Fix: This File Does Not Have a Program Associated With It

Windows 10 might be a great operating system, but it also has some of the same problems that its predecessors had.

Users reported This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action error message on Windows 10 while trying to run certain applications, so let’s see how to fix this problem.

What are the variations of this error message?

This file does not have a program associated with it is a common error message that can appear, and speaking of this error, here are some similar issues that users reported:

• This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action USB drive – This problem can occur due to your AutoPlay settings. However, you can fix the problem simply by disabling the AutoPlay feature.
• This file does not have a program associated with it Excel, Explorer.exe – This problem can affect various system applications, and if that happens, be sure to perform SFC and DISM scans.
• This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action OneDrive – If you encounter this problem with OneDrive or other system features, simply reset the file associations to the default and check if that solves the problem.
• This file does not have a program associated with it Windows 10, 8.1, 7 – This error can appear on almost any version of Windows, and even if you don’t use Windows 10, you should be able to apply most of our solutions to your PC.

How to fix the this file does not have an app associated with it error?

1. Create a new Windows user account

According to users, one of the simplest ways to fix this problem is to create a new Windows user account. To do that follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings app and go to the Accounts section.
   
2. Go to the Family & other users tab and click Add someone else to this PC.
   
3. Click I don’t have this person’s sign-in information.
   
4. Select Add a user without a Microsoft account.
   
5. Enter the user name and password for the new account and click Next.
   

2. Add your user account to the Administrators group

Another solution to this problem is to add your user account to the Administrators group. Users reported that after adding their user account to the Administrators the issue was resolved. This is because you might not be able to open certain files due to lacking admin rights.

1. 1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog.

2. 2. Enter lusrmgr.msc in it and then press Enter or click OK.

   

3. 3. Navigate to the Groups folder in the left pane .

   

4. 4. Double-click the Administrators group in the right pane.

5. 5. When the Properties window opens, click the Add button.

   

6. 6. In the Enter the object names to select field, enter your user name and click Check Names. 

7. 7. If everything is in order click OK. Alternatively, you can click the Advanced button and Find Now button to manually search for your user name.

   

8. 8. After doing that your user account should be added to Administrators group.

9. 9. Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

10. 10. Some users also advised to log out and log back in to Windows 10 in order for changes to take effect.

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3. Change your registry

Changing your registry can lead to system instability, therefore before doing any changes to registry, we advise you to create a backup of your registry in case anything goes wrong. To edit the registry do the following:

1. Press Windows Key + R and enter regedit. Click OK or press Enter.
   
2. In the left pane navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTlnkfile key.
3. Check if the IsShortcut value is available. If this value is missing right click the empty space in the right pane and choose New > String Value. Be sure to enter IsShortcut as the name of the new String Value.
   
4. After you’re done, close Registry Editor.

Sometimes this String Value can be deleted from your registry, and if it’s missing be sure to recreate it by following the aforementioned steps.

Several users are suggesting to perform the following steps as well:

1. Go to the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTCLSID{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}shellManagecommand key in the left pane. Double-click (Default) in the right pane.
   
2. Set the Value data to %SystemRoot%system32CompMgmtLauncher.exe and click OK to save changes.
   

4. Delete certain keys from the Registry

This solution only applies if you can’t open any folder on your PC. If you can open folders on your PC there’s no need to perform this solution. To delete registry entries do the following:

1. Open Registry Editor.
2. In the left pane navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDirectoryshell.
3. Expand the shell key and delete both find and cmd keys.
   
4. After you’re done, close Registry Editor.

• Why take a chance? Use one of the selected registry cleaners for Windows

5. Run DISM and SFC scans

Sometimes you might get This file does not have a program associated with it message because your system files are corrupted.

This can occur for various reasons, and in order to fix this problem, it’s advised to perform both SFC and DISM scans. To do that, just follow these simple steps:

1. Press Windows Key + X to open Win + X menu and choose Command Prompt (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin).
   
2. When Command Prompt opens, enter sfc /scannow and press Enter.
   
3. The SFC scan will now start. The scanning process can take about 15 minutes, so don’t interrupt it.

After the SFC scan is completed, check if the problem is still there. If this issue is still present, you need to run DISM scan. You can do that by following these steps:

1. Start Command Prompt as administrator.
2. Run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth command.
   
3. DISM scan will now start. The scanning can take about 20 minutes, so don’t interrupt it.

Once the DISM scan is finished, check if the problem is still there. If you were unable to run the SFC scan before, try running it now and check if that solves the issue.

If the SFC scan stops or you’re getting the DISM error 2 on your Windows 10 device, check out our dedicated articles.

Moreover, if your WinX menu is not working, we have yet another article you can read.

6. Disable Autoplay for all devices

1. Open the Settings app and go to Devices section.
   
2. Select AutoPlay from the menu on the left. In the right pane disable Use AutoPlay for all media devices. Set Removable drive and Memory card to Take no action.
   

If you’re getting This file does not have a program associated with it message, the issue might be because of AutoPlay feature. However, you can fix the problem simply by disabling Autoplay completely.

After doing that, AutoPlay should be completely disabled and the issue will be resolved.

7. Reset file association

1. Open the Settings app and go to the Apps section.
   
2. From the menu on the left select Default apps. Scroll down and in the Reset to the Microsoft recommended defaults section click the Reset button.
3. 

By default, Windows 10 is configured to open files with its default applications, but most users usually change these settings. Sometimes there might be an issue with your configuration and that can lead to This file does not have a program associated with it message to appear.

To fix the problem, you just need to reset file associations to default. This is quite simple as described in the steps above.

After doing that, the problem with file associations should be completely resolved.

• Not sure what software opens what file type? Check out our best universal openers

8. Run Powershell

According to users, sometimes you might be able to fix This file does not have a program associated with it error by reinstalling all Universal apps. This is quite simple to do, and you can do it by following these steps:

1. Press Windows Key + S and enter powershell. Right-click Windows PowerShell from the list of results and choose Run as administrator.
   
2. Now run the following command: Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers |Where-Object {$_.InstallLocation -like “*SystemApps*”} | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml”}.
   

After the command is executed, the issue should be resolved completely.

If Powershell stops working, we have an article on how to fix it.

9. Perform a System Restore

According to users, sometimes the best way to fix This file does not have a program associated with it error is to perform a System Restore. To perform a System Restore, just do the following:

1. Press Windows Key + S and enter system restore. Choose Create a restore point from the list of results.
   
2. When System Properties window opens, click the System Restore button.
   
3. System Restore window will now appear. Click Next to proceed.
   
4. If available, check Show more restore points option. Choose the restore point you want to go back to and click Next.
   
5. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the restoration process.

Once your system is restored, check if the problem is still there.

This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action can be a problematic error, but we hope that you managed to fix it after using one of our solutions.