Fix this file does not have an application associated with it
Each type of file requires a different application/program to open it. For example, video files can be opened with a video player, text files and documents can be opened with a text/document editor, etc. Windows has many default programs that will open most types of files on your system. However, this is not possible for all file types you are trying to run on Windows. Some files may not be recognized by Windows and you may experience the “No application associated with this file” error.
Users have reported that they encountered this error with file types previously recognized by Windows. This is a common error that many people face in Windows 10 and now in Windows 11. What should I do to fix this problem?
Content:
- 1 Fix this file does not have an application associated with it to perform this action
- 2 final words
Fix This file does not have an application associated with it to perform this action
This article discusses various troubleshooting steps to help fix this file that is not associated with an application to perform this action error.
Run an SFC and DISM scan
The first thing you should try to do is run an SFC and DISM scan. This issue occurs due to corrupted files and can be fixed by running an SFC and DISM scan. We recommend that you run an SFC scan first and see if that fixes the error or not. To run an SFC scan, follow these steps:
- Press the Windows key to open the Start menu. From the Start menu , search for CMD.
- In the search results, right-click Command Prompt, and then select Run as administrator.
- Now at the command prompt , type the following command and press Enter to execute it:
- sfc/scannow
- The process will start. Wait for the process to complete and then restart your computer.
This should most likely fix the issue. However, you should run a DISM scan if you are still facing the issue. To do this, follow the steps given below:
- Run a command prompt with administrator rights.
- Here, enter and run the following command:
- DISM/Online/Cleanup-Image/RestoreHealth
- After that, close the command prompt window and restart your computer.
Make changes to the registry
Making certain changes to the registry can also help resolve the issue. It is recommended that you back up your registry settings before making any changes to them. Follow the steps given below to make changes to the registry and fix the error “There is no application associated with this file”.
- Open the Start menu by pressing the Windows key . Here, find Registry Editor and open it.
- Navigate to the following address in Registry Editor:
- Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile
- Here check if IsShortcut value is available or not. If it is available, continue to the next troubleshooting step, otherwise follow the next step.
- Right-click on an empty space in the right pane, select New and then String Value.
- Now rename the key you created to IsShortcut.
- Now follow the following path:
- HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\Control\command
- Here, double click “Default”to edit it.
- Make sure data value is set to –
- %SystemRoot%\system32\CompMgmtLauncher.exe
- If these values do not match, you can change them.
- After that, restart your computer and see if you are facing this issue or not.
Add the user account to the Administrators group
The next troubleshooting step is to add the user account to the Administrators group. If you do not have administrator rights, you will not be able to open certain files on your PC. You can follow the following steps to do so:
- Press the key combination Windows + R , type lusrmgr.msc and click OK .
- Here, double-click the Groups folder on the left sidebar to open it.
- Now on the right, double click Administrators to open its properties.
- Click the Add button here.
- Here, in the Enter the object names to select field , enter your name and click on Check Names.
- Now click OK . Check if the user account is added to administrator or not.
- After that click “Apply” and then “OK”.
- Now log out of your PC and log in again.
Note. This method does not work with Windows 11 Home.
Run PowerShell Command
You can run a PowerShell command to reinstall all universal apps, which should probably fix the issue you’re experiencing. To do this, follow the steps given below:
- Press the Windows key on your keyboard and type PowerShell into the Start menu. Now right-click on PowerShell in the search results and select Run as administrator.
- This will launch PowerShell as an administrator. Now run the following command in PowerShell:
- Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers |Where-Object {$_.InstallLocation – as “*SystemApps*”} | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml”}
- After that, check if the issue is resolved or not.
Disable autoplay
The next thing you can try is to disable autoplay for all devices. You can do this by following the steps given below:
- Press Windows Key + I to open the Settings app on your PC.
- On the left sidebar of the Settings app, tap Bluetooth & other devices.
- Now on the right side, click on Autoplay.
- Turn off the switch for autorun .
- Set the Removable disk and memory card option to Take no action.
- After that, the problem should be fixed.
Perform a system restore
If you encounter this problem after performing an update, installing an application, updating a driver, or reinstalling a driver, we recommend that you perform a system restore. This will return your computer to the point at which the changes were made. To restore your system, you will need a restore point. If you don’t know how to do this, you can follow our system recovery guide.
Final words
Here’s how you can fix the “This file does not have an application associated with it”error. If you encounter this issue while trying to open a file, you can follow the steps in this article and you should be able to resolve the issue.
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