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Windows 7 - Default File Type Associations - Restore



Default File Type Associations - Restore

Restore Default Windows 7 File Extension Type Associations
Published by Brink
08-04-2009
Default Default File Type Associations - Restore

Restore Default Windows 7 File Extension Type Associations

information   Information
This will allow you to restore the default registry entries and program associations for the Windows 7 file extension type of your choice.
Note   Note
This can be helpful for example when a file extension type opens with the wrong program by default, has the wrong icon, or is missing or corrupted in the registry. Downloading the .reg file for the selected file extension in the tutorial below, will restore that file extension back to default for all of these items above.

Since there are so many default file extension types in Windows 7, it may take a bit to have a complete list of them below. If the file extension type you need to restore is not listed below yet, then please post a request for it. I'll be happy to add it to the list.
warning   Warning
You will need to be logged on to an administrator account to apply these. As a backup, you should create a restore point before applying the downloaded default file extention below. This way you can do a System Restore to go back to before you applied it if needed.

These default file extensions should only be used in Windows 7.





Here's How:
1. Click on the file extension type link listed below for the one that you wish to restore to default to download it's .zip file.

2. Save the .zip file to your desktop.

3. Open the .zip file, then extract the .reg file to the desktop.

4. Right click on the .reg file and click on Merge.

5. Click on the Run button in the Security Warning pop-up.

6. Click on Continue (UAC), Yes, and OK when prompted.

7. When done, you can delete the downloaded .zip and .reg files on the desktop if you like.

8. Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply.

Default Windows 7 File Extension Types:
aspx - A file with the ASPX file extension is an ASP.NET Source file.

asf - Advanced Streaming Format (ASF) is an open file format specification for streaming multimedia files containing text, graphics, sound, video, and animation. The default program is Windows Media Player.

asx - Advanced Stream Redirector (.asx) play list files, also known as Windows Media Metafiles, are text files that provide information about a file stream and its presentation. The default program is Windows Media Player.

AudioCD - Audio CD protocol associations.

avi - Audio Video Interleave files. The default program is Windows Media Player.

bat - Batch files.

bmp - Bitmap image files. The default program is Windows Photo Viewer.

cab - Cabinet files.

chm - Microsoft compiled HTML help files.

cmd - Windows command script files.

com - MS-DOS application files.

cpp - Program source code written in the C++ programming language; may be a standalone program or one of many files referenced within a programming project; can be viewed with a text editor, but most software development programs will display the text with helpful syntax highlighting

cur - Windows File Cursor animation files used for the Microsoft Windows mouse pointer image.

Directory - Directory protocol associations

dll - A Dynamic Link Library (dll) file is a support file used by one or more programs.

drive - Drive protocol associations.

dvr-ms - Microsoft Recorded TV Show file. The default program is Windows Media Center.

exe - Executable application files.

folder - Folder protocol associations.

gif - GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) image files. The default program is Internet Explorer.

gz - Usually associated with Gzip. By default, there is no associated program for this in Windows 7.

h - C or C++ program language header file normally with .C or .CPP file. In computer programming, particularly in the C and C++ programming languages, a header file or include file is a file, usually in the form of source code, that is automatically included in another source file by the compiler. Typically, header files are included via compiler directives at the beginning (or head) of the other source file.

htm - HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language) document files. The default program is Internet Explorer.

html - HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language) document files. The default program is Internet Explorer.

ico - Icon files. The default program is Windows Photo Viewer.

img - CD or DVD image file, essentially equivalent to an ISO file.

inf - Setup information files. The default program is Notepad.

ini - The INI file type is primarily associated with 'Initialization/Configuration File'. These files are typically ASCII text with various configuration options set into sections.

iso - Image file.

jpe - JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) image files. The default program is Windows Photo Viewer.

jpeg - JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) image files. The default program is Windows Photo Viewer.

jpg - JPG (Joint Photographic Group) image files. The default program is Windows Photo Viewer.

js - Java Script files. The default program is Microsoft Windows Based Script Host (C:\Windows\System32\wscript.exe).

library-ms - Library folder.
NOTE: To restore the default icons, you may need to do these as well.lnk - Shortcut link (LNK) files.

mkv - A Matroska Multimedia Container file is a video format similar to the .AVI, .ASF, and .MOV formats. By default Windows 7 does not have support for opening this file type and has no association. DivXPlayer is a good free program to install that does support playing this file extension. This download will set this file extension back to the default unassociated state in Windows 7.

M2TS - Blu-ray BDAV Video File. Video file saved in the high-definition Blu-ray BDAV format; used for saving video data on Blu-ray discs; based on the MPEG-2 transport stream and supports 720p and 1080i formats. BDAV stands for "Blu-ray Disc Audio/Visual," while the M2TS extension refers to "MPEG-2 Transport Stream."

m3u - The M3U file type is primarily associated with 'MP3 Playlist File'. Generally known as a "Winamp" Playlist file, this format has been adopted by a wide variety of MP3 players. The default program is Windows Media Player.

mov - Movie file. The default program is Windows Media Player.

mp3 - MP3 sound format file. The default program is Windows Media Player.

mp4 - MPEG-4 movie file. The default program is Windows Media Player.

mpa - MPEG audio file. The default program is Windows Media Player.

mpe - MPEG movie file. The default program is Windows Media Player.

mpeg - MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) video file. The default program is Windows Media Player.

mpg - MPEG video file. The default program is Windows Media Player.

msc - Mirosoft Common Console document files.

msi - Microsoft Windows Installer installation package file.

msp - Microsoft Windows Installer Patch file.

otf - Open Type Font file. The default program is Windows Font Viewer.

pdf - Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format created by Adobe Systems. By default, Windows 7 does not support reading this file type. Using this to restore the default PDF association in Windows 7 will remove all associations for the pdf file extension. You will need to install a 3rd party program like Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader to be able to open and read pdf files in Windows 7.

png - Portable Network Graphics (PNG) is a bitmap compression method for image files. PNG supports 16.7 million colors, it is lossless and also supports index color, grayscale, true color, transparency, and is streamable. It is thus the best compression method (better than GIF or JPEG) for use on the web.

psd - The PSD file format, created by Adobe, contains graphics/photos created by image editing software such as Adobe Photoshop.

reg - Registry files.
NOTE: You may need to set the default program as Registry Editor (C:\Windows\regedit.exe) for reg file extensions, or enable regedit before you will be able to use this REG file.

rtf - Rich Text document files. The default program is WordPad.

scr - Screen Saver files.

tar - Tape Archive file. By default, there is no associated program for this in Windows 7.

tif - Tagged Image files Format. The default program is Windows Photo Viewer.

tiff - Tagged Image files Format. The default program is Windows Photo Viewer.

TS - Video Transport Stream file used for storing video on a DVD; compresses video data using standard MEPG-2 (.MPEG) video compression. TS files are often saved as multiple files on a DVD, i.e. "moviename1.ts," "moviename2.ts," "moviename3.ts," etc. They can be played back by various software DVD players and video editing tools

ttf - True Type font file. The default program is Windows Font Viewer.

TTS - A .tts file is a text file (an ini file) that corresponds to your book. The ToolBook Translation System (TTS) creates the .tts file for you when you set the book's TTS Identifier through the Setup Sources window.

txt - Text document files. The default program is Notepad.

url - Internet website shortcut link. The default program is Internet Explorer.

vbs - Visual Basic Script files. The default program is Microsoft Windows Based Script Host (C:\Windows\System32\wscript.exe).

wma - Windows Media Audio files. The default program is Windows Media Player.

wmv - Windows Media Audio/Video file. The default program is Windows Media Player.

wsf - Windows Script Files. The default program is Microsoft Windows Based Script Host (C:\Windows\System32\wscript.exe).

xml - Excel Macro files. The default program is Internet Explorer.

xps - XML Paper Specification document files. The default program is XPS Viewer (C:\Windows\System32\XPSViewer\XPSViewer.exe).

zip - ZIP file extensions is a archival and data compression format used to compress one or more files to reduce the size of the file. The default program is Compressed Folders.
NOTE: This is a .reg file for the ZIP download only.


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08-04-2009   #1
Brink


Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1 beta
Texas
 
 


This post reserved for more future file extenstions. Posting below is fine though.

My System SpecsSystem Spec
08-04-2009   #2
mickey megabyte


ultimate 64
 
 


nice work shawn, but...

as .reg files are so small, do you really need to zip them up?

it just means more work for you in the first place, and another step for the end-user.
My System SpecsSystem Spec
08-04-2009   #3
Brink


Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1 beta
Texas
 
 


Hi Mickey,

I had the same thoughts, but there were some folks that had security programs that would not allow REG files to be downloaded and would allow ZIP files. It was done for the most compatibility.
My System SpecsSystem Spec
.
08-05-2009   #4
mickey megabyte


ultimate 64
 
 


i should have realised you had a good reason for it!
My System SpecsSystem Spec
08-05-2009   #5
Brink


Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1 beta
Texas
 
 


LOL, no problem.
My System SpecsSystem Spec
09-08-2009   #6
camelgrass


Windows 7 Ultimate
 
 


Hello, I was wondering if anyone can help me restore PHP file extension type to default association?

Thank you!
My System SpecsSystem Spec
09-08-2009   #7
Tews


Windows 7 Ultimate
The Southern Hinterlands
 
 


There is a program called Associate This that will make it easy for you ... Download
My System SpecsSystem Spec
09-08-2009   #8
Brink


Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1 beta
Texas
 
 


Quote   Quote: Originally Posted by camelgrass View Post
Hello, I was wondering if anyone can help me restore PHP file extension type to default association?

Thank you!
Hello Camelgrass,

By default there it not a PHP file extension in the registry. Instead only a PHP3 file extentions.

You can open regedit and open and expand to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT key. If you have a php (not php3) key entry listed in the left pane, you can right click on it and click on Delete to remove it and reset it back as unassociated. Restart the computer to apply.

Hope this helps,
Shawn
My System SpecsSystem Spec
09-08-2009   #9
camelgrass


Windows 7 Ultimate
 
 


Thanks for your help.

Actually that didn't work. In regedit there is the key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\php_auto_file\shell\open\command

Under "command" I see the current association. Is it safe to delete php_auto_file key?
My System SpecsSystem Spec
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