestions.

 

I agree, registry cleaners are not an ideal tool as they can sometimes do more harm than good but that may be the only way to find what GR3 has left behind. Following Arie's suggestion to run sfc /scannow may be worth a try.

Best of luck and I look forward to hearing if you find a solution for this.

 

Aire

What do you mean by "must be your computer acting up" Mine works fine?" Have you previously had a GW program installed? If "no" then suspicions are confirmed. If "yes ", then 3 computers have the same problem.

 

Solution!!!

Delete GW3 and GW4.
Scan the registry with CCleaner.
Depending on how many times GW3 and/or GW4 have been installed or uninstalled there will be a few or many references to GW or Alchemy Mindworks. Get rid of all of them!
GW4 now installs and references in Explorer properly.

Thanks again for all your help and suggestions.

 

That's great news. I usually refrain from suggesting the use of any registry cleaners but in this case it was a last resort, I am pleased to hear on this occasion it did the trick.

 

I reported my solution to tech support. It raises a question in my mind about how Windows works. Here is the response:

“Graphic Workshop installs from an MSI file -- a Windows software installation database that's managed by a Microsoft application. The uninstaller in question is part of Windows, and we have nothing to do with how it works.

In that this only appears to be an issue on your system, I suspect there's something peculiar to your computer that's breaking it. While unfortunate, this is something over which we have absolutely no control, and typically have some difficulty tracking down.

I'm glad your problem appears to be resolved.â€

Paragraph 2 seems strange/untrue to me, considering how it was resolved. Oh, well! It’s paragraph 1 that I don’t understand. It seems to me that a software designer would never put something in the registry that would prevent subsequent upgrades from installing, except by accident. Even if it was done, it should be removable with the uninstall program. True? If not, I guess that’s what Ccleaner is all about?

Comments?

 

Well, that's a surprise, the manufacturer of the software can't even face facts and admit the software has a problem and blame Windows uninstaller.

A lot of software does leave stuff behind even when using a dedicated uninstall feature. That's where a program like CCleaner comes in really handy.