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Cant switch default browser



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 29th 18, 10:28 PM posted to microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion,microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 25
Default Cant switch default browser

I'm running Win98se. For many years my default browser was K-Meleon, and
I also had the highest (usable in 98) version of Firefox installed. (FF
version 3.x).

K-Meleon no longer works on almost any website, and the upgrades for it
are only for XP and higher.

I want to switch and make Firefox the default browser. But I cant make
it switch. I went to the Options in FF and clicked on "Make FF the
Default Browser". That does nothing, and I have tried to do it at least
10 times.

I even made a backup of K-Meleon and deleted it. Then went to FF and
clicked on "make FF the default". Still nothing. All it did then, was to
keep annoying me by saying it cant find K-Meleon.exe.

I even went so far as to modify my registry to remove all references to
K-Meleon. Then went to FF and once again, clicked on "Make FF the
default".

Still no change.....

I since restored the registry and put back K-Meleon from the backup.

How the heck can I make FF my default browser?

After that, I'll remove K-Meleon permanently.

  #2  
Old January 30th 18, 01:24 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion,microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
JT[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3
Default Cant switch default browser

wrote:

I'm running Win98se. For many years my default browser was K-Meleon,
and I also had the highest (usable in 98) version of Firefox
installed. (FF version 3.x).

K-Meleon no longer works on almost any website, and the upgrades for
it are only for XP and higher.

I want to switch and make Firefox the default browser. But I cant make
it switch. I went to the Options in FF and clicked on "Make FF the
Default Browser". That does nothing, and I have tried to do it at
least 10 times.

I even made a backup of K-Meleon and deleted it. Then went to FF and
clicked on "make FF the default". Still nothing. All it did then, was
to keep annoying me by saying it cant find K-Meleon.exe.

I even went so far as to modify my registry to remove all references
to K-Meleon. Then went to FF and once again, clicked on "Make FF the
default".

Still no change.....

I since restored the registry and put back K-Meleon from the backup.

How the heck can I make FF my default browser?

After that, I'll remove K-Meleon permanently.


James,


You should have the followin 2 registry settings... 1 for HTTP and 1
for HTTPS.

If not, create them.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell \Associations\UrlAssoc
iations\http\UserChoice\Progid
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell \Associations\UrlAssoc
iations\http\UserChoice\Progid


Progid is a String Value.

You have 3 choices.

They a

FirefoxURL Firefox
ChromeHTML Chrome
IE.HTTP Internet Explorer

To make Firefox your Default edit the Progid and change it to
FirefoxURL.

If you are familiar with merging .reg files save the following to a
file named default.reg on your desktop.



Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell \Associations\UrlAsso
ciations\http\UserChoice]
"Progid"="FirefoxURL"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell \Associations\UrlAsso
ciations\https\UserChoice]
"Progid"="FirefoxURL"



Then just right-click and select Merge.


JT

--

  #3  
Old January 30th 18, 01:43 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion,microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
JJ[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 36
Default Cant switch default browser

On Mon, 29 Jan 2018 15:28:45 -0600, wrote:
I'm running Win98se. For many years my default browser was K-Meleon, and
I also had the highest (usable in 98) version of Firefox installed. (FF
version 3.x).

K-Meleon no longer works on almost any website, and the upgrades for it
are only for XP and higher.

I want to switch and make Firefox the default browser. But I cant make
it switch. I went to the Options in FF and clicked on "Make FF the
Default Browser". That does nothing, and I have tried to do it at least
10 times.

I even made a backup of K-Meleon and deleted it. Then went to FF and
clicked on "make FF the default". Still nothing. All it did then, was to
keep annoying me by saying it cant find K-Meleon.exe.

I even went so far as to modify my registry to remove all references to
K-Meleon. Then went to FF and once again, clicked on "Make FF the
default".

Still no change.....

I since restored the registry and put back K-Meleon from the backup.

How the heck can I make FF my default browser?

After that, I'll remove K-Meleon permanently.


Use below REG file. Copy and paste it into Notepad. Change the paths to your
Firefox's installation path. Make sure you use two backslashes just like
below example REG file. Save it as e.g. "SetBrowser.reg". Include the quotes
so that Notepad won't save it as "SetBrowser.reg.txt". Once it's saved,
close Firefox if it's running, then double-click the REG file (choose Yes/OK
when prompted).

If *.html files are also still opened with K-Meleon, SHIFT+RightClick a
*.html file then choose "Open with...". Choose the Firefox application, then
press OK.

**********start of code (don't include this line)**********
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ftp\shell\open\command]
@="c:\\program files\\firefox\\firefox.exe %1"

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ftp\shell\open\ddeexec]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\http\shell\open\command]
@="c:\\program files\\firefox\\firefox.exe %1"

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\http\shell\open\ddeexec]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\https\shell\open\command]
@="c:\\program files\\firefox\\firefox.exe %1"

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\https\shell\open\ddeexec]
  #5  
Old February 2nd 18, 07:16 PM posted to microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion,microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mike Easter
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 30
Default Cant switch default browser

wrote:
I'm running Win98se.


What is this hardware running W98se? CPU (including flags such as sse2
and cmov or not), ram, graphics.

--
Mike Easter
  #6  
Old February 9th 18, 10:41 PM posted to microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion,microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 25
Default Cant switch default browser

On Tue, 30 Jan 2018 07:43:54 +0700, JJ wrote:

On Mon, 29 Jan 2018 15:28:45 -0600, wrote:
I'm running Win98se. For many years my default browser was K-Meleon, and
I also had the highest (usable in 98) version of Firefox installed. (FF
version 3.x).

K-Meleon no longer works on almost any website, and the upgrades for it
are only for XP and higher.

I want to switch and make Firefox the default browser. But I cant make
it switch. I went to the Options in FF and clicked on "Make FF the
Default Browser". That does nothing, and I have tried to do it at least
10 times.

I even made a backup of K-Meleon and deleted it. Then went to FF and
clicked on "make FF the default". Still nothing. All it did then, was to
keep annoying me by saying it cant find K-Meleon.exe.

I even went so far as to modify my registry to remove all references to
K-Meleon. Then went to FF and once again, clicked on "Make FF the
default".

Still no change.....

I since restored the registry and put back K-Meleon from the backup.

How the heck can I make FF my default browser?

After that, I'll remove K-Meleon permanently.


Use below REG file. Copy and paste it into Notepad. Change the paths to your
Firefox's installation path. Make sure you use two backslashes just like
below example REG file. Save it as e.g. "SetBrowser.reg". Include the quotes
so that Notepad won't save it as "SetBrowser.reg.txt". Once it's saved,
close Firefox if it's running, then double-click the REG file (choose Yes/OK
when prompted).

If *.html files are also still opened with K-Meleon, SHIFT+RightClick a
*.html file then choose "Open with...". Choose the Firefox application, then
press OK.

**********start of code (don't include this line)**********
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ftp\shell\open\command]
@="c:\\program files\\firefox\\firefox.exe %1"

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ftp\shell\open\ddeexec]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\http\shell\open\command]
@="c:\\program files\\firefox\\firefox.exe %1"

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\http\shell\open\ddeexec]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\https\shell\open\command]
@="c:\\program files\\firefox\\firefox.exe %1"

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\https\shell\open\ddeexec]


I have not tried these yet. I did find out that uninstalling both
Firefox and K-meleon, then reinstalling FF still did not set FF as the
default browser.

Anyhow, before trying these things, what is the name of the registry
files (I think there are two) in Win98se? I want to be able to put them
back (from Dos), if I f**k things up. I do have a full backup, but it's
easier to just replace the registry files....



  #7  
Old February 11th 18, 02:47 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion
Lee
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 196
Default Cant switch default browser

On Friday, February 9, 2018 at 2:42:57 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Tue, 30 Jan 2018 07:43:54 +0700, JJ wrote:

On Mon, 29 Jan 2018 15:28:45 -0600, wrote:
I'm running Win98se. For many years my default browser was K-Meleon, and
I also had the highest (usable in 98) version of Firefox installed. (FF
version 3.x).

K-Meleon no longer works on almost any website, and the upgrades for it
are only for XP and higher.

I want to switch and make Firefox the default browser. But I cant make
it switch. I went to the Options in FF and clicked on "Make FF the
Default Browser". That does nothing, and I have tried to do it at least
10 times.

I even made a backup of K-Meleon and deleted it. Then went to FF and
clicked on "make FF the default". Still nothing. All it did then, was to
keep annoying me by saying it cant find K-Meleon.exe.

I even went so far as to modify my registry to remove all references to
K-Meleon. Then went to FF and once again, clicked on "Make FF the
default".

Still no change.....

I since restored the registry and put back K-Meleon from the backup.

How the heck can I make FF my default browser?

After that, I'll remove K-Meleon permanently.


Use below REG file. Copy and paste it into Notepad. Change the paths to your
Firefox's installation path. Make sure you use two backslashes just like
below example REG file. Save it as e.g. "SetBrowser.reg". Include the quotes
so that Notepad won't save it as "SetBrowser.reg.txt". Once it's saved,
close Firefox if it's running, then double-click the REG file (choose Yes/OK
when prompted).

If *.html files are also still opened with K-Meleon, SHIFT+RightClick a
*.html file then choose "Open with...". Choose the Firefox application, then
press OK.

**********start of code (don't include this line)**********
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ftp\shell\open\command]
@="c:\\program files\\firefox\\firefox.exe %1"

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ftp\shell\open\ddeexec]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\http\shell\open\command]
@="c:\\program files\\firefox\\firefox.exe %1"

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\http\shell\open\ddeexec]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\https\shell\open\command]
@="c:\\program files\\firefox\\firefox.exe %1"

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\https\shell\open\ddeexec]


I have not tried these yet. I did find out that uninstalling both
Firefox and K-meleon, then reinstalling FF still did not set FF as the
default browser.

Anyhow, before trying these things, what is the name of the registry
files (I think there are two) in Win98se? I want to be able to put them
back (from Dos), if I f**k things up. I do have a full backup, but it's
easier to just replace the registry files....


System.dat and user.dat in Windows folder. Both read only and hidden attributes or it tends to vomit all over the place.

FF doesn't set itself as default browser, you have to do that manually under Tools in toolbar. You might have to disallow IE that privilege first in it's own internet options check box line up though. Wasn't automatic in any event except the IE part taking that aspect for itself always. MS was sued over this very issue and grudgingly had to put the checkbox for default browser in internet options that would allow other browsers to play top dog, but it's never automatically done. No one else wants to be dragged into court over it.
  #8  
Old February 11th 18, 06:47 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion,microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 21
Default Cant switch default browser

On Sat, 10 Feb 2018 23:46:56 GMT, Donald G. Davis
wrote:

writes:

Anyhow, before trying these things, what is the name of the registry
files (I think there are two) in Win98se? I want to be able to put them
back (from Dos), if I f**k things up. I do have a full backup, but it's
easier to just replace the registry files....


The registry files are USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT in Win98.

I thank JT for those registry tweaks. I also had been annoyed for
years that clicking on an URL in my TeraTerm program always brought up
Internet Explorer though I had tried to make my default browser Firefox.
I merged JT's two .REG files into my registry, and they had the desired
result without any problems. (However, in the "Progid" file I had to
replace the line "Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00" with "REGEDIT4"
for the registry editor to accept it.)

--Donald Davis


I solved that IE opening issue years ago. I renamed the IE file to
*.E_E.

Then I copied calc.exe to that same folder and renamed it to the same as
the IE file. That way, when IE is supposed to open, the calculator opens
instead. However, over time, the calculator sort of quit opening. Almost
like K-meleon became the default. I used to really like K-meleon, but
now it constantly generates security error messages. Sometimes it gets
so bad there is not even time to close it. Thats when I have to use the
3 finger salute. FIrefox gets a few of them errors and script errors,
but it's still pretty usable on the 25% of sites that will load at all
these days.



  #9  
Old February 11th 18, 06:53 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion,microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 25
Default Cant switch default browser

On Fri, 2 Feb 2018 10:16:08 -0800, Mike Easter
wrote:

wrote:
I'm running Win98se.


What is this hardware running W98se? CPU (including flags such as sse2
and cmov or not), ram, graphics.


You got me.... I dont even know what most of that stuff means.
It's a 18 year old computer, that is all I know.
I dont see why that matters anyhow. This is about browsers and Win98.
The hardware runs just fine...

  #10  
Old February 11th 18, 07:01 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 25
Default Cant switch default browser

On Thu, 01 Feb 2018 18:39:47 -0500, 98 Guy wrote:

wrote:

I'm running Win98se. For many years my default browser was K-Meleon,
and I also had the highest (usable in 98) version of Firefox
installed. (FF version 3.x).


Do you have KernelEx installed on your system?

If so, they you should be able to run Opera 12.02. That's the only
version of Opera 12 that will run on a win-98 system (but only if it has
KernelEx).

I think you'd find that Opera 12 to be compatible with many web sites.

I myself still run Firefox 2.0.0.20 as my default browser, and
frequently view many websites with no Page Style if the default
rendering is too unworkable or faulty. But I will resort to Opera 12
for a few sites.



Yes, i have Kernal-EX.
But I would not install Opera on any of my computers for less than
$10,000. Pay me, and I'll do it.
(I can restore Win98 from my backup afterwards).

I've had that piece of **** Opera completely screw up my computer
several times over the years. That piece of crap is nearly a virus.

I run FF 3.6.28. Kernel-ex claims it will run FF up to version 6.x (I
think), but it dont run worth a ****. Ver 3.x seems to work fine though.
Nothing higher than that...



 




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