I lost my initial reply by walking away from the computer too long. A really dumb mistake by a former network admin (Novel, yep – I’m old). I started with Windows 3.0 and Excel 2.0 at work in 1991, after having had a Mac at home since 1985.

Yes to admin rights and reviewing file associations section. The problem started a few weeks ago, before the last recommended OS update. I thought perhaps the update might fix the issue. No deal.

No registry cleaners in a long time. I recently loaded Net 5.0 for Handbrake. I also added a new 32″ 4K OLED monitor (beautiful!). As a former Admin, I’m very strict and careful about the software I use and what I may click on. I use Office 2019, no Office 365 and no One Drive. I’m also not on any social media (a Luddite of sorts). I almost always run on a local account, only logging into my MS account when absolutely necessary. I follow AW’s recommendations for software and really love some of the recommended freeware like Q-dir, DefenderUI, and Hasleo. I regular use Adobe PS Elements as well and we have 2 old QNAP dual bay servers, so I run Qfinder Pro on all machines.

I did a clean boot (startups disabled) and ran Sfc /ScanNow. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.

I ran DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth. No component store corruption detected.

Then I ran Dism /Online /Cleanup-image /RestoreHealth anyway. The restore operation completed successfully.

In addition I ran the Power & Sleep Troubleshooter and it told me my settings were wrong and changed Sleep from 15 to 10 and Power from 60 to 30 min. Go figure.

I think my issue is related to my attempt to get Photo Viewer to run as I don’t like Photos. I followed the instructions in this TechRadar article: https://www.techradar.com/how-to/how-to-restore-and-use-windows-photo-viewer-in-windows-10

I downloaded the linked registry file and ran it, but Windows still won’t let me choose Win Photo Viewer as a default. As yet I have not tried to undo this registry hack. For the first time in a long time I did not backup the Registry first, another dumb rookie mistake.

We’ve got 5 Win 10 Pro boxes all up-to-date per your recommendations and this is the only one with this issue, but it’s the one that I use to test out stuff before loading it anywhere else. It’s my home network as I am retired, but we also manage a very small 501(c)3 non-profit.

AskWoody has been the best investment I have ever made in my computing life. Thank you so very much for your help. -J

Desktop Intel Core i9-11900K, Asus z590, 128 GB ram, Nvidia RTX-3080, Samsung 980Pro 1TB OS, 980Pro 2TB data, 870EVO 4TB data, 10TB WD Black HD backup. Of course I have BUs.

Thank you TechTango. I tried all that you suggested to no avail. However, I was unable to find the memtest results in either the Event Viewer log for the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool or by using Powershell from a command prompt. I did watch the progress of the tool and it hadn’t found any errors by the end of the second pass.

Disabling hibernation did not fix closing all windows when putting the PC to sleep. I have been running all my machines with FastStart off for a long time now with no apparent issues, but I turned it back on; no help.

I did find that my new Alienware monitor apparently added a bunch of stuff (crap?) from Dell without asking me if it was OK.

Default Programs continues to revert to Windows defaults after Sleep or Shutdown with Hibernate off and FastStart on.

Inspection of the Registry indicates the Photo Viewer changes took place but I’m not knowledgeable enough to detect problems with the entries.

I am considering using Tweaking.com – Windows Repair from Older Geeks.

I attempted to post a screenshot of Dell processes but it didn’t come through?

Thanks, -J

My SOP of late is to immediately upon login go to Default apps and set everything to my preferences. I also go to choose apps by file type to set .pdf to Foxit Reader as it will still be on MS Edge and .txt to NoteTab Light, which will be on Notepad. I left 28 windows open last night before putting PC to Sleep including Tweaking.com – Windows Repair, which I had not yet used, it was just loaded and started. Today everything is still open except all windows were resized to one quarter of the screen and placed in the top left corner of my other monitor (27″ Asus 4K). Once I clicked on a few windows some of them resized themselves and went back to their original locations.?

Since my last post I have disabled all the Dell stuff including renaming the various .exe to .ex0. I also disabled DellClientManagement and DellTechHub services. In addition in Startup I disabled Elements Auto Creations 2019 and in the Elements Organizer>Preferences>Media Analysis I unchecked Run Face Recognition Automatically, Show Smart tags, Generate Auto Creations and Automatically Analyze Images and Videos because I don’t use the Organizer (I’ve considered it junk ever since Elements 4.0).

Just did a cold, cold boot (shutdown plus turned off power supply for 30 seconds), Hibernate is still off and Fast Start still on. File associations reverted to defaults, but all Chrome windows restored upon opening.

That’s all I have time for now as I’m headed to a meeting. Thanks to all. -J

Ok, I ran Tweaking.com – Windows Repair including all the preliminary actions it recommended as well as running in Safe Mode with Networking. It did not like my Reparse Points because I have relocated Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures and Videos to my D:\ data drive by changing their Locations in their respective Properties. I did not reset these to C:\ , because I prefer as much of my data as possible not to be on the OS drive. As to repairs I only used the Preset: Permissions Only. Apparently it fixed the problem. Default Program changes and Apps set by File Types survived a cold boot. Also Photo Viewer is now available as selection either under Apps set by File Types or by right clicking on a file in Explorer and drilling down to Look for More Apps. It is not available as a Default App.

I read the info at UPCD.sys . Very illuminating if not outright disgusting that MS is once again exercising its “dictatorial” rights. I chose not to use the SetUserFTA Personal Edition program at this time to give a little time to assess the impact of all the other changes I have made. However it is good to know that it exists. I would recommend that everyone becomes aware of UCPD.sys, the UserChoice Protection Driver. This might be a good topic for a future AW article. My inclination is to just kill it altogether.

I also want to restart the Dell updates for the new Monitor, but I don’t think I want any of the rest of their stuff.

Everyone has been so very helpful! AskWoody rocks. I believe that another donation to OlderGeeks is in order. Thank you to all.  -J