re: can someone send me the blank.exe file please?
Saturday, June 16, 2007 at 3:03 am
Windows 98 Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by Lee
(172 messages posted)
I'm not exactly sure how this situation came about but you need to correct some registry
keys concerning MP3s. Sorry if I sound like I'm laying it on extra thick
there, but the process works like this where we start with a basic file type extension
- .mp3 in this case like so:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mp3]
"Content Type"="audio/mpeg"
@="mp3file"
This key is read for the default value of "mp3file" which is then used to look up
the executable here:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\mp3file]
Note the match - it MUST exist. Further on and we have this:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\mp3file\shell\open\command]
@="\"C:\\PROGRA~1\\WINDOW~1\\mplayer2.exe\" /Play \"%L\""
And here is the sticky wicket as they say. You may not have my entries! Your program
may not be mplayer2.exe either! BUT your entry under some key train very similiar
to the ones above states exactly:
@="~blank
where the tilde (~) stands for any number of paths and the blank.exe called for does
NOT have a dot E-X-E on it - so don't use that for to look for it. Just use the
single word "blank".
The Open With dongle builds a list using the exact process I just outlined above
each time it is opened, the BLANK entry exists in there because the dongle can't
read over a space character in the value part of the registry key for the open command
string. Usually this leads to to a PROGRAM entry in the open with list and nobody
can figure out how to get rid of it. You have to use the DOS 8.3 filename of "c:\\PROGRA~1\\
to get past the space character of the actual path of "c:\\program files\\". The
dongle then takes the word "program" and appends a dot E-X-E to it and asks for the
location of PROGRAM.EXE. This kind of text only gets put into the registry by badly
written install sections that are not doing it right, so...
This means you've installed something for Mp3s that is NOT standard (what is it?),
so you don't have my keys illustrated above which means you have to understand all
this and reinterpret it for your own situation/program(s).
My main problem is that I can't fathom how the word BLANK got put into your registry
in a standard executable's string like that. That ain't right at all...
My other issue is that it is entirely possible your erroneous entry is placed under
some other extension other than the obvious .mp3 one and/or the key train winds up
somewhere other than mp3file - these are all possible and I can't help you with those
confusing side issues. But that's the cure and I have to turn you loose on it now,
good luck. To answer your question though, start by looking for "BLANK" and NOT
"blank.exe", it is in there.
Keith is right in that you don't need any special Reg program, just type regedit
into the Run Box and use Edit in the toolbar to Find instances of "blank" without
the quotes.
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