Cannot associate program with file

I am trying to associate mp3's with GOM player. I once had this associate but changed it to WMP but want it back to GOM.

When I try to change the associate to gom by selecting gom.exe(gom doesn't show up in the normal list) then click ok it defaults to something else(usually the top program in the list).

If I use properties(RM on file -> properties -> change) and try to change it defaults to WMP.

mp3 doesn't show up in GOM's file associates either. I'm not sure why it is not allowing me to make the association. I didn't know there was any "validation" logic behind associations and I could associate anything with anything I wanted?

While I imagine I could hack the registry I'm looking for the reason why it isn't working.

Stretto said:

I am trying to associate mp3's with GOM player. I once had this associate but changed it to WMP but want it back to GOM.

When I try to change the associate to gom by selecting gom.exe(gom doesn't show up in the normal list) then click ok it defaults to something else(usually the top program in the list).

If I use properties(RM on file -> properties -> change) and try to change it defaults to WMP.

mp3 doesn't show up in GOM's file associates either. I'm not sure why it is not allowing me to make the association. I didn't know there was any "validation" logic behind associations and I could associate anything with anything I wanted?

While I imagine I could hack the registry I'm looking for the reason why it isn't working.

1. Do you have Open With in your right click context menu ?
If no, please use this tutorial to add :
Open With Context Menu Item
Open With Context Menu Item - Add or Remove

2. Right click at one of the MP3 files > select Open With > do you see GOM among the list to choose as Default program to open MP3 ?
If no, please use this tutorial :
Open with - Add Program
Open with - Add Program
Use Option Two : it is to add GOM exe into the list so that you can select GOM as your default program to open MP3s.

3. Once you have the above 2 .....
Right click at one of the MP3 files > Open With > select GOM ( if it is not seen, click Choose Default Program, if still not see GOM, click Other Programs ) > put a check mark at " Always use the selected program to open this kind of file " > OK when done.

GOM is now the default program for all MP3s.

Thanks t-4-2. I had to use that program to add GOM to the open with list as nothing else worked. GOM would not show up in the list(it did before) and I had no issues with "open with" or any thing else. This seemed to happen when I uninstalled GOM and reinstalled it. Not sure how "open with" could break as I've never had to register programs to use it or do anything special but locate the app I wanted to use.

I should note that the icons do not reflect GOM. Normally when I would have gom associate wih the files(even if I used "open with") GOM would take control of the icons and use it's own. Now I have the default icons. Not a big deal but it would be nice if it was consistent. This is most likely an issue with GOM and I guess I'll reinstall sometime and see if that works.

Yes, but you gave several methods and only the last one, which uses a program OpenWithAdd worked. But that method doesn't give me the GOM icon associations that used to appear.

I'm sure a reinstall of GOM will fix the problems but I just can't wrap my head around why windows wouldn't follow through with the association change that normally works.

Now that I think about it maybe it has something to do with an extension I removed using ShellViewEx. Possibly an extension is used(or some strange MS thing) to make the associations using "Open With" and it isn't following through because it is disabled(instead of giving an error msg or some other thing).

The strange thing is that GOM doesn't show the mp3 in it's list of associated files. About 50 other ones but not mp3.

>>>Yes, but you gave several methods and only the last one, which uses a program OpenWithAdd worked. But that method doesn't give me the GOM icon associations that used to appear.

I see. Well, at least now you will have Gom to play your MP3s.

Actually the only answer I intended to offer you was the Open With solution. Howver, I didn't know if you had Open With in your context menu. So, I had to break the answer into 3 parts for clarity.

Anyway, hope you will clear up the rest of the issues. Good luck.

t-4-2