PC Fixes
Vow Driver Finder
Find the drivers your PC is really missing, from official sources only
- Free: Unlimited scans, official links, 5 in-app searches a day
- $4.95 once: One-click install, backup and restore, offline driver packs
Vow Default App Fixer
Default apps manager for Windows 10 and 11
Windows reset your default apps again? Set them once. Keep them.
Vow Default App Fixer shows what opens your web links, PDFs, photos, videos, music and documents on one screen, and changes every type an app handles in one click. It finds the choices Windows is about to reset, fixes them for free, and with Unlimited puts your defaults back the moment anything changes them. No hacks, no ads, no account.
- No ads
- No malware
- No account
- Light & dark theme
- 5 changes a day, health check, free repairs, backups and undo
No ads. Ever.No pop-ups, no banners, no "offers".
No malware or bundlewareThe installer installs one thing: this app.
No account, no uploadIt works on your PC, and your files stay there.
Free daily limits, just $4.95 unlimitedNo subscription. No trial that runs out.
The problem
Your default apps should stay where you put them
You picked Chrome, VLC and your favourite PDF reader. Then an update arrived, a notification said "An app default was reset", and everything opened in Edge again.
"An app default was reset"
Windows quietly ignores some choices and puts its own app back, usually after an update, with nothing but a brief notification.
One type at a time
Settings makes you change .mp4, .mkv, .avi and a dozen more one by one, then hunt through a list of hundreds.
Edge, whatever you choose
Links from Windows Search, Widgets and News open in Edge even when another browser is your default.
Defaults pointing nowhere
Uninstall an app and its file types can be left pointing at nothing, so Windows asks every single time.
Fixes that fight Windows
Quick fixes from forums switch off Windows' protection or hook into Edge, and can stop working after the next update.
No undo, no record
Change the wrong thing and there is no list of what you set before, and no way back except doing it all again.
Vow Default App Fixer fixes all of it.
How it works
Pick. Confirm. Keep.
Every file and link type on one screen, set the way Windows itself does it, so the choice sticks.
- 01
See every default at once
14 kinds of files and links on one screen, each with the app that opens it, plus a Needs a look list of choices Windows is about to reset.
Every default app on one screen - 02
Click a card, pick an app
Installed apps that open that kind are listed with the dedicated ones first. Every type the app handles is set at once, with a backup taken first.
More cards and the three ideas behind the app - 03
Confirm where Windows insists
Browsers, PDFs and Office files can only be set in Windows' own window. Vow opens it for you and ticks each type off once Windows has it.
Every file and link type, with the app that opens it
Features
Every default in one place, and a lock to keep them
For anyone tired of the Settings maze, and anyone whose choices keep being taken back.
One screen for everything
Web browser, PDF, email, photos, video, music, text, archives, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, e-books, calendar and torrents.
Every type in one click
Choose VLC and all 14 video types switch together. Kinds split across several apps are marked Mixed.
Health check
Finds choices Windows ignores and will soon reset, defaults pointing to removed apps, and kinds Edge has taken over.
Free Repair
Fix the choices behind "An app default was reset" in one click, at no cost and with no daily limit.
The lock
A tiny helper puts a changed default back within seconds, with a safety stop so it never fights Windows. Unlimited.
Edge-only links, your browser
Send the links Windows forces into Edge (Search, Widgets, News, Help) to your own browser, and Bing searches to your search engine. Unlimited.
Link router with site rules
Open work sites in one browser and everything else in another, with optional switches such as a browser profile. Unlimited.
Every type, explained
Around 240 file and link types with their app and status, searchable, with Windows' own Open with window one click away.
Backups and undo
A backup before every change, named backups of your own, restore any time, and a history of what you set and what Windows reset.
Move defaults between PCs
Export as Vow JSON or Windows XML in the DISM format, and import either, including a file from your IT department.
Light & dark theme
Easy on the eyes, day or night.
Default App Fixer comes with a crisp light theme and a calm dark theme. Switch with one click, or let it follow your Windows setting by itself. It remembers your choice.
- LightClear and bright for daytime and busy offices
- DarkGentle on tired eyes late at night
- Follow WindowsChanges by itself when your PC does
Screenshots
See Vow Default App Fixer in action
Real screenshots of the real app, in both of its themes: 12 light, 12 dark. Click any picture to see it full size.
Light theme
Dark theme
Who it's for
When your defaults won't behave
Chrome or Firefox fans
Make your browser the default for every web link, and keep Search and Widgets links out of Edge.
Your own PDF reader
Set your PDF app once and stop the browser grabbing every PDF you open.
Media lovers
Point every video and music type at VLC, MPC-HC or your favourite player in one go.
After a Windows update
See what the update changed in one glance, then put it back with a click.
A new PC
Set up all your defaults on one screen, or import the set you exported from your old PC.
IT and repair technicians
Read and write DISM default-association files, and apply a Windows-enforced lock on Pro and Enterprise PCs.
Compare
Vow Default App Fixer vs the usual ways
What happens when you try to set your defaults with Windows Settings or a quick fix from the web.
| Feature | Vow Default App Fixer | Windows Settings & typical quick fixes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free every day, or $4.95 once | Free but fiddly, or paid admin tools |
| Every default on one screen | 14 kinds, about 240 types | Spread across Settings pages |
| Change every type an app opens | One click (all 14 video types) | Usually one type at a time |
| Finds defaults about to be reset | Health check, free Repair | You find out when it happens |
| Puts reset defaults back | The lock, within seconds | Set them again by hand |
| Edge-only links in your browser | Search, Widgets, News, Help | Edge, or tools that hook into Edge |
| Works with Windows' protection | Never switches it off | Some fixes disable it |
| Backups, undo and history | Every change, free | Rarely |
"Typical" describes what we found across the most-downloaded alternatives when we built Default App Fixer. Your mileage with any one of them may vary; ours won't.
Pricing
Free every day. Just $4.95 once for the lot.
That is not a typo. Software this powerful usually means a monthly subscription; Default App Fixer is $4.95, once, for life: it's almost a giveaway. Use it free for as long as you like, and unlock Unlimited only if you need more.
Free
$0forever
5 changes a day, health check, free repairs, backups and undo.
- 5 default-app changes a day (resets at midnight)
- Health check of every file and link type
- Repair choices Windows would reset, no limit
- Backups, restore, undo and full history
- Export as Vow JSON or Windows XML
- No ads, no sign-up, nothing uploaded
Best valueUnlimited
$4.95USD, once. Yours for life.
Almost a giveaway. Less than a coffee for software this powerful: no subscription, no renewals, yours for life on 2 PCs.
Unlimited changes, the lock, Edge-only links in your browser.
- Any number of changes, every day
- The lock: defaults put back the moment they're reset
- Edge-only links (Search, Widgets, News) in your browser
- Link router with per-site browser rules
- Windows-enforced lock, Outlook & Teams links
- One payment, yours for life on 2 PCs
How unlocking works
- 1Use it free first Install Vow Default App Fixer and use it on your own files. No card, no account, no time limit.
- 2Click "Unlimited" in the app Pay $4.95 USD once by card, securely through Stripe in your browser.
- 3It unlocks itself Within seconds, for life, on up to 2 of your PCs. Your license key is emailed to you, and every future update is included.
Payments by Stripe: we never see or store your card. Questions? Ask a real person.
Clean software
Safe to install. Nothing else comes with it.
Most "free" Windows downloads pay for themselves with ads, bundled extras or your data. Vow Default App Fixer doesn't need to: it's paid for honestly, once, by the people who find it useful.
Download Default App Fixer free- No ads, toolbars or "offers"The installer installs one thing: Vow Default App Fixer. No pre-ticked boxes to watch out for.
- No administrator rights neededIt installs just for you, in your own user folder, and leaves the rest of Windows alone.
- Nothing running in the backgroundNo startup programs, no tray nags, no services. When you close it, it's closed.
- Everything includedAll it needs is inside the installer, so you never have to fetch a "required component" from somewhere else.
- Uninstalls cleanlyOne click in Windows Settings > Apps. Your own files are never touched.
- A real company behind itMade, published and supported by XTO Pty Ltd, an Australian company, with real people answering every message.
Step-by-step guide
How to change default apps on Windows 11 and 10
Set the app for every kind of file and link, and make the choice stick, in a few minutes.
Step 1: get it freeInstall Vow Default App Fixer free
Download it from this page and run the installer. It installs for your account with no administrator rights, because every default it changes belongs to your account.
Check Needs a look
Open the app and look at the top of the Defaults screen: choices Windows ignores, apps that were removed and kinds Edge took over are listed with a one-click fix.
Click a card and pick an app
Click Video player, PDF reader or any other card, choose an app and press Use. A backup is taken first, and the toast has an Undo button.
Confirm protected types in Windows' window
For browsers, PDFs and Office files, Vow opens Windows' own "How do you want to open" window. Pick your app with Always on and Vow ticks it off.
Lock it, if you like
With Unlimited, tick Lock it in the chooser or turn on the lock page, and your defaults are put back whenever Windows or another app changes them.
Technical details
Default App Fixer at a glance
- Works on
- Windows 10 (1809+) and Windows 11, 64-bit
- Covers
- 14 kinds of files and links, about 240 types
- How it sets defaults
- Windows' own per-user choice, set the way Windows does
- Protected types
- Confirmed in Windows' own window, never bypassed
- Backups
- Before every change (newest 40 kept), plus named backups
- Import and export
- Vow JSON, Windows XML (DISM format)
- Install
- Per-user, no administrator rights, no account
- Languages
- English
- Theme
- Light, dark or follow Windows: one click to switch
- Version
- 1.0.0, released 7 November 2026
- Publisher
- XTO Pty Ltd (Australia)
FAQ
Questions about Default App Fixer
Is Vow Default App Fixer free?
Yes. You can make 5 default-app changes a day for free (the same change again that day costs nothing), and the health check, Repair, backups, undo, export and history are always free. Unlimited, a one-time $4.95 USD payment, adds any number of changes, the lock, Edge-only links in your browser, the link router and the Outlook & Teams link setting.
Why does Windows keep resetting my default apps?
Windows ignores a choice it can't verify and puts its own app back, which is when you see "An app default was reset". Updates and some apps also change defaults. The health check lists choices Windows is about to reset, and Repair fixes them for free.
Why do I still confirm some types in Windows' own window?
Since 2024 Windows protects web links, .htm and .html, .pdf and the Office types so only its own window can set them. Vow opens that window for you and watches until Windows has your choice. On some newer Windows 11 PCs every change goes through that window, and Vow detects this.
Can Windows Search and Widgets links open in Chrome or Firefox?
Yes, with Unlimited. When Windows starts Edge just for one of those links, Vow closes that start and opens the link in your default browser instead, with no administrator rights. If Edge is already open, the page may still appear there too.
Does it hack Windows or Edge?
No. It never turns off Windows' User Choice Protection, never patches Edge or hooks into it, and never writes protected settings behind Windows' back. Where Windows wants to ask you itself, Vow opens Windows' window.
What does the lock do?
A small helper watches your defaults and puts a changed one back within seconds, with a notification and a safety stop. Protected types get a one-click fix, or on Pro, Enterprise and Education PCs the Windows-enforced lock re-applies them at every sign-in.
Can I copy my defaults to another PC?
Yes. Back up all your defaults under a name, export them as a Vow file or as Windows XML in the DISM format, and import either on the other PC. Automatic backups are made before every change.
Is it safe to install?
Yes. It is made and published by XTO Pty Ltd, an Australian company. There are no ads, no bundled software and no account, it needs no administrator rights, and it uninstalls cleanly from Windows Settings, leaving your default apps as they are.
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Uninstall programs completely, and undo it if you change your mind
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Vow Blue Screen Explainer
Find out what crashed your PC, in plain English, with the fix
- Free: Latest crash always explained, plus 3 more a day
- $4.95 once: Every crash, full patterns, reports and crash monitoring
Done searching. Get Default App Fixer.
Set your default apps in one screen, and stop Windows resetting them to Edge. Free to use every day, $4.95 once if you ever want Unlimited.
- No ads
- No malware
- No account
- No subscription