File associations no longer work properly on Windows 10 after a buggy update. Windows won’t let you select certain applications as your defaults. We tested multiple PCs running the stable version of Windows 10, and they all had this problem.
This is a strange bug. It affects some applications, but not others. For example, Windows 10 won’t let you make Adobe Photoshop or Notepad++ a default application for images or text files. But you can make other applications, like IrfanView, VLC, or Google Chrome, your defaults.
If your problem is the latter, the good news is Microsoft is working on a fix. The bad news is it doesn’t seem to be in a huge hurry to solve the problem.
This bug is a known issue caused by KB4464330 (OS Build 17763.55). Microsoft is working on a resolution and estimates a solution will be available in late November 2018.
last updates they put out been buggy as heck i had a client pc i work on wont boot anymore after a update had to uninstall the update and hide it from installing or it would get stuck in a forever boot logo.
I just checked on two of my machines running Windows 10 Pro 1803.
One machine had no problems with associations. The .txt extension was properly associated with Notepad++ (as it had been for a long time). I could even set the default for .txt to Notepad and back to Notepad++ with no problems.
On the other machine I had never set associations for Notepad++, so .txt was still set to Notepad. Here I did encounter the problem described in the article. In Windows Settings, Notepad++ was not even available as an assignable option. If I right-clicked a .txt file, I could chose to open it with Notepad++, but the association would not stick.
Here's what I did to fix the problem. I ran Notepad++ as admin, went to Settings -> Preferences -> File Association and moved .txt (and some others) over to the Registered Extensions column. After closing Notepad++ I could set the association properly and have it stick.
This appears to be a registration issue. Note that this is different from association as the former is what tells Windows that the program is capable of handling the filetype (I could be wrong about this). It's possible that KB4462919 caused some registrations to be reset (as the article speculates), but this is not a new phenomenon. I've had this issue occasionally going all the way back to the XP days. However, I've generally had no problems with associations if the program had correctly registered its filetypes during installation.
OK... how would this happen is my question. It is literally just setting a registry value. When its selective, there is usually some flag or value that was not required before now being required that would cause it to fail. So... what did they change?
This is an intended feature to prevent browser and app hijacking . the registry will detect changes to default apps and switch them back if not changed in the correct way . I have been deploying default apps to all my 20 + sites without issue. Windows 10 changed the way you deploy default apps from group policy to the use of default appassociation.xml
i know this applies to the Professional /domain environment but its still relevant for home PC's as you could deploy this via gpedit.msc
snippet from the MS article into the reasons for the change
"There were different ways and guidance to set default program prior to Windows 10 (see Managing Default Applications).
Before Windows 10, an application could check default apps, ask for user consent and set default app programmatically using Windows API.
But some programs skip the user consent and set the app defaults into the registry. The main requirement for default file association is often forgotten: the end-user is in control.
Now in Windows 10 checks if registry file extension keys have not been modified to prevent file association hijacking"
This is an intended feature to prevent browser and app hijacking . the registry will detect changes to default apps and switch them back if not changed in the correct way . I have been deploying default apps to all my 20 + sites without issue. Windows 10 changed the way you deploy default apps from group policy to the use of default appassociation.xml
Thank you. I knew this wasn't some random bug. So, simply put, they changed OS functionality and they didn't leave a clear alternative path. So, I guess they need to write something that blocks those registry values, and when someone wants to change those, it prompts a UAC or something before applying the info. The other option is for them to add an API in the .net framework to make those changes, and while that's probably the right way to do it, it basically breaks lots of apps.
So glad I managed to make a custom version of Windows 10 that has most of the bloat removed and (after a while) managed to make it so updates don't install... At all.
Not the group policy edit method either. From a fresh install (install wim) : )
Another thing a lot of Win 10 users might not realize and that they might want to ensure is disabled, especially if they (e.g.) manage secure credentials in a file of some sort (by default, it appears to be disabled):
Still waiting for the brave one, still willing to admit using Windows 95 or even MS-DOS 3.2 :thumb: .
For myself, v1609 is the highest I'll go with Trojan 10.
Do not need anything higher than that, particularly when they start focusing on 'Controlling' and 'Monitoring' your experience from Redmond - directly.
Sorry if this has been posted (probably has) but I found this out through some trial and error.
Right click on your file, go to "open with". Use "choose another app" and locate the app you want for the default app. Open it with that app. Once you've done that, your preferred app will now be in the "open with" menu. NOW you can set it as a default for that file. Not sure why that's a thing, but it works.
Microsoft seems to be taking the "every other OS is good" model and adapting it to the W10 release schedule. It started out good but slowly Windows 10 has become sort of an encumbered dinosaur and we're about three years in so really its like MS released a crappy OS and will hopefully begin patching W10 back into a decent one over the next three.
Hopefully they have the OS in a bit better shape when I bring my gaming PC down to work to fix it. Win 10 self destructed over the past few years. The calculator (and any built in Win 10 App), start button don't work anymore. I disabled updates ages ago, so I'm not sure if random BSOD have killed it or what. I can still get around with right clicking the start button to get file explorer at least...
I am running windows 10 pro October update 1809 17763.107 I actually have the restart for another update. I just tested this and I am able to choose Photoshop CC 2018 to open JPEGS as default and MPC-HC is still the default video program as before the update.
I ended up updating so I could use the latest Radeon drivers which had previously already had support for 1809. You can easily revert if you have problems just make sure you back up important files.
Edit: After updating I am now running 1809 17763.134
Does this effect guys on the normal update schedule or the current business branch update schedule, one of my machines runs a copy of 10 Enterprise set to CBB updates.
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