dean-dean

Restoring your .dat extension to the Vista default won't hurt anything, and
is advisable. Yes, your PalmOne made a shell extension for .dat files,
particularly in regards to Mail, but it's not compatible with, nor does it
work, in Vista. Vista handles these thumbnails differently.
"{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}" is an old thumbnail preview value
for creating thumbnails for .eml,.nws, .htm and .html. I'm not sure how
your .dat files got involved. As a matter of fact, I think Microsoft
discontinued using it because of a the security risk (Web View Script
Injection Vulnerability) it caused with Webvw.dll; Vista no longer uses
"Web View", but rather "Previews and Filters".

At any rate, removing the shell extension should not harm your PalmOne. In
PalmOne's Options/Preferences, or in its "Photo Suite", can you turn the
shell extension off (looking for something along the line of "Show
Preview...")? Can you uninstall the Photo Suite apart from PalmOne? Are
your picture files (.jpg's, etc.) associated with Photo Suite?

To restore your .dat file extension, open C:\Windows\System32\regedt32.exe,
by right-clicking on it and choosing Run as Administrator. Go to

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.dat

and, in the LEFT-hand pane, select the .dat key, and delete it. Leave
Registry Editor open.

Open Notepad.

--------------------------------------------------------

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.dat]
"NoOpen"="

--------------------------------------------------------

Copy the above and Paste it into Notepad (not including the dashes) and save
it as dat.reg (no .txt extension).

Back in Registry Editor, on the menu, choose File, and then Import.
Navigate to wherever dat.reg is, and select it. Click Open in the dialog.
Close Registry Editor. Log Off, and then back On. Your .dat files should be
back to normal, and Explorer, hopefully, won't crash.

Now sometimes, when you open a photo program, it may re-write the registry
keys it thinks it needs. You might want to keep an eye on the .dat key in
the Registry, to check for that behavior.



"JasonH" <JasonH@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1B926F0E-E80A-4CF4-886E-4E26194F339F@microsoft.com...
> dean-dean, you called it. I finally found the ArcSpl.ax file on my
> computer
> -- it was installed along with Palm Desktop back in February as part of
> their
> photo suite, and it's located under C:\Program Files\palmOne.
>
> But when I go into regedit: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.dat, there's an extra
> subfolder "ShellEx" with another subfolder
> "{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}". The (Default) key is present in
> all 3, but I can't delete any of them. I get "unable to delete all
> specified
> values." I've also not been able to successfully dis-associate my DAT
> files.
>
> I wasn't expecting to see that "ShellEx" subfolder -- do you think I can
> safely delete it? Or just substitute the key you suggested? I don't
> really
> care if I lose the Arcsoft functionality, but I don't want to create
> additional problems.
>
>
>
>
>
> "dean-dean" wrote:
>
>> Well, this is interesting. Somewhere on your computer there's a file
>> named
>> ArcSpl.ax, which is somehow involved in your crashes. If you could
>> right-click on that file, and open its properties, on the Details tab,
>> can
>> you tell what company made it or what program it might be involved with?
>> It's not a Vista OS file. Try looking under C:\Program Files\Common
>> Files\arcsoft\mpeg engine.
>>
>> Anyway, having your .dat file extension associated with a program may be
>> key, too. Explorer is trying to create a picture of a .dat file,
>> possibly,
>> and normally that file has no program association. (It might be better
>> putting a shortcut to Notepad in Sendto, and looking at an un-associated
>> .dat file that way, if you're so inclined). Why it's picking on
>> OESpamFilter.dat, I dunno.
>>
>> If you want try un-associating the .dat file extension, in the registry
>> Editor, go to
>>
>> HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.dat
>>
>> and, in the right-hand pane, right-click and delete the value
>> "(default)",
>> under Name, (which will have the value "dat_auto_file", under Data).
>> Otherwise, you could make a .reg file in Notepad with this:
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
>>
>> [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.dat]
>> "NoOpen"="
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Copy the above into Notepad (not including the dashes) and save it as
>> dat.reg (no .txt extension). Close Notepad, then open dat.reg, and allow
>> the Merge.
>>
>>
>> "JasonH" <JasonH@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:BBC11B52-F0B3-4237-BCAD-26D2FBDD55E0@microsoft.com...
>> > Okay, through a clever use of the Extra Large Icons setting, I've
>> > managed
>> > to
>> > figure out that the cause of my problem is the OESpamFilter.dat file.
>> > If
>> > that file is onscreen as a thumbnail or attempts to register in a
>> > folder
>> > thumbnail, it crashes Windows Explorer. The problem is not general to
>> > .dat
>> > files -- I can have any other .dat file onscreen and nothing happens.
>> > It's
>> > only OESpamFilter.dat.
>> >
>> > Windows won't let me delete or even hide this file (access is denied).
>> > If
>> > I
>> > copy that file to some other location, it still crashes WE the same way
>> > (though at least I can delete those copies).
>> >
>> > What can I do about this? I've tried to change the default program for
>> > .dat
>> > files (it had been Notepad), but to no avail.
>>