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What does “This file does not have a program associated with it” mean?

Question: I’m getting the message “This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the folders options control panel.” when I attempt to open a PPS attachment in Outlook Express. What’s that all mean, and what do I do?

Well, in short it means that Outlook Express doesn’t know what to do with the attached file. It tries to figure that out based on the file “extension” or the characters that follow the last period in the file name; in your case, the “pps”.

So, we’ll have to tell it what to do.

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TL;DR:

No program associated

The error means your computer doesn’t know how to open PPS files. Quick fix: reinstall PowerPoint or Microsoft Office. Manual fix: Right-click a PPS file, choose “Open With,” and pick PowerPoint, making sure to check “Always use this program.”

The simplest thing to do is usually to reinstall the application that you expect to handle this type of file. For a PPS file you might reinstall the PowerPoint Viewer, or perhaps Microsoft Office, which contains PowerPoint. Office also offers what’s called a “repair” install. One or the other should remedy the situation in most cases.

But reinstalling software isn’t always practical. Let’s face it, reinstalling Office could take some time. So we can fix things by hand.

Warning: this gets a little geeky.

We’ll start with Windows Explorer:

  • Open up Windows Explorer. (The Windows Key + E, on many keyboards.)
  • Find any file with the PPS extension. For example somefile.pps.
  • Right-click on the filename, and select Open With ….
  • Even if the PowerPoint or PowerPoint Viewer is already listed don’t click on it. Instead, select Choose Program at the bottom of the list that’s displayed.
  • In the resulting dialog box you should find PowerPoint, or PowerPoint Viewer, and click on that.
  • Click the box labeled “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file”.
  • Press OK

This made your selection permanent. PPS files will now be opened with the program you’ve selected.

This may be enough. See if it resolves your problem. If not, we have an additional place to make a similar modification. But this one’s even geekier.

First, you’ll need to locate “powerpnt.exe” (PowerPoint), or “pptveiw.exe” (PowerPoint Viewer) on your hard disk. This varies based on the version you may have. For Office 2003, with a default install, I found them at:

  • “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\POWERPNT.EXE”
  • “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\PowerPoint Viewer\PPTVIEW.EXE”

The quotes are important because there’s a space in the file name. The capitalization actually doesn’t matter. Remember which one you have, we’ll need it in a second.

Now we go, as the error message suggested, to Control Panel:

  • In Control Panel, double click on Folder Options.
  • Click on the File Types tab.
  • In the Registered File Types list, scroll down until you find the PPS entry and click on that. It should, at this point, tell you in the Details section that it “opens with: ” PowerPoint or PowerPoint viewer.
  • Click on the Advanced button.
  • For a PowerPoint file, one of the Actions listed should be Show.
  • If “Show” exists, click on it, click on Set Default, and click on Edit….
  • In the Application used to perform action: enter the full path to either PowerPoint, or PowerPoint Viewer that you found above, or use the browse button to find them again. Don’t hit OK just yet.
  • For Powerpoint, after that full path name add a space followed by: /s “%1”. For PowerPoint Viewer, do the same, only without the /s.
  • OK your way back out.
  • If “Show” didn’t exist, click the New button, type Show in the Action field, and in the Application used to perform action field, enter the full path to either PowerPoint, or PowerPoint Viewer that you found above, or use the browse button to find them again. Don’t hit OK just yet.
  • For Powerpoint, after that full path name add a space followed by: /s “%1”. For PowerPoint Viewer, do the same, only without the /s.
  • Hit OK, click on Show in the Actions list, and then click on Set Default.
  • OK your way back out.

WHEW! I told you it would be geeky. You may need to shut down and restart the application you were running, perhaps Outlook Express, when you first had the problem.

24-Oct-2008 Update: a number of people are coming here with this same problem relating to “.exe” files. In this case things are much more complex, since “.exe” files conceptually aren’t run by another program, the are the program.

Rather than detail it here, I’ve located this with complete steps to resolve the issue: Broken EXE Association.

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88 comments on “What does “This file does not have a program associated with it” mean?”

  1. Didnt Work. I even knew how to do it Myself but didnt work so I came here thinking maybe I did something wrong but I didnt and I still cant see those Blasted PPS. ONly Way I can see them is saving them on my HD and then opening them from there with Powerpoint. Thats stupid shouldnt be that way

    Reply
  2. I mean I open Outlook express and then I have the choice to either save it to my hard drive or directly click on it from there and it Should Open. But It gives me the same error as the other guy up there. I did everything and I mean everthing. Still cant open it FROM outlook express. Only way is to save it and then go click on it from my Hard drive and it works perfect but it doesnt make sense. It SHOULD open From Outlook with everthing I done.

    Reply
  3. NO didnt. I do see my attachement. I can save it. I dont have check mark in outlook for it not to open attachement. I know all of those things and how to work around it but it still doesnt wanna open my PPS files INSIDE of outlook but when I click save and save it to my hardrive then I just go to the source where I just saved it and It opens fine. Its no Big deal I mean it takes me 2 secs to do. Instead of opening in outlook I go on my hardrive but Its just not Making sense. And I SO wanna figure it out but I really tried everything from this site from microsoft still nothing. But its ok if we cant figure it out I can Still see my PPS fine but Like I said NOT from outlook directly

    Reply
  4. Oh and when I click my attachement inside of Outlook I see its the Powerpoint Icon too. Its like everthing is normal. I can save it. but It just wont open from there.

    Reply
  5. Understand the frustration/curiosity. Everything I’ve found on the problem indicates that it’s the lack of an “Open” action associated with the extension. But it’s VERY odd that it only happens in OE. (I was hopeful that the “Show” action would do the trick.)

    I’ll keep looking.

    Reply
  6. Well… Im in edit file type right now. I had Print and SHOW. I deleted print as I dont wanna Print Any PPS anyways and Set SHOW as Default. Now I clicked on Show and EDIT. Then I have ACTION with a box with —> %show “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\PowerPoint Viewer\PPTVIEW.EXE” /s “%1” Is that right ? Just wanna make sure here.

    Reply
  7. Heheh I cant edit my Post hehe sorry. I ment I have ACTION with a BOX and in that BOX is &SHOW . Then Under that box is Application used to perform Action and another box. I browsed for my Powerpoint.exe prog and clicked on it so now in the Box theres this “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\PowerPoint Viewer\PPTVIEW.EXE” Is it at the end of this I must add the /s “%1” so basicly it would be this ? “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\PowerPoint Viewer\PPTVIEW.EXE” /s “%1″ exactly how its written there or I dont add both ” . Just wanna triple check hehe

    Reply
  8. I would add or make sure that you have an “OPEN” action that is the same as a SHOW. And for PPTVIEW, include the “%1” , but not the “/s”.

    Reply
  9. I dont have this “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\POWERPNT.EXE”

    But I do have this “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\PowerPoint Viewer\PPTVIEW.EXE”

    In program files\MicrosoftOffice\ there I have OFFICE 10 not 11 and POWERPNT.EXE is not in there could that be it ?

    Reply
  10. OK I Saw I only had Microsoft Viewer 2003 and not Office 2003. I guess that would fix it if I get office 2003 ? Or is there a 2004 or higher now. And where can I get the latest Office available for Windows XP home.?

    Reply
  11. Well IM downloading the Trail of the Standar office 2003. Its like 216 MB. Does this sound good ? Ill give it a try and let you know.

    Reply
  12. If you have the viewer, use the viewer you have. You don’t need to get Office just to look at powerpoint files. Just use the full path to the powerpoint viewer you have, with “%1” added, as both a SHOW and OPEN action.

    Reply
  13. OK I just poped in my CD with OFFICE XP .. Now I unchecked everything except . Micosoft POWERPOINT. I have option to check . Micorsoft WORD .. Micorsoft EXCEL … Microsoft FRONTPAGE… Microsoft ACCESS .. Microsoft Outlook. DO I need one or more check appart then POWERPOINT ?

    Reply
  14. Well, like I said earlier, I don’t think what you’re doing is neccessary. You already have a viewer, so you should be able to use that.

    However if you continue down this path, than installing just powerpoint should be ok.

    (Away from computer for a while now. Good luck!)

    Reply
  15. WOOOOT I finaly Manged to figued it out. And really Im not sure what I did different this time. I changed so much option back and forth I was really lost at some point but IT WORKS NOW I can see PPS inside of outlook thanks for your time Leo your the best

    Reply
  16. Now Im got one other question , I whent On my Brothers PC just today and he wanted to me Defrag. So I did. Then I rebooted and It says Please Remove Disks or Media press any key to Restart. BUt He doesnt even have a A/: Drive. So no Disk is in there and Theres no CD rom in the Drive either. This is really weird

    Reply
  17. Hi Leo,

    Great site! Found it recently and although I’ve had a lot to do with computers and know enough stuff to be “guru” to my friends, I’m finding this a great site. And less technobabble and slogging than Microsoft… :-)

    Couple of points I thought may help people, that you didn’t cover directly in this particular article:
    –although Microsoft Office has to be paid for and is the only way you can CREATE AND EDIT PowerPoint slideshows, Word documents, Excel, etc., VIEWERS are free and can be downloaded from Microsoft’s website – enter the program name you need a viewer for, such as “powerpoint” or “word” and “viewer” and then get the latest version (e.g. 2000 or XP)
    –which edition of Office you get (and I don’t mean XP or 2000, I mean Standard, Student, Professional, etc.) determines which of the Office programs you get in your version. E.g. Office 2000 Premium is the only one that has FrontPage for making web pages (if I remember correctly!) and Office 2003 Basic Edition is the only one that doesn’t have PowerPoint included.

    Reply
  18. Hi Leo,

    Great site! Found it recently and although I’ve had a lot to do with computers and know enough stuff to be “guru” to my friends, I’m finding this a great site. And less technobabble and slogging than Microsoft… :-)

    Couple of points I thought may help people, that you didn’t cover directly in this particular article:
    –although Microsoft Office has to be paid for and is the only way you can CREATE AND EDIT PowerPoint slideshows, Word documents, Excel, etc., VIEWERS are free and can be downloaded from Microsoft’s website – enter the program name you need a viewer for, such as “powerpoint” or “word” and “viewer” and then get the latest version (e.g. 2000 or XP)
    –which edition of Office you get (and I don’t mean XP or 2000, I mean Standard, Student, Professional, etc.) determines which of the Office programs you get in your version. E.g. Office 2000 Premium is the only one that has FrontPage for making web pages (if I remember correctly!) and Office 2003 Basic Edition is the only one that doesn’t have PowerPoint included.

    Reply
  19. I get the same message when I try to open a jpg. This used to be fine, but recently I downloaded an update to my Kodak easyshare software, and I seem to be having the problem since then. I have reloaded it, and tried all the tips above (except it has “Opens with Kodak easyshare” rather than “Show”), but I still get the same whenever I try to open a jpg in Outlook Express. I’d be grateful for any thoughts. Thanks

    Reply
  20. I get the same message when I try to open ‘My Computer’, ‘My Documents’, ‘Control Panel’, etc … basically any program that I try to open. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance =)

    Reply
  21. actualy, when i try to do open with, i got the same message, instead of chowing me the choice of program to load the file. i only can manage this by going to folder option and choose from there.

    Reply
  22. Good morning Leo-
    I tried both fixes and still get the same message. Prior to the fix (and even after), if I drug the email onto the desktop and then double clicked, it opened right up. Seems there is still an association problem with Powerpoint Viewer and Outlook Express. Can you offer any other solutions…
    Thanks, Steve

    Reply
  23. And another Good morning (except for my lack of success!)-
    I have now tried downloading the PowerPoint Viewer from Microsoft site and am still getting the same error message. PLEASE, any other suggestions?
    Thanks, Steve

    Reply
  24. Hi Leo-
    I finally solved the problem. To make it work, I made ‘Open’ the default! That immediately solved it and the ‘.pps’ file opened from my email. Perhaps others will benefit from this.
    Thanks,
    Steve

    Reply
  25. Hi,
    i have the same problem of “This file does not have a program associated with it…”; but my file is ANY Executable, “.exe”. i went in Folder in Control Panel, and there is no reference in mine to .EXE extensions. i tried adding .exe but did not know how to associated it. help?! please?! thanks.

    Reply
  26. Had trouble associating file opens with .exe. Couldn’t open it. So, I selected the file from the programs file, right click on it, select “run as,” unselect protect this user in the profile menu which pops up, and the file executes.

    I haven’t really figured out how I protected it in the first place, which I think I must’ve done.
    But unprotecting the profile seems like it would return to the default .exe hidden Opens With.

    Reply
  27. Since I’ve installed XP Service Pack 2, I cannot run a PowerPoint Slide-show directly from Outlook Express. It runs fine, though, after saving it to the hard disk so there is surely no problem with the PPS-file itself. I’ve tried all the solutions provided on this page but all are of no help. Always that annoying message: “…. no program associated ….”. Any further ideas, Leo?
    Thanks in advance.
    Oh yes, I use the PP-viewer. Tried 2 copies: the Dutch version, matching my regional settings and the English version. No difference.

    Reply
  28. As said, Leo, I tried everything you are suggesting here, but none of these solutions did help. In the meantime I’ve used the fix, as offered by windowsxp.mvps.org (see above, Pat’s posting). It works. The trouble appears to be a missing “open” statement in the file association. Although “Show” (or “Weergeven” in the Dutch version) remains the default option, there should also exist an “Open” option.

    Reply
  29. Hi, Leo,
    Many thanks for your helpful article on .PPS files. I didn’t achieve success either until I created an “Open” action and made it the default.

    One strange thing, though: Although PowerPoint Viewer stays selected in the “Open With” dialog box the “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file” box won’t stay ticked. Why is this?

    Reply
  30. Hi,
    i have the same problem of “This file does not have a program associated with it…”; but my file is ANY Executable, “.exe”. i went in Folder in Control Panel, and there is no reference in mine to .EXE extensions. i tried adding .exe but did not know how to associated it. help?! please?! thanks.

    Reply
  31. Everytime I click anything(any program in All programs, the shortcuts in Desktop and click in Control Panel) appears the message:This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the folders option control panel. I can not create the association because the message appears when i click in Control panel. Please help me!

    Reply
  32. i cant open any .exe I get:”This file does not have a program associated with it” ….
    I know there was an entry added to the registry that I allowed and it ended up messing everything but I dont remember which and cant find it anywhere..
    I d appreciate any help

    Reply
  33. Hi Leo
    My daughter sent me a fax through to my outlook the file says Message.g3f and then the message comes up when I double click it. This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the folders options control panel.

    Reply
  34. when I try to open a site in IE6, I’m getting the message “This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the folders options control panel.

    Reply
  35. when I try to open a site in IE6, I’m getting the message “This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the folders options control panel.

    Reply
  36. yes the same thing happens to me!Everytime I click anything(any program in All programs, the shortcuts in Desktop and click in Control Panel) appears the message:This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the folders option control panel. I can not create the association because the message appears when i click in Control panel. Please help me!

    Reply
  37. the same thing happens to me!Everytime I click anything(any program in All programs, the shortcuts in Desktop and click in Control Panel) appears the message:This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the folders option control panel. I can not create the association because the message appears when i click in Control panel

    Reply
  38. i have same thing hapens to me. when i click any thing on desk top this message appears and say
    (this file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action.please help me thanks

    Reply
  39. Hi Leo,
    i am also facing the same problem in my laptop.
    any program in All programs, the shortcuts in Desktop and click in Control Panel) appears the same message.
    So i am opening that program from Start->Program->skype and then right mouse click and select run as.
    There i un-tick the option “Protect my computer and data from un-aut…” and then that programs opens.
    Please tell me how can solve this problem

    Reply
  40. i cant open any .exe at all!
    I get:
    “This file does not have a program associated with it etc” ….
    I haven’t added/changed anything recently otherthan installed SP3 (Service Pack 3) recently on windows XP home.
    Microsoft can’t think of anything i can do, because file types aren’t recognised so i can’t add/remove/reinstall anything!
    :(
    Help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

    Reply
  41. I tried the instructions above in trying to open a PowerPoint slide-show and it didn’t work. I found a way to open it by right clicking on the PowerPoint attachment in the email and clicking on “Save As”. I saved it to the Desktop, went to the Desktop where I’d saved the PowerPoint, clicked on the icon and it opened. I had PowerPoint on my old computer Windows ME and it worked fine but sure won’t now. My computer tech couldn’t figure it out either. Maybe I did something wrong re Leo’s instructions, he has certainly helped me before and I do appreicate his site.

    Reply
  42. I get the same error message only it isn’t with Power Point. The message is related to a .wmv file that is coming from a logitech video email that I receive. Can I use this answer and just substitute any file with a .wmv extention instead of pps?

    Reply
  43. Hello Leo,

    I am a software engineer, so I know this kind of stuff, and your solution DID NOT WORK for me either. I could not get Outlook Express on XP to run .PPS files either. I tried both pptview.exe 2003 and pptview.exe 2007, and I tried both of their “repair” buttons! And I tried your solution 3 times plus some variations. Still nothing. So I tried to use the “non-space” filename:

    c:\progra~1\micros~2\office12\pptviewer.exe “%1”

    Still Nothing. If you click on a .PPS file in Explorer, it opens the file just fine (like the above comment mentions). This means that the association is correct. But it still WILL NOT open in Outlook Express. Microsoft Outlook idiot-programmers just messed this one up some way. Your solution just will not work.

    Andrew Gray

    Reply
  44. Hi Leo. Many people on this thread have written the question in effect: With “any program in All programs, the shortcuts in Desktop and click in Control Panel appears the same (error) message.” As far as I can read, you have not answered/addressed any of these people. I now have (instantly obtained) the same problem with a friend’s computer. Is it possible for you to expand your answer (beyond the limited opening a-.pps-file-in-outlook-express)? And, perhaps suggest a senario how all these programs-non-open-with-that-error-message occured? Thank You.

    Reply
  45. Hi leo i am having this problem with a different program. I am trying to important pictures from my cell phone with windows live photo gallery and it says the file does not have a program associated with it. I dont know what the file is considered so i can change it in the set assosciations

    Reply
  46. Hi Leo,

    I am having the same problem with all my links and .EXE files. I recently installed SP3. Do you think it has anything to do with it?
    I cannot even restore XP to a previous point in time because I get the same error.

    Thanks!

    Reply
  47. All of a sudden one day, ALL documents I made with “notepad” started giving this same error message when trying to open them.
    I don’t know WHAT happened. My notepad documents worked FINE, all these years!

    I somehow changed one to an “.rtf” file, and now they are ALL that way.
    They are hard to read, and have codes between the paragraphs, etc.

    I just want to have my normal documents, in normal document fonts back!!

    What possibly can I do?????????????

    Thank you!!

    Reply
  48. Hi Leo,
    I have a desktop PC running WinXP MCE SP3. I too had the frustrating problem of not being able to open PPS attachments in Outlook Express, but I could view a PPS file with PowerPoint Viewer when double clicking a PPS file in Windows Explorer, which of course meant that my PPS files were properly asssociated with the PowerPoint application.
    I have now found the solution. The problem lies with the fact that the command actions for PPS files installed by the PowerPoint viewer installer are only ‘Show’ and ‘Print’, with the former being the default action. However, it seems that when OE attempts to open a PPS attachment, it seems to require the presence of an ‘Open’ command for PPS files, and there is not one to use, and hence OE generates the error message about no file association. The solution is to locate the PPS entry in Folder Options/File types, click Advanced, and then click ‘New…’ for a new command action. The name of the new action is ‘Open’, and all the remaining details will be identical to the default ‘Show’ action as outlined by your existing advice. So for PPS files, I now have three command actions – ‘Show’ (default), ‘Print’ and now also ‘Open’. Basically your ‘geekier’ advice was spot on, except for needing to replace the command action name of ‘Show’ for ‘Open’, as far as OE is concerned. I hope this will help to produce a final resolution of this irritating OE problem for all your readers.

    Reply
  49. hi leo, i fired up my laptop and got a blue screen with the box “explorer exe this file cannot be found, with the letters SHDOCVW.dll” following the message, i cannot open anything and am unable to even log in, help!!!!

    Reply
  50. I am getting the message “The file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the Folder Options control panel.” when i open C: drive from My Computer by double clicking. Could you post a solution forme

    Reply
  51. PLEASE HELP! I get the same message when I open a wmv file in Outlook Express. And besides that, the pc wants to open it with Nero and I want to open with Windows Media Player.

    Try re-downloading and re-installing the latest version of Windows Media Player.

    – Leo
    30-Nov-2008
    Reply
  52. I just wanted to add that the solution posted by James Medlicott works flawlessly. I had the exact same problem with my grandmother’s PC and it’s not operating perfectly! Thanks a ton!

    Reply
  53. I am getting the message “The file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the Folder Options control panel.” when i open C: drive from My Computer. Could you post a solution for me

    Reply
  54. I would also mention that James Medlicott’s solution was the one that solved the exact problem I had.

    On my part, I had problem opening just about any files attached in an email, wether it be PSS, WMV, MP3, JPG, you name it (even though I could open them directly from windows explorer, my associations are all good)… I’ve tried the initial solution on this page, but it didn’t change anything. James Medlicott’s added info solved it. So big thanks there…!

    Reply
  55. I am getting the message “The file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the Folder Options control panel.” when i open C: drive from My Computer. Could you post a solution for me

    Reply
  56. My problem is that I’m not trying to open a file but log in to Facebook. The extension on the login page is .php but I notice it comes up with a question mark after it. I checked the file types in my folder options and PHP is listed. I don’t know what else to do. Any suggestions?

    Reply
  57. I had this same issue, though could not fix even by adding ‘Open’ as command. I downloaded the ppsfix.zip utility that does it for you – what I found is that the command ‘Open’ must be in LOWER CASE! ie ‘open’, NOT ‘Open’. WTF! Who would have thought…

    Reply
  58. Erm i have the same problem… But it is when you try to type in the internet explorer bar or when i try to download a file… i have to go to google via homepage to download files…

    Reply
  59. I am getting the message “The file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the Folder Options control panel.” when i open d:,f:,e:. drive from My Computer by double clicking

    Reply
  60. I have abode reader, RegCure, PDF, Micro-sofr word, ZIP File, pareto, PCPitshop and I have opened PDF this morning and then when I tried to oen it again; it gives me the message: This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the Folder Option control panel

    Reply
  61. I don’t have a PPS extension listed in the “registered file types” – I have Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 installed. Was told that I needed to choose PPTX and click on “Open with…” but that doesn’t work either – I followed your directions using PPTX and nothing. What now?? Thank you…

    Reply
  62. I ran the Microsoft Office Repair and it seems to have fixed my problem – didn’t know that option even existed, now I do thanks to you!!

    Thanks for your advice and posts – very helpful!

    Reply
  63. I’m getting the message “This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the folders options control panel.” when I attempt to open drive d & e What’s that all mean, and what do I do?

    Reply
  64. Leo, I followed your instructions until I got to, “Once loaded, you can then change which programs open which file types.” I am trying to open a WDP file. How do I change the program so that I can open the file? Thanks.

    Reply
  65. Thanks for your article! I am getting the same error message you referred to when I try open an old picture CD (2005) from the D Drive. It shows up as an audio file! Any ideas?

    Reply
  66. Followed your instructions above, seems I don’t have PowerPoint. If I DL PowerPoint, will that also open other file/s that I’ve have trouble with in past like trn etc? Thanks for help, please respond via email

    Reply
  67. I’m getting the message “This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the Set Association control panel.” when I attempt to open an wmn video. What should I do to solve the problem?

    Reply
  68. i have an e-mail with an wmv ext. and i can’t get it to open. i went to the control panel/ folders option can’t figure it out

    Reply
  69. Your broken_exe worked for me by just re-associating the EXE. The break occurred after the bogus XP Internet Security 2010 got installed.

    Here is a alternate way to get the programs to run.. until they can use your method..

    “right-click” on the icon or .exe file and select the “start” rather than the default “Open”… the program should run because it is not using the “shell/open” registry entires…

    Thanks for your valuable website and assistance,

    rogs

    Reply
  70. I had ave.exe virus infection on my laptop yesterday. i was able to remove the virus but the exe association on my laptop was broken.

    I followed “Broken EXE Association” article and downloaded WinXP_EXE_Fix.reg file and was able to fix the issue.

    thanks for providing such a detailed steps to fix the issue and suggesting the alternatives available.It really helped in resolving the issue.

    Reply
  71. i have a problem with my autocad 2009 instalation, error message is:
    “this file does not have associated with it to performing this action. create an association in set associations control panel” what can i do?

    Reply
  72. How about the My Computer, Control Panel, My Documents, etc., what are the file extensions for those? I can’t seem to open those folders, has this message “This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the Folder Options control panel.” I need your help. Thanks!!!!

    Reply
  73. when i try to open any drive (C D or E) it shows a message……..This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the folders options control panel…. plz help me to resolve this problem

    Reply
  74. this is my problem but iam fixed for xp :
    1- folder option – then view
    2- take off the box of – hide protected operating ayatem files – is emty then ok
    3- open your drivers partition and you will see autorun you have to delet it from all your drivers and then restart
    4- it will done

    Reply
  75. Leo, you rock! Have been so much help! I’ve just successfully re-activated my Picture Viewer and can open email photos again with your instructions. And it was easy!
    Thank you so much.

    Reply

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