Explorer Context Menu

[Anonymous]

Something bad has happened to my Win95 Explorer context menu. SHIFT + RIGHT CLICK no longer gives me the OPEN WITH... option for any file. I've spent hours fooling with the registry to try and resolve the problem, but no luck. Is this a registry problem? Or has some DLL file got corrupted? Apart from no OPEN WITH... the context menu seems okay. Can anybody help?

[Anonymous]

This is from the MS Knowledge Base.


"Open With" Command Missing from the Context Menu

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The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 95
Microsoft Windows 98

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IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.


SYMPTOMS
When you double-click an unknown file type, an unexpected default action may occur.

When you right-click an unknown file type, the Open With command may be missing from the context menu that appears.



CAUSE
This behavior can occur if the registry key that handles the command is altered or damaged.



RESOLUTION
WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

Use Registry Editor to examine the file association key for unknown file types:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Unknown\shell\openas\command
The "default" value for this key should read:
C:\%windir%\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL %1
If necessary, modify the value to match the value shown here.


enjoy