My computer is a 200 MHz Pentium, 128mb RAM, and 4gig hard drive running WindowsME. I use Netscape 4.73 as my browser and Eudora 5.02 as my e-mail handler. I became aware Netscape was offering Netscape 6 for download. I downloaded it to review and decided, for my use and application, Netscape 4.7 was more appropriate. I subsequently uninstalled Netscape 6 without apparent incident and resumed using Netscape 4.7. Soon after, on receiving e-mail from the USA with attachments, I was unable to open an attached JPEG file. I did not appreciate the significance at the time, but this attachment had a Netscape icon. Attempts to open it
raised the following dialogue box: ‘Windows cannot find NETSCP6.EXE. This program is needed for opening files of type ‘Mozilla JPEG Image File”. A thorough search of the whole system did not find NETSCP6.EXE. I then discovered that all my JPEG files stored in the Eudora Attachments folder have been converted to require NETSCP6.EXE to open. I am able to access these images through Adobe Photoshop but quite frankly that is a pain compared with the normal mouse click. I have sent one of these image files (that I am unable to open conventionally) to a friend who runs Netscape 4.73 (who has never installed Netscape 6) and she had no problem opening the file. Have you come across this problem before, and do you have any suggestions for getting rid of the NETSCP6.EXE menace?

This problem is occurring because when Netscape 6 was installed, it replaced the file associations for some file types (ie. JPEG files) so that they are to open with Netscape 6. However, when Netscape 6 was uninstalled, the uninstaller didn’t revert the file associations back to what they were prior to the installation. This means that when you double-click on for example, a JPEG picture, it still tries to open with Netscape 6 but it cannot as it has been uninstalled. Therefore, it can’t find the Netscape 6 executable NETSCP6.EXE so it gives you the error message back.

So you can gain a wider understanding of why this problem occurs, I’ll give you a quick primer on file associations. Most commonly used files on your computer have an associated application with which they open. For example, DOC files open with Word; and TXT files open with Notepad. When you double-click on a file with an associated application, Windows knows the application which is used to open that type of file and then opens that application so that you can view, edit, etc… that file.

The problem you are experiencing is that JPEG files are still associated with Netscape 6 even though it has been uninstalled. To remedy this problem, you will need to reset the file association(s) for JPEG files (and any other files which may have been affected) back to an application on your computer which can open the files. One way to fix this problem is to go into the ‘Windows Explorer’ and find a JPEG file (which will currently try to open in Netscape 6 if you double-click on the JPEG file). Hold down the shift key and right-click on the file at the same time. In the menu which appears, click ‘Open With…’. A window titled ‘Open With’ (or alike) should now appear. Select the application in which you would like JPEG files to open every time. (If you can’t find the application you wish JPEG files to open in on the list, you can click the ‘Other…’ button to select an application not on the list). However, make sure that the application you choose has the ability to open JPEG files. For example, you could choose ‘Imaging’ or even ‘Adobe Photoshop’ because you know these applications can open JPEG files. On the other hand, ‘Notepad’ wouldn’t be a good choice as it can’t display JPEG files in graphic form. Place a tick in ‘Always use this program to open these files’ and click the ‘Ok’ button. Now, whenever you open a JPEG file, it will open in the application you have just selected. Repeat this procedure for any other file types which have been affected. This procedure will work with Windows 95, 98, and 2000 and should work with WindowsME. However, if this procedure doesn’t work, please contact me again and I will test some alternative procedures on a WindowsME computer.