Updates to Outlook reconfigure the default mail client

Hello all!

I'm not bothered by this nuisance, well, not much at least. When installing an update to Outlook or Office, I always check for the Outlook icon on the desktop that comes with the change of the default mail client, remove the icon and change the mail client back to the one I want to be the default.

Friends, however, are bothered by it and have asked me if there is a way to prevent this from happening. I went google on the issue and promptly found:

Outlook 2003 is incorrectly configured as the default mail client every time that you perform an Office installation or Office update that modifies Outlook

Two questions:

1) The article discusses Outlook 2003. I have checked my Outlook 2002 and it has the appropriate registry keys. Is it a correct assumption that the methods will work with Outlook 2002 as well? (I think they do but am not sure.)

2) If I choose "Method C ", are the steps 8-12 only to verify that the registry edit worked or do they have to be carried out for the registry edit to "take effect "? (I think it is a verification but am not sure.)

Thanks for your time,
Christer

 

I have no idea, since I only started using Outlook from 2003, but I would just experiment & see what I find.

Backup your registry & try... fastest way to learn & find your answer

 

Arie,
I'm preparing to do some tests to find out.

Only chickens backup the registry ... ... others use Ghost or other imaging software for backups ... ... !

I will roll back (using Ghost) to a state when the most recent update to Outlook is not installed. Next, I will edit the registry and install the update.

Christer

 

Well, backing up the registry is quite a bit faster then preparing an image!

 

Arie,
I agree that a registry backup is quicker if you don't have an Image that is up-to-date but I also agree with AKAJohnDoe that an Image covers all bases and creating one might be wort the "wasted time ".

Anyhow, here are the results of my tests:

The first test was to follow "Method C ", steps 1-7, next to install KB946985:
The Outlook Icon was added on the desktop, the default mail client was NOT changed but the Contacts List was changed from the Address Book to Outlook.

The second test was to follow "Method C" to the end, including a reinstallation of Office (which took much longer than an installation from square one) but the result was the same as for the first test. I also checked in Outlook > Tools > Options and the box for being the default mail client was marked.

A partial success but the "fix" must prevent the change of the Contacts List too.

Christer