PNG image urls are downloading instead of loading on browsers.

[Kaylachan1990]

On both Chrome and IE, when someone links me an image url that is for a png file, it will download the image instead of showing it my browser. How do I fix this.

[kmg90]

Seems like the MIME settings for the png files are whacked up...


Open up the registry editor ( regedit in the start menu search box)


Goto the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT "folder" (see root.png)
You will have to do a little bit of scrolling but find .png  "folder" in the ROOT "folder" (see png.png)

With it selected you see something like on the right side of the editor.

Are the settings similar/the same as mine?

[recovering disk space, attachment deleted by admin]

[Kaylachan1990]

Yeah it looks exactly the same.

[kmg90]

Right click the .png folder and select export, save the reg file to the desktop or somewhere easily accessible and upload the file here

Use Attachments and other options when posting to upload it.

[Kaylachan1990]

the site is saying the file cannot be uploaded.

[kmg90]

Also do the following in Chrome (all within the same tab), 

open the up the developers console (press ctrl+shift+I) and open the network tab





Then open up a png file (here is a random picture http://i.imgur.com/whEDpWt.png



After it has completed processing the loading of the image/file

take a screen cap of the header data for the image (see attached image for reference)

You can easily capture parts of the screen by using the snipping tool built in to windows (search snip from the start menu search box)

[recovering disk space, attachment deleted by admin]

[kmg90]

the site is saying the file cannot be uploaded.

Export the png folder again, when saving the file, change the filetype to text (txt) file.

Sorry should've taken note of the accepted filetypes

[Kaylachan1990]

Okay, did both, Chrome still downloaded the file. and hopefully the file will work now

[recovering disk space, attachment deleted by admin]

[kmg90]

Okay, did both, Chrome still downloaded the file. and hopefully the file will work now

OK I've updated the post above with more information about what to do with the chrome developer console.

[kmg90]

everything looks good in the registry for the png file type but now I need to check if the MIME types your system

in the registry editor goto file -> export

In the export dialog box in the selected branch box enter

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MIME\Database\Content Type


you can copy and paste this luckily


Save as txt file and upload

[Kaylachan1990]

It won't let me copy paste it

[Kaylachan1990]

Hey, thought I'd let anyone looking at this know. I upgraded IE from 9 to 10 and that fixed it there. I tried upgrading Chrome, but sadly that didn't work.