Aargh! Real Player keeps changing my file associations!

[zulu9812]

Okay, I have AOL 8.0 which also installs Real Player. I can't uninstall Real Player because AOL needs it to work, and simply automatically downloads an update as you dial up if you uninstall the damn thing. But recently my .avi, .mpg and .mpeg files have been changed to open with Real Player rather than Windows Media Player 9, which was the previous default. I've had all 3 pf these programs installed for ages, and this is the first time it's happened. I change the file associations back to WMP but it keeps changing itself back to Real Player, even though I never open the Real Player program and it's never running as a running process. Anybody got any ideas?

System specs:

750MHz Pentium III
128 MB RAM
20GB HDD
56.6kbs dial-up win-modem
AOL 8.0
Windows Media Player 9
Internet Explorer 6/ Opera 7.11
Windows 2000/SP4

 

[Turner]

Try this:

Click on View/Preferences, and go to the Upgrade tab. Click on AutoRestore Settings under Media Types, and uncheck all the boxes. While I'm not sure this is exactly what's going on, it does sound like it.

You could always open up WMP and have it check, it should ask to restore the settings too.

HTH.

 

[zulu9812]

thanks - I'll give that a try. It's just odd that it's never happened b4

 

[zulu9812]

it didn't work btw

 

[Comraddict]

disable it at startup - so it doesn't run each time you start windows.

 

[zulu9812]

already did that ages ago, b4 this started happening

 

[Comraddict]

remove real player, and remove its installation file, some exe file, found in america online directory under program files.

 

[zulu9812]

Unfortunately, If I do that, AOL automatically downloads and reinstalls it the next time you sign on

 

[Turner]

Have you tried emailing AOL Support and gripe to them about it?

 

[Comraddict]

Originally posted by zulu9812
Unfortunately, If I do that, AOL automatically downloads and reinstalls it the next time you sign on

it won't downlaod it it will state that "some aol files are missing and cannot be found blah blah please reinstall AOL"
the y key is to find where aol stored installation file for real player. if you downloaded aol 8.0, look where is downloaded. otherwise, uninstall real slayer, and remove installation file found somewhere in program files\aol 8.0