Windows 10 & Windows 11: Standard PDF viewer cannot be changed.

In some Windows 10 and Windows 11 installations, the PDF reader can no longer be changed. When trying to change the default PDF program via the settings, Windows immediately resets it to Edge. This article addresses a possible cause of the problem and offers a possible solution.

Error description

The default program for PDF documents cannot be changed. Windows will reset the setting to the default “Microsoft Edge” immediately after the change. Depending on the notification settings, the following message is displayed in the Windows Action Center:

An app default was reset
An app caused a problem with the default app setting for .pdf files, so it was reset to Microsoft Edge.

Error message in Windows Action Center Source

In the Windows Event Viewer following Event-IDs can be found:

EventID 62443
AppDefault-Info: SetDefault-Info: Association=.pdf, ProgId=MSEdgePDF, U=S-1-5-21-2xxxxxxxx8-7xxxxxxx8-1xxxxxxxx7-1xx0, T=2024:05:05:03:12:28, H=4Kl+NL3HfK4=

EventID 62441
The user selection for .pdf has been reset to program ID MSEdgePDF.

Reason for the error

Windows additionally protects the default program assignment for .pdf files in the registry with a hash. As soon as the Windows Integrity Service recognizes a manipulation of this registry entry, the default value is automatically written back. The problem is that the default value to which the entry is reset appears to be corrupt. It is no longer possible to make a valid change.

Solution

As the Windows Integrity Service provides special protection for the affected registry entries, interventions in the registry will not work. The easiest way to solve the problem permanently is to uninstall and reinstall Microsoft Edge. This is easier than expected.

Uninstalling Microsoft Edge

Edge creates a separate folder for each Edge version with the version number under %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%\Microsoft\Edge\Application\ Within the program folder, the setup.exe is located in the \Installer subfolder.

It is best to navigate to the installer folder underneath the highest version number in Windows Explorer and then open a PowerShell window in this folder. To do this, right-click in the empty space and select “Open PowerShell window here” (In Windows 11, this menu option only appears in the classic context menu. This can be opened with the key combination Shift+right-click)

Open the PowerShell window in the Edge Installer folder.

The uninstallation can then be triggered with the following command in PowerShell:

./setup.exe --uninstall --system-level --verbose-logging --force-uninstall

Reinstalling Microsoft Edge

The best way to reinstall Microsoft Edge is to use the installer, which you can download directly from Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/download?form=MA13FJ

After reinstalling Edge, the PDF reader can be changed again.

Sources:

Andreas Walker

Andreas Walker completed an apprenticeship in gastronomy and worked in this industry for almost 15 years. In addition to his work in the hospitality industry, he built up a small IT company and supported small SMEs in IT projects in his spare time. Over time, he slipped into the IT of his employer and managed the site IT of a business hotel of the internationally active hotel chain IHG. In the summer of 2019, he graduated with an Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education in Information Technology. Since spring 2019, Andreas Walker is working for a local IT provider in the canton of Glarus as a system engineer, where he primarily supports SME customers.