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Topic: Broken Shell Integration after 4/19 Windows Updates (Read 1341 times) previous topic - next topic
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Broken Shell Integration after 4/19 Windows Updates

Windows 8.1 / Foobar2000 1.3.10

After installing the recent patch Tuesday updates, I noticed Enqueue from the explorer context menu was non-functional. Upon investigation, the following features weren't working:

Windows Explorer: Double-Click play, Context menu Enqueue, Drag & Drop
Windows Taskbar: Playback controls
Play/Pause media functions mapped to mouse buttons

I backed up my config, performed a full uninstall, and installed 1.3.10 vanilla to Program Files (x86). Shell integration was still broken. However, installing 1.3.10 to C:\fb2k works as expected.

I blame Microsoft

Re: Broken Shell Integration after 4/19 Windows Updates

Reply #1 –
Windows updates should be irrelevant. Are you absolutely sure you haven't enabled compatibility mode to run foobar2000 in XP mode or forced it to run as an administrator?

Re: Broken Shell Integration after 4/19 Windows Updates

Reply #2 –
I may have run it as administrator, but I doubt I used a compatibility mode. How does that affect shell integration?

In either case, I didn't toggle the administrator option recently. If it was enabled on the shortcut, it would've been that way for a while. The only recent changes were upgrading to 1.3.10 in March (after which shell integration worked fine) and updating Windows this week.

Regardless, installing to C:\ instead of Program Files is an easy fix.

Re: Broken Shell Integration after 4/19 Windows Updates

Reply #3 –
Running as administrator breaks shell integration, because the shell, and by that virtue, the shell extension, do not run as administrator. Non-elevated processes cannot initiate communication targeting elevated processes. You'll also find that you cannot drag files out of Explorer windows onto elevated foobar2000, either.

Re: Broken Shell Integration after 4/19 Windows Updates

Reply #4 –
Well, that makes sense, and accurately describes the behavior I observed.

It seems likely that some pairing of my security settings and the recently changed foobar2000 digital signature required administrator privileges for the Program Files (x86) directory. If I was prompted to elevate, I probably did so without second thought. The only remaining question for me is why I didn't notice the change until rebooting my PC.



Re: Broken Shell Integration after 4/19 Windows Updates

Reply #5 –
Elevating to install is normal. Elevating it permanently is not.

Re: Broken Shell Integration after 4/19 Windows Updates

Reply #6 –
Well, as you guys deduced, that was the problem. Evidence attached.

Still unsure when/how administrator mode became enabled, and why it only took affect after rebooting. In any case, I appreciate the tutorial on elevated processes.
 

Re: Broken Shell Integration after 4/19 Windows Updates

Reply #7 –
If it was applied while it was already running, and you never restarted it before rebooting your machine, then it wouldn't have taken effect until after the next startup.