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  • From Windows to wireless, Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector finds solutions to readers' most vexing PC problems.
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Answer Line: Use Your Keyboard for Faster Windows Control

Lincoln Spector

Restoring .jpg Thumbnails

I have somehow lost the ability to preview .jpg files in Windows Explorer. How do I get it back?

George Kolar, Orland Park, Illinois

This is a common problem with Windows 98, 2000, and Me, although not--as far as I can tell--with XP: Windows Explorer suddenly loses the ability to preview .jpg and other image file types (see FIGURE 1). This is often caused by ill-behaved installation programs that take over the .jpg association when loading a graphics application. A program can grab just the .jpg association and not interfere with this particular feature of Windows, but some apps associate themselves with more graphics formats in a needlessly aggressive and destructive way.

Fortunately, fixing the problem is pretty easy. The first step is to close all running applications. Then select Start, Run, type regsvr32 thumbvw.dll, and press Enter. If you get an error message, try entering regsvr32 %windir%\system\thumbvw.dll (in Windows 98 or Me) or regsvr32 %windir%\system32\thumbvw.dll (in Windows 2000). After you reboot your computer, Explorer should preview your .jpg files once again.

If this doesn't work, read Scott Dunn's tip " Preview Images in Windows Explorer" from the February 2001 Windows Tips column.

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