Somehow I changed how an MD5 file gets opened and it now gets opened with windows media player. I've gone to Control Panel>Folder Options>File Types, but there is no restore to default. The only restore to default is under Folder Options>General, and I've tried that and it doesn't change it. I am trying to re-install my Xammp because it isn't working, and Xammp installer opens with an MD5 file, so I have a problem here. Does anyone know the program that opens an MD5 file for Windows XP?

I didn't quite get your question..

If the XAMMP installer opens with a MD5 file - then there should a MD5 reader built into itself to check for the validity of the archive.. Why do you need a separate reader??

In any case - here's a tool I've been using for a long while. It's called HkSVF - it's a very compact lightweight program, that adds itself to your explorer shell and then onwards, when you right-click on any folder you can generate a MD5 or a SVF file for the contents of the whole folder. Alternatively, it can also check the contents of a folder against an existing MD5 or SVF file and point out if any file is corrupt. It's one hell of a handy tool - and I use it abundantly for my MP3 collectoin.

It's free. Here's the download link: http://www.big-o-software.com/products/hksfv/

If anyone goes into Start>Control Panel>Folder Options>File Types in Windows XP, there should be a file type named MD5 File with the Extension MD5. My problem is, that it opens with Windows Media Player, and it is not supposed to. I don't know why someone just can't check this under folder options to see what it opens with. I'm not looking for something for a specific file, I'm looking for the whole MD5 file type. I can't explain it any clearer. If you just look where I explained in the first sentance, it is a file type I am looking for.

The XAMPP installer file is an executable file MD5 is not a file wywtem and should not even be in the file types and any file with that extenstion is WRONG. MD5 is an encryption method that converts a text string into a 32 bit hash. It is normally used to encrypt a password field for instance the md5 for 'password' is 5f4dcc3b5aa765d61d8327deb882cf99.

The file that installs XAMPP for Windows looks like this xampp-win32-1.5.1-installer
There should be no extension of any sort just double click that file which should be an orange icon with what kind of looks like a funny dog bone inside. The only way that that file could have an extension of md5 is if it got tacked on somehow and if it is present REMOVE it then run the file.

So let me get this straight. You are saying I should remove the MD5 file that appears in my file types? Just double checking before I do this, don't want to do anything that will hurt my computer as I am not as I am not a computer guru like many of the people here are.

It won't hurt anything because md5 is NOT a file type it is an encryption scheme usually used for producing a 32 bit encrypted string from another string and is not reversible, it is also used for a checksum with archives, but it couldn't open or read a file if it had to. It is possible that somehow md5 got put into your file types by accident but it is also possible to have a file type of xxnzr which is just a made up file type (as a matter of fact it was what just came out of my mind) and it is NOT valid and will not do anything with a file. You can remove or leave md5 but why have a file type that is bogus.

Windows msi is the microsoft installer type and not necessarily a file type but an installer type someprograms might require the install of a different variation of msi but this is usually handled when you update Windows and you never see it. With XAMPP that file comes as an msi but you won't see any extension, Windows already knows what it is (provided you have not tacked an extension to it).

m^e.. That link you gave doesn't seem to be working. But I deleted MD5 file, and after a couple of tries, I was finally able to install Xammp. I guess that means there is something wrong with whatever this MD5 thing is which is why I want to check out that link. Can you give me another link, something that will work similar to the one above.

Installing XAMPP was the objective not wether md5 is a file structure which it is not so do not worry about MD5 again it is NOT a file system it operates on files and strings and as such can not open anything only alter it.

The correct program for it is MSI or .msi but you will not see it it is built into the install, just doubleclick the program and it will work, forget MD5


This post has been edited by Houdini: May 20 2006, 10:29 PM