Some of you have lost their graphic filters in Paint (which allow to read and save pictures in Jpeg and Gif formats).
It's something I have seen happen to many users, and usually they don't know how to handle this situation.
In fact the graphic filters are still existing (they are located in a folder "Grphflt" in "Program Files"), but they are no more associated to paint.
This association is defined in Windows' registry.
If there are no graphic filters associated to paint, when you try to read a picture, you obtain this:
The Jpeg and Gif pictures (among other types of pictures) are not proposed to you, and the same if you try to save a picture.
All the configuration of Windows is saved in what is called the registry.
The registry can be edited with a registry editor which is called "regedit", and which is located in the folder Windows.
When you double-click this file to open it, you obtain the following screen:
You can unfold the items of the configuration by clicking them.
Paint's configuration is defined somewhere in the registry:
Now, if with the explorer you visualize the contents of the folder Grphflt, which is in the folder "Microsoft Shared", itself in the folder "Common Files", itself in the folder "Program Files",
then you see the following files:
You may see all the graphic filters, which are files with the extension ".FLT" (ex. JPEGIM32.FLT for Jpeg files, GIFIMP32.GLT for Gif files).
You may also see a file "GRPHFLTS.REG", which has a special use: It allows to update the registry to associate the graphic filters to Paint.
If you don't see this file in the folder "Grphflt", don't panic, it is not always present; I'll give you a link to download it.
If we click this file, The registry editor is automatically called (in a hidden way), and is requested for updating the registry with the contents of GRPHFLTS.REG.
Before updating, the editor will ask you a confirmation of the registry's update:
Confirm the update, and then a message will warn you that the registry has been correctly updated:
Now if we edit the registry with regedit, we may see the graphic filters which have been added in Windows' configuration:
And now, when we want to read a picture, there are new types of pictures (like Jpeg, and Gif, but not only) which are proposed:
The same for saving the pictures.
Now two cases may arise:
1) The folder "Grphflt" exists, with the graphic filters (files with extension "FLT"), but the file "GRPHFLTS.REG" does not appear.
I give you a link to download this file into this folder; click the following link:
Click me to download the graphic filters registry updater
The following box appears:
Click the button "OK" (with the option "Save this file to disk" selected) ; an explorer then appears, and you select the folder "Grphflt" as destination of the save.
After having clicked the button "Save", the file is read from the site, and downloaded into the folder "Grphflt".
Then, when you go into the folder "Grphflt", you may see the file "GRPHFLTS.REG", and all you have to do is double-click this file to update the registry, and associate again the graphic filters to paint.
Each time you lose the graphic filters, because something has changed the registry (it will happen if you reinstall Windows), all you have to do is double-click the file GRPHFLTS to associate again the graphic filters to Paint.
2) The folder "Grphflt" does not exist at all.
In that case you never had graphic filters in Paint.
This case should not happen with recent versions of Windows, but it may happen with older versions.
In that case you may also get the graphic filters, but you have to download the full contents of Grphflt.
The first step is to create the folder "Grphflt" under the folder "Microsoft Shared'" in "Common Files" in "Program Files".
The second step is to download the zipped file containing the whole contents of the folder, that which you may do by clicking the following link:
Click me to download the full zipped graphic filters
You'll see appear the following box:
Validate the transfer (with the button "OK"), and transfer it to the desktop:
After the transfer, you may see a new icon on the desktop "GRPHFLTS" which looks like this:
In order to continue, you must have the files unzipper WINZIP; if you don't have it, you must get it.
You may get the latest version of WINZIP, if you are prepared to buy it (It's not very expensive), and you have a credit card.
Otherwise, I have managed to find you an older version of WINZIP which I expect to be free.
Click the following link to download it:
Link to download a free version of WINZIP
You'll obtain that screen:
Select the download: WinZip 6.1 for Win95 (486KB)
After download, open this file, and make the installation.
If you already have WINZIP, ignore what is above.
When you have WINZIP, you may double-click the icon "GRPHFLTS", that which will open the unzipper:
Click the command "Extract", and select the folder "Grphflt" you created as destination for the extracted files.
After clicking the button "Extract", the folder "Grphflt" will contain all the graphic filters, along with the file "GRPHFLTS.REG".
Double-click the latter to update the registry, and associate the graphic filters to Paint.
About this problem of loss of graphic filters, I have seen completely weird solutions to fix the problem.
One of these was to empty the Internet temporary files folder:
There is no connection between that folder and the loss of the graphic filters in Paint whatsoever !
You don't have to bother with the contents of this folder, for Windows regularly purges this folder:
When you read Web pages, the pictures and sounds that this page contains are sent (not always) into this folder (in fact in sub-folders of that folder).
But you don't have to bother with purging this folder, for Windows makes it automatically for you, and will prevent it from becoming too big.
You can adjust the maximum size of the total amount of files that this folder may contain:
Click Internet Explorer with the right button of the mouse (I said the right!); you will see appear a menu:
Select the command "Properties"; you will see appear the following box:
This one allows you to make all the adjustments for Internet explorer.
In particular, you may adjust the features of the Temporary internet files folder; click the button "Settings" in the window "Temporary Internet files".
You will see appear the following box:
You have an adjustment which is called "Amount of disk space to use"; you can adjust it either with a slider, or by typing the value in the window on right of it, or by clicking the two thumbnails associated to the value.
Windows will then ensure that in no case the Temporary internet files will contain more than the specified size; when new items are downloaded into the temporary internet files, and that it yields that its contents goes over this size, Windows will automatically delete the oldest files.
If you think that the temporary files downloaded by Internet take too much place on your hard disk, you may decrease this size.
Stop fantasizing on weird solutions when you have no idea on how to solve the problem:
When you don't know, ask GOD
