someone checked always open with...and now dat. and log. files open with media player by default

Left-click the file you wish to open to "highlight" it and then, right-click while depressing the "Shift" key. From the Context Menu that appears select "Open With". Navigate to the application you wish to use and...if you wish to reassociate the file type with the new program, be sure there is a check in the "Always Use Box" and, OK out.

dat files normally do not have a program association. The fastest way to fix this incorrect File association is to open the Registry. Under HKCR\.dat, in the Right pane, change the "No Open" to an empty value. As for the .log files, if you want them to open with Wordpad, Word, Notepad, whatever, follow Schooner's advice for the log extension.

The following seems a little weird but it works just fine. http://computing.net/windows95/wwwboard/forum/115301.html Posted by Ed. FIXING LOST FILE ASSOCIATIONS If you accidentally associate a particular file extension with the wrong application, don't try to fix it from within Windows Explorer's File types dialog box--there's no way to remove a single extension from a registered file type without deleting the entire entry and starting over. Instead, you can click on the Start button, launch the Run dialog box by typing winfile and pressing [Enter]. Once File Manager opens, pull down the File menu and select the Associate Command. When the Associate dialog box appears, type the extension that you want to get rid of in the Files with Extension text box. When you do, you'll see the errant file association appear in the Associate With text box. To remove the file association, scroll to the top of the list of file types, select (None), and then click OK. ---End of post--- Bryan

Yep that ole File Manager can be quite handy at times. You can also believe it, which is more than you can say for Windows Explorer's "user friendly" style in places (such as TIF's & Downloaded Program Files). Nice little picture of DOS.... Incidentally .dat files can "sometimes" be music files (some crackpot chose the same extension as system data files). Derek.W

Thank you all for this helpful advice...and many thanks to bryco,i used his winfile trick and straightened out this mess...thanks again guys!!! sumdumuser...

Also if you want to remove the default check in the "Always open with" box so you can check it yourself if needed do the following: Change Default Of "Open With" Box To Unchecked UNCHECK OPEN WITH "This tweak permanently unchecks the "Always use this program to open this file type" checkbox on the "Open With" dialog box, when opening a non-associated file type. Run Regedit and go to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Unknown\shell\openas\command Add %2 to the current "Default" value as shown here: C:\WINDOWS\Rundll32.exe Shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL %1 %2 Close Regedit and press F5 to refresh the Desktop." Take Care Deke