I just tried to open an mp3 with Sound Forge by adding it to my list of "other programs" after using the "open with" command. However, when I clicked Okay, instead of Sound Forge being added to Recommended Programs, Adobe Reader was suddenly in the list and selected by default. From then on, trying to add a program to Other Programs did not work: 1) Open With, 2) browse, 3) select any other program, usually in the x86 section, 4) click Open in the resulting window, 4) Look at the Open With window not showing the program I have just selected. It doesn't work from the Control Panel either, or after rebooting, etc. I even ran KB947821 just in case it might fix it--no luck. My admin account works okay, and Adobe Reader is not in that list. It just started this. I found a fix via my friend Google at
Vista: Cannot associate file with program, Default Programs problem, which suggests a free utility, OpenWithAdd, but I don't think I should have to use a 3rd party program just to get a program added to my "open with" list. Another site,
Setting default program for a type does not work as expected - Super User also suggests OpenWithAdd.
Actually, I didn't want to set a default, I just wanted to get Sound Forge in the list for occasional use, like to trim some silence off or something, but it mysteriously had disappeared from the list of programs. Does anybody have a fix for this besides OpenWithAdd?
Now I see by going to "set associations for a program" in Set Default Programs in the Control Panel that the only file association listed for Sound Forge is .w64 for some reason. It does not list mp3 or wav files, so the Control Panel is not giving me the option even to set Sound Forge as the default for anything except that one file type; however, Sound Forge will open any of those files without any problem. Going into Sound Forge, Options/Preferences/File Types, there is a menu to allow Sound Forge to be associated with any of 14 different sound file types. However, trying to select mp3 or wav or anything other that what is checked, which are files like dvf that I have never used, it will not save the association, even by clicking apply first, or even by running the program as an administrator. It did the same thing in my admin account, i.e., not allowing me to add any file associations, except, knowing Vista, I tried several times and it finally gave in to my wishes. However, the admin "open with" was working properly to begin with. Going back to my user account, Sound Forge still had the old associations and still will not let me change the association.
My first thought was this is obviously some kind of UAC problem, but I turned UAC off, and that changed nothing. I still could not add any file associations within Sound Forge, and the Open With still did not allow me to add any new program to the list....I suspect that by reinstalling Sound Forge, I can get rid of the problem as it relates to Sound Forge. However, that will not solve the general problem of the "Open With" dilemma. On the off chance that it was somehow related to Adobe, I completely uninstalled Acrobat Reader, with no effect. Does anybody have any suggestion other than the 3rd party program (or reinstalling Windows, or upgrading to Windows 7, or finally giving up and getting a Mac, and sending all my old Windows stuff to Bill Gates for Christmas)?
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