XP Pro: How to undo a *device* association?

[Evenkeel]

I did a bonehead thing when I was troubleshooting a problem recently, w/my new Canon SD550 camera connecting to the Canon software in Windows. When I first connected the camera, I got the usual dialog box of all the various programs on my machine that could connect to the camera and download pictures (Adobe Photoshop Elements, ACDSee, the Canon CameraWindow, etc.).

The bonehead part comes in when I checked the "Always perform this action" w/the "Canon CameraWindow" selected. Now when I connect the camera, the Canon CameraWindow always starts, never giving me a choice of which program I actually want to use. D'oh! Yes, I know it's doing exactly what it's supposed to do. Problem is, I want the dialog box of choices back, and I don't know how to get it.

W/a simple file association, I know you can go into My Computer>Tools>Folder Options>File Types tab, and scroll down until you find the file type you want to change the association to. Trouble is, the camera is of course a hardware device, and I have no idea where to look for the magic place to undo what I did. It is *not* in the File Types list.

I've hunted thru the Registry, scoured the KB, and have simply run out of ideas. Can anyone tell me how to undo a device association to a particular program?

 

[Brazen]

Good question. I've always avoided the "Always perform this action" for that reason, in case I ever wanted the choice back...

 

[Evenkeel]

Originally posted by: Brazen
Good question. I've always avoided the "Always perform this action" for that reason, in case I ever wanted the choice back...

Yes, and I have been kicking myself for the past 24 hours for doing this. :disgust: Really. All 24 hours. Mother******!

I hope an XP pro on XP Pro can jump in here and help me out w/this. Besides solving my immediate issue, it's something I'd really like to know.

 

[Evenkeel]

I got a reply from the MS user group forums. Here's the reply in its entirety:

"If the drive-letter is shown in My Computer for the Canon camera, then
right-click the drive, and choose Properties. Click the Autoplay tab, and
choose the desired application there.

Alternately, start Registry Editor (regedit.exe) and navigate to the
following branch:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AutoplayHandlers]

Export the branch to a REG file, using the File/Export menu option.
Then, delete the sub-key named "UserChosenExecuteHandlers"
Close Regedit.exe

Note that this resets the Autoplay preferences for _all_ the removable
drives in the system. You may need to reconfigure them again.

--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User"


And here's my reply, w/results:

"Thank you for pointing me in the right direction! It actually turned out to be even easier than described. I connected the camera so that I could see it in Explorer, right-clicked on it as advised, and I got a dialog that made it even easier than the "Autoplay" instructions you described. The ensuing dialog had a tab called "Events", and down about halfway had a section called "Actions". The first choice, "Start this program", had a drop-down list of all the programs I had previously seen before I made the goof, and the CameraWindow program was chosen. The next Action choice underneath was "Prompt for which program to run". I checked this button, and voila! I have my choices back! This is so cool--now I can go back and forth if I want the camera to default to the CameraWindow, or have a choice.

I'm also glad this worked, because I checked the reference you made to the Registry, because I was curious, and I do not have the "UserChosenExecuteHandlers" sub-key. All I have there is "EventHandlersDefaultSelection", and "UserDefaults"--neither of which mentioned the camera."

So I got my choices back. I don't know why I don't have the Registry sub-key he mentioned, tho--that might come in handy for a device that doesn't show up so easily in Explorer, like the Canon did. It didn't show up as a drive letter, per se, but just listed down the list in Explorer as "Canon Powershot SD550". My DVD drives do have the "Autoplay" tab he mentioned, tho--maybe the Canon software/driver sets up its own special tab to configure. Anyway, hope this helps anyone else who may run into this issue.

 

[Brazen]

Well, that sounds easy. Maybe I'll start choosing default autorun applications...