# XP, explorer, and changing default apps
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xp-explorer-and-changing-default-apps/151682
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 30, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xp-explorer-and-changing-default-apps/151682 "2003-01-30T19:16:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@robertliguori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robertliguori)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xp-explorer-and-changing-default-apps/151682/1 "2003-01-30T19:16:50Z")
Oh great gods of tech, I humbly beg your assistance.
The other day an installation for Quicktime popped up. Now, I had already installed Quicktime, but I figured it might have gotten screwed up or something.
Now, whenever I click on an MP3 link from a webpage, it opens in Quicktime, rather then Windows media player. The problem is that 1st: I don’t want it to do this: for one thing, Quicktime doesn’t stream. Is there any way to (I never thought I’d say this) get WMP back?
---
### Author:  [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2003, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xp-explorer-and-changing-default-apps/151682/2 "2003-01-30T19:38:53Z")
I’ll give you an answer that works for Win98 & Win2000 and maybe it’ll work for WinXP, too.
Single-click on a MP3 icon, then right click on it. An “Open With\>” choice should be visible on the pop-up menu. Click it.
If a new pop-out menu appears, select “Choose Program…” otherwise the program choose should appear (it’s a Win98 vs Win2000 difference I think).
Navigate to WMP and select the “always use this application” check box below. It’ll reset the association of MP3 to WMP.
good luck.
---
### Author:  [@robertliguori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robertliguori)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2003, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xp-explorer-and-changing-default-apps/151682/3 "2003-01-30T19:51:13Z")
I am afear’d it’s not working. I did what you say, but the box does not remain checked. As in, I go to the “open with”, check the box, hit OK, close WMP, and do it again, and the box has become unchecked.
And IE just started opening an MP3 player in ASCII text form.
---
### Author:  [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xp-explorer-and-changing-default-apps/151682/4 "2003-01-30T20:45:32Z")
Open WMP from the Start menu and go to the Tools \> Options menu. There should be a tab for “File Types” that you can re-assign all of the types on.
---
### Author:  [@robertliguori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robertliguori)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xp-explorer-and-changing-default-apps/151682/5 "2003-01-30T20:50:34Z")
Huzzah! Thanks, Zagadka.