26th September 2002

Question: I'm new to Windows XP and I was looking around the operating system to try to get more familiar with it. Well, I stumbled upon a Folder Options window and since then whenever I double-click a folder it starts the Search Companion. What did I do and can I fix it?

Answer: Of course you can fix it, but first I just want to say don't be discouraged from looking around your computer now. Most of us computer technicians have had our fair share of broken operating systems that are a direct result of our poking around. Keep in mind though, sometimes the best way to learn about something is to learn what its weaknesses are. Now back to the task at hand. What probably happened is that while you were in the Folder Options window you probably clicked on the File Types tab and opened File Folder from the register file types list. This would have been fine but if you clicked the Advanced button then it could cause the None setting to be lost in your registry. So what we need to do now involves editing your registry so please backup before proceeding any further. To open your Registry Editor you will need to click Start, Run, then type "regedit" (sans quotes) in the open windows and click OK. Navigate to this registry key; HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell. Click on the Default value and then choose Modify from the Edit menu. This should open a File data box in which you will need to type "none" (sans quotes) and then OK. Now you can close your Registry Editor and restart you computer. All that is left now is to add one more notch to your "learn from experience" tally.