Explorer replacement suddenly disappeared

Hi,

I'm using v11.16 64b under Win 8.1, and today, after a boot, I open my D:, and File Explorer shows up, not DOpus. I check the settings, and they have not changed, DOpus is set to replace all system File folders.
As a test, I removed the Explorer replacement, rebooted, and of course, the Explorer underdog showed up. I re-activated the replacement, rebooted and ... still Explorer. Right-clicking on a folder also doesn't show anymore the open using D Opus.
Does anyone please have any idea of how to restore the D Opus functionality? Would highly appreciate an answer.

Try running the installer again, over the top of your existing installation. (Don't uninstall, as that would remove your config and should not be needed.)

If that doesn't help, open Properties on dopus.exe and make sure none of the Compatibility options are turned on.

Thank you.
The last version which I have saved is 11.5, and the installer is DOpusInstall64.exe, clearly 64 bit.
All later updates were done automatically, and I don't have a saved version. I just downloaded v11.16, DOpusInstall.exe
Will this installer automatically install the 64bit version, or from where can I download the correct version.

There's only one installer for both 32 and 64 bit these days so you have the right file.

I re-installed, but it didn't change anything. Am still unable to set DOpus as replacement. I checked the "windows default programs " and DOpus is nowhere to find. It only shows windows explorer.
Any other ideas?

Did you check the Compatibility setting?

I have never touched them, and I have never had any issues.

They can be turned on automatically by Windows so it is worth checking.

Checked, and they are off.
I verified the StartUp items, and DOpus is among them, andf DOpus is running, but it concerns a few, for my work essential windows, which I keep open.
Is it possible that win 8.1 has a "split" memory, and I mean that programs declared as the default application within the program settings are kept in one place, and are not transferred to another win section, where the running OS reads its parameters?
In this case the question is, what caused this, and how can the 2 sets be synchronized. What do you think Leo?
Am I making any sense?

Just before this crap happened, I installed 16 win 8.1 updates. I uninstalled them today, but this didn't change anything. I also checked for possible restore points, but there was only one, from after the windows update. I have no idea why, but I increased the disk space for restore points.

Default Application stuff won't matter here as it only applies to files and not folders.

Please make a registry dump for the folder filetype using my small FileTypeDiag tool. Leave the extension blank and click save, then zip & attach the result. I'll compare it to another Win 8.1 system and see what's different.

Hi,

I did as a matter of fact find some posts regarding the same issue, and had already run the exe and saved the report, which is attached. I do indeed think that it is a registry issue, and I sure hope we can resolve this and get rid of the MS junk.
By the way, the .txt got added when I saved it.
Folders.txt (396 KB)
Thnaks,
George

There's something very strange happening with your registry.

The Opus items exist under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Folder\shell\

But they are not showing up under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT should be a merged view of HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes and a similar area under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, with the first one taking priority over the second. But on your machine, it looks like things in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER area are being ignored.

Why, I can't say, but there may be something wrong with your Windows user profile. Someone else reported similar problems in the past and found that creating a new account on their PC fixed things without having to reinstall Windows completely.

If I'm right about what's happening then you'll probably run into problems with a lot of other software as well.

Thank you very much for the info. I did check 2 threads where the same problem was discussed, and I remember that in one of them the person, I think was a Kevin, talked about creating a super admin account, but from the post I could not derive if this resolved the issue. Is this worth trying you think?
thewindowsclub.com/activate- ... or-account

What is interesting is that in both threads people used win 8.1 PRO, which is also what I use, and it really gives the impression that the Pro is more sensitive.

I wonder if there is any utility to "refresh" user accounts. Am also wondering if, when I change my account type from admin to std user, the registry entries would be corrected or rewritten, or maybe even better, if I elevate my account from admin to super admin, if this would correct anything. I'm not sure what the command would be, but it might be something like "Net user george /active:yes"

What is your opinion please?

I don't know, sorry. I've never encountered Windows behaving this way but if I did I would try creating a new account or reinstalling Windows.

(Reinstalling sounds drastic, but if your user profile and registry are badly messed up, you're looking at a new account and re-configuring all your software anyway, so might as well go for a fresh Windows install and remove any other problems lurking at the same time.)

Maybe there are people out there on Windows support forums with experience of this problem and better advice. I'd still be wondering what else was broken in the registry (or elsewhere) as a result, and wanting a clean setup so I wasn't always wondering if every problem I ran into was related to what had been wrong.

Was just browsing, and came accross the windows scanreg.exe to verify and correct the registry.
support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/183887
What do you think? Worth a try?

Even if that fixed the problem, it's unknown what else might have gone wrong when whatever caused the problem happened, and it's not possible to know how much else is wrong in the registry as a result of the registry not working correctly (assuming it has been functioning incorrectly for some time). I personally would not try to repair things; I would want to rebuild and know I had a solid system.

But the choice is yours, as it is your system. This about Windows rather than Opus and not part of my expertise, so you'll have to decide for yourself.

Dear Leo, I know that you are fully correct, and a fresh start is indeed what I should do. This is however a laptop which I use for work, and restoring it to the present would take me at least a week. I do have an Acronis disk image, made a few months ago, when all was still fine, and I think that I will start with that.
The problem is only with Opus, at least that is the only issue that showed up a few days ago. I exclude the windows update as a cause, but, what I did not mention, is that since a short while, I run ASC (Advanced System Care) once in a while, to correct the registry, and although I cannot be sure, I have a suspicion that ASC may be the cause. The conclusion: better a less than optimized registry than a crippled one.
Thank you very much for your help. I appreciate it very much.

Hi,

I just ran sfc /scannow one more time, and whereas the previous times it found corrupt files, but as I understood it couldn't correct them because of write protection, now it finished without errors. But ... still no Opus, even after reboot. We'll be restoring an image of the C:

Unable to attach. Sorry