Share this article

Improve this guide

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

A comprehensive guide on how to get rid of this error

7 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

Share this article

Improve this guide

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial teamRead more

Key notes

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

Users reportedThis file does not have a program associated with it for performing this actionerror messageon 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 commonerror messagethat can appear, and speaking of this error, here are some similar issues that users reported:

How to fix thethis file does not have an app associated with iterror?

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:

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.

PressWindows Key + Rto open the Run dialog.
Enterlusrmgr.mscin it and then pressEnteror clickOK.
Navigate totheGroupsfolder in the left pane .

4.Double-click theAdministratorsgroup in the right pane.

5.When thePropertieswindow opens, click theAddbutton.

6.In theEnter the object names to selectfield, enter your user name and clickCheck Names.

7.If everything is in order clickOK. Alternatively, you can click theAdvancedbutton andFind Nowbutton to manually search for your user name.

After doing that your user account should be added to Administrators group.
ClickApplyandOKto save the changes.
Some users also advised to log out and log back in to Windows 10 in order for changes to take effect.

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:

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:

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:

5. Run DISM and SFC scans

Sometimes you might getThis file does not have a program associated with itmessage 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:

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:

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 theSFC scan stopsor you’re getting theDISM error 2 on your Windows 10 device, check out our dedicated articles.

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

6. Disable Autoplay for all devices

If you’re gettingThis file does not have a program associated with itmessage, 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

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 toThis file does not have a program associated with itmessage 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.

8. Run Powershell

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

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

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

9. Perform a System Restore

According to users, sometimes the best way to fixThis file does not have a program associated with iterror is to perform aSystem Restore. To perform a System Restore, just do the following:

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 actioncan be a problematic error, but we hope that you managed to fix it after using one of our solutions.

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

What are the variations of this error message?#

How to fix thethis file does not have an app associated with iterror?#

1. Create a new Windows user account#

2. Add your user account to the Administrators group#

3. Change your registry#

4. Delete certain keys from the Registry#

5. Run DISM and SFC scans#

6. Disable Autoplay for all devices#

7. Reset file association#

8. Run Powershell#

9. Perform a System Restore#