Files will not save as they should !

OK, I'm curious.

Some time ago I could locate an animated file - right click on it - and it could be saved as a .Gif file.
When run it was animated.

Now, I right click on an animated file and the only choice we have is to save it as a bitmap file(.bmp).
And it is a static picture.

Using Windows XP Pro.

What do we need to do to get back to saving files as they really are ? Gif files - not Bmp's.

 

Try deleting your temporary internet files. Delete the offline content also.

 

Hi, You seem to have lost some registry keys.
What imaging application can you use that will open an animated .gif file and show the animation correctly ?
- Paint Shop ? Irfan ? Photoshop ?
Let us know and then we can look at the registry corrections
that are needed.
regards

 

1. We always remove all cookies, temporary files, history files etc
with Tracks Erasurer.

2. The only three programs I am aware of that we are using is:
a. Windows XP Pro
b. Outlook Express
c. Windows Picture and Fax viewer

We have many .gif files.
If we open one by using Windows Explorer it automatically is displayed in Windows Picture and Fax Viewer.
The animation works great.

Now - just recently we have this problem:

1. We use Outlook Express to compose a new e-mail.
2. We insert one of the "good" .gif file pictures.
3. We save the mail to the "drafts" folder.

Everything is working good to this point.

4. We now send it. Norton checks it and out it goes.
5. We check the "sent" folder.

Everything it is still working fine.

6. We receive the e-mail we just sent to ourselves.

Animation is working great.

******************************

So, we right click on the .gif image.
We select save picture as.

Problem now comes up -

The save picture box has a line "Save as type: ".

Only choice we have is "Bitmap ".

That is my new problem.
Have in the past been able to save .gif as .gif.

Any suggestions.

This is same with a .gif file from the internet - when we wish to save a .gif file (or a .jpg), it only lets me do it as a "Bitmap" in the Save Picture Box.

 

We're back again - we are trying !

When going to Windows XP Pro we did not discard the
old Hard Drive with Windows ME.

So, we just unplugges XP and hooked up the ME Hard Drive.

Went through the exercise as described.
And when we got to right clicking on it and selected save as we got a choice:

Could save as .gif (the default).
Or could save as a Bitmap.

***********************************

So, the problem is with XP.

***********************************

Now don't say that eliminateing all cookies, temp files and history etc. is it. That just ain't so.

We run tracks erasure on ME also.
Always have. Never caused any problem.

***************************************

I'm still lost - sure would like to get that feature of saving a .gif file as a .gif file back up and running.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Try downloading the (free) Irfanview app and see if it will save properly for you.

 

We downloaded the program. However:
Viewing and converting is not our problem.

Problem:

When on (example) the internet we have on our monitor a neat .gif file.

We right click on it and the save options are just "bitmap ".

Previously we got options:
.gif (default)
and bitmap (second choice)

My old ME still does that.

For some reason this XP Pro has dropped the .gif and only offers to save as bitmap.

We need .gif

 

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=810978

Temporary files is only part of the possible corruption foulup. See entrys for SystemRoot\Downloaded Program Files folder via IE's options>settings button>view objects button...look for problematic objects ".

Check out the other two sublinks in the offered reference link.

Also this one may apply:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=260650

Theres a few others that may also help here. You will have to do the huntNpeck if interested. http://www.generation.net/~hleboeuf/ieimage.htm

I know windows-help.net "Archives" has to have a reference or two addressing this issue. As I recall emptying IE temp worked for most but there maybe a rarer deeper problem/fix somewhere in there.

The Archives are a gold mine. Sometimes you can strike gold on the first pick or two and a other times you got to dig deep.

 

Perhaps you have a registry problem as merlin said. In regedit go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.gif. Click on the .gif key and look in the right pane. Where it says Content Type the data should say "image/gif" (without the quotes). If it says something else, change it by right clicking on Content Type and choose modify. If you aren't familiar with regedit, post back and I can go into more detail.

 

You're right - it must be the registry (now what is that?)

I have done each step listed in the two Microsoft links and we have no temp files - no cookies - no history - no download data - no nothing ! (the other link will not display a page).

We shut down - restarted and we still got the problem.

And - we hate to be a bother but - that last posting got me completly lost.

Hey, I'm 80 years old and we are not, and never will be, a computer whiz.

So, if there is any possible way you can instruct me through changing that registery - we sure would appreciate it.

Maybe this will help - this problem occured when we got an e-mail that gave a error message about ActiveX - did not understand or know what that was, so we just deleted the mail. Now we only get to save as bitmap !

 

Hey - we did pretty good.

Followed the steps as suggested once we figuted out how to activate regedit.

No changes are needed. The data is as it should be.

Yet the problem is still with us.

I have spent several hours trying to get back to normal with no luck now. So, let me ask this question.

Would a reinserting the XP CD and doing a new install of Windows - plus redownloading and installing 18 critical updates etc. solve the problem ?

 

Did you take Newt's suggestion and install infranview, ?
even if you dont plan to use it just the install itself sometimes corrects these problems.

 

Yep we sure did install it - runs good too.
But we still got the bitmap "only" problem.

 

OK, all you folks out there that know .

I just installed Windows XP Pro all oveer again.

We still got that ##&8** problem.

Can't save a .gif file as a .gif.

It only lets mr save as a "bitmap ".

So, Ok just what the ###*** is a 80 year old man gonna do now?

Windows XP is supposed to be the best Microsoft can offer - but I'm begining to get a bit ****** off !

Anybody out there got any solutions ? I've tried all your suggestions so far !

My next best thing is to return to ME - it still works !

But what bugs me is that Microsoft, me and so far all you folks can't beat that ^&7** little old problem.

I've said my peice - Art Linlkletter once said - kids don't know what they are saying and old folks don't give a Damm !

So, let's hear from someone who can give me the answers.

 

Ran across a possible in the archives that I can only vaguely recall... It went something like this:

If your isp is AOL: somewhere in there, AOL options, is an option for compressing graphics????

Having this feature enabled caused a loss of "save picture as_type .***" other than bmp/art. Supposedly, if you turn this option off (disable it), gif and jpg would return as option choices.

Using a different download manger other than xp's default also caused glitches. In some cases, even installing some of these whether you used them or not, has been known to mess with the file associations or reg keys enough to cause problems.

Have you installed or do you use any camera, scanner or graphics program that might be considered a suspect? Just "fishing for" or looking for a bug or a problem that may be known for anything software or hardware specific that you may use. This is a long shot.

Any possible IE helpers or plug-ins, hooked into IE can cause a problem.
NOTE*This was possibility was covered or glazed over earlier by viewing and uninstalling, disableing or attempting a fix for any problematic "classes or objects" in IE via the IE> options>history>advanced button>view objects button.

Alternative is load up irfanview. Save the darn thing as a bmp. Open it up in irfanview and convert it to jpg. Not a fix but a workaround untill someone comes up with the cure.

 

Thanks.

However, I did not understand any of that computer jargon
whatsoever.

Up till that last part about using the graphics program to load and then convert to a ??.

Hey, the problem is not to get a static graphic such as a bmp or a jpg or a pcx or a ----

We want a .gif "ANIMATED" file like we used to get.

All them others won't move !

That graphics program is good, but it won't hack it !

**********************************************

Ok, we put an old 10 gig blank hard drive in the computer.
Unplugged all others.

We installed the same Windows XP Pro CD from the beginning.

We have a good system.

We get a choice to save a .gif as a .gif or a bitmap.

**********************************************

So, why can't we get our 120 gig hard drive with "All the stuff we got on it" working again on this one little old ))**!! problem ?

 

Hey, we ain't never had anything to do with AOL.

We do not have any graphics programs whatsoever.

All we got is:
XP Pro
Outlook Express
And the Windows Picture Viewer

Plug ins - hooked etc are words we don't understand.

And, we did install that irfanview program. Works good.
But we are trying to save a .gif file (that is the one that moves).
It would be a waste of time to save as a "static" bmp and convert it to any other "static" type.
Thanks anyway.

The problem is that we cannot save a .gif file as a .gif file.
That is it !
We seem to have no other problems - we just can't save those animated files.

As you can see I'v cussed this XP enough already - but once more won't hurt **&&$$.

Ok, we feel better, but we still got that little old problem !

 

Do you use Zone Alarm?
Some options in some versions of this program have been known to cause problems for some. (In case there aren't enough cringing grammar critics out there yet, just chomping at the bit, let me add just one more "some ")
----
Personal Poll with an extra $.02 thrown in:
I got to tell you it is very rare for this problem not to be cleared up by the three references given to you from microsoft. The fix's seemed to work about 96% of the time. 1% had a secondary software problem such as Zonealarm or other security apllication such as Norton. A few had some Adblocker or Popup Stopper that "did not work or play well with others ". 1%, after unsuccessfully trying the known fix's, threw in the towel and installed a Clean XP. The other 2% never bothered to respond back to the post.
----
I'm going cross-eyed reading google hits to posts, looking for the ones that have ended with a fix that worked. I've even tried to reproduce this on my own computer but have thus far been unsuccessful.
----
I'll keep poking at this as time goes by...

 

Problem solved.

But, not the way you would think.
We did all suggestions - with no good results.

Therefore - saved important data to a CD.

Slapped in a Windows 98 startup disk.

Ran Fdisk and wiped the drive clean.

Did a format - no system.

Installed Windows XP Pro clean - XP did it's own formatting - then we did a antivirus install.

Then updated all.

Problem gone - so was everything else.

Reinstalled all programs including the motherboard software.

Works good !

 

Well...

It seems you fell into that "Rare 1%" who used the fix that works 100% of the time.

I'm glad this problem is behind you but equally as sorry that you had to resort to using this extreme method.

Thanks for the update and I'm glad it works good!