New to Vivaldi
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Yes, that was naturally my first thought. So, I checked the "properties" of the Torch icon on the taskbar. this is what it says: C:\Users\bk\AppData\Local\Torch\Application\torch.exe. So, I open file location and press the program and Torch starts normally. If I right click the ico and selects "New window", I get a new Torch window.
When I press the icon and there are some torch windows already open, it shows the miniature versions as normally.
But when I press the icon itself and no windows are open - or when press Shift+Left Click, Vivaldi starts.
This is puzzling indeed. Torch just happens to be installed. My default browser i Chrome.
So, somehow, the program starting process initiates Vivaldi. I have never seen similar behavior. Vivaldi opens having the URL "file:///C:/Users/bk/AppData/Local/Torch/Application/torch.exe" in it s URL field and asks me if I want to download the exe program? I could understand if Vivaldi was registered with .exe files, but I cannot see that is the case. So how do I proceed - short of uninstalling Vivaldi?
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I have Torch and Chrome installed too, and I'm not experiencing any of these symptoms. What versions of OS and browser(s) are you running?
As for me, to compare:
Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit
Vivaldi 1.0.129.2, 32-bit
Torch 36.0.0.8667 (this is probably outdated)
Chrome 40.0.2214.111Edit: I just updated Chrome to version 41.0.2272.101, and Torch to version 36.0.0.8979 - both the latest versions. I'm still not experiencing what you've described.
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I run W 8.1 64-bit
Vivaldi says this about itself
Vivaldi 1.0.118.19 (Developer Build)
Revision 43f4fbf5070d8e8836b0b95209cdce919fde9520
OS Windows
Blink 537.36 (@2c4eb9b03dda59544bfe6f10f994c66411cf41c7)
JavaScript V8 3.30.33.16
Flash 17,0,0,134
User Agent Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.3; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/40.0.2214.115 Safari/537.36 Vivaldi/1.0.118.19
Command Line "C:\Users\bk\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\Application\vivaldi.exe" –always-authorize-plugins --flag-switches-begin --flag-switches-end
Executable Path C:\Users\bk\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\Application\vivaldi.exe
Profile Path C:\Users\bk\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\User Data\Default
Variations ed1d377-e1cc0f14I trried uninstalling and reinstalling Torch so it is "latest model".
I have found out that it occurs only when the shortcut is started - i.e. not when the exe itself is started.
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To add:
I press the pinned torch icon on the taskbar - Vivaldi starts
I press Shift and the icon - vivaldi startsI right clikc the icon and select Torch - vivaldi starts
I right click the icon and select Stat in new window - Torch startsI press Windows key - type in torch - vivaldi starts (because this activates the shortcut)
I press windows key - type in torch.exe - torch starts.So, what is "catching" and resolving the shortcut in order to start vivaldo - and why does this not happen to any other application - that is - why torch?
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Well, for one thing, you are now several versions behind on Vivaldi. Why not get the latest one from the Vivaldi Team Blog and see if anything changes?
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Most interesting. To make sure this was not the case, I uninstalled, downloaded and reinstalled prior to posting above. When I directed my browser towards Vivaldi.com it automatically downloaded a new version, which I installed.
So, what is the newewst version (for W8.1 - 64 bit) and how does one download it, if it is not the newest one that is downloaded automatically?
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To add:
I press the pinned torch icon on the taskbar - Vivaldi starts
I press Shift and the icon - vivaldi startsI right clikc the icon and select Torch - vivaldi starts
I right click the icon and select Stat in new window - Torch startsI press Windows key - type in torch - vivaldi starts (because this activates the shortcut)
I press windows key - type in torch.exe - torch starts.So, what is "catching" and resolving the shortcut in order to start vivaldo - and why does this not happen to any other application - that is - why torch?
Seems like one or more shortcuts is corrupted, and if so, I doubt if anyone will be able to figure out how or why (in WinXP and Win7, changing the default browser sometimes goofs things up). It seems like probably the simplest approach would be to delete all Torch and Vivaldi shortcuts and start over with fresh ones for each.
So, what is the newewst version (for W8.1 - 64 bit) and how does one download it, if it is not the newest one that is downloaded automatically?
The developers' goal is to release a developer snapshot once per week (usually on Monday). See the relevant post in the Vivaldi Team Blog for the latest snapshot (for example, the March 24, 2015 post with the current snapshot is here. See the post for 32-bit & experimental 64-bit builds for Windows.)
(BTW, installing the newest version of Torch or Vivaldi would only fix the shortcut problem if it overwrote a corrupted shortcut with a new, correct one. Some installers try to create a new shortcut each time they install, but I don't know whether Torch or Vivaldi do or don't.)
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I went into the directory of Torch.exe and made a new shortcut which I moved to C:\Users\bk\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar (deleting the old one). Despite the old one reporting noting unusual - and not mentioning Vivaldi, it obviously was somehow corrupted. But after the above, everything works normally again. thanks for your help! Little did I know that a shorcut can be corrupted and still show the same data in the properties window.
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So it worked - for a while. And then suddenly it went back to the old problem with shortcuts being corrupted. Why does this happen in general when no one is changing the Torch.lnk file. Is there a cache copy somewhere in the registry or elsewhere? And why are this only happening with Torch and why does it change to Vivaldi - and never before haven changed ? It must be something with Vivaldi I presume.
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By chance, did you reboot the system or log out and back in to the user account involved?
The shortcut *.lnk file contains a command directed toward the software's executable. If the link file or its contained command get corrupted, Windows will attempt to auto-repair it either at boot, log-in, or when the shortcut is accessed… repair being based on the Windows-stored software ID number for that program. There may be a chance that the system's software ID number for Vivaldi and/or Torch have gotten co-mingled somehow or the data associated with the ID number's command path, or possibly the shortcut restoration process is itself malfunctioning somehow. Be sure that you have full user-access to the folder where both program executables exist, so that access via the shortcut doesn't get blocked and the system attempts an auto-correction of the program command.
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I think Blackbird's hypothesis is a good one. If you have a Restore Point from before your first Vivaldi installation, you might try that, and then re-install Vivaldi (and Torch if necessary). That should clean up any co-mingling/corruption of the Vivaldi/Torch software IDs in the registry which may be continuing to afflict you. Bear in mind that any other programs installed since the Restore Point will probably be affected and need to also be re-installed.
If you don't have an early enough Restore Point, or feel you can't afford to undo other system changes or software installations since that Restore Point, you might have to get into some registry tinkering (which I wouldn't recommend unless you're already pretty familiar with exploring and editing the registry). It sounds like a messy job, but it might be necessary to manually remove Vivaldi and Torch keys, including those that specify the software ID for each.
If you're up for some registry exploration and maybe editing ("cleaning"), a fairly benign option might be to run Piriform's CCleaner registry cleaner scan and see whether it comes up with anything odd looking for Torch or Vivaldi. You could also try Revo Uninstaller to more thoroughly clean leftovers that may be left behind in the registry but Torch and Vivaldi uninstallers. (The free version does a pretty good job in my limited experience, but the paid version purports to do even more.)
To manually dig into the registry a little more, NirSoft's RegScanner would be a good tool to search for relevant Torch and Vivaldi registry entries.
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Something is really interesting. When I replace the shortcut in the C:\Users\bk\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar and double click it - it works well - for a little time.
Then system is suddenly becoming busy - and the desktop blinks once - and now the shortcut starts Vivaldi.
Does anybody know what is going on "behind the curtains" that alters the behavior of the link?
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Try creating the shortcut by right-clicking the executable and choosing to create a shortcut, then replace on quick launch folder.
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I'm not certain whether you're creating a Torch shortcut or a Vivaldi shortcut that "works well - for a little time…system busy...desktop blinks...and now the shortcut starts Vivaldi", but from the context and earlier discussion, I'm guessing you mean a Torch shortcut.
Regardless of which it is (Torch or Vivaldi), try creating a new shortcut via An_dz's method:
Try creating the shortcut by right-clicking the executable and choosing to create a shortcut, then replace on quick launch folder.
…then right-click on the shortcut and select "Properties" from the context menu, then on the General tab on the Properties dialog check the box next to Read-only, then click Apply or OK. Normally this should prevent the shortcut itself from being modified by something else. Then you can move or pin the shortcut wherever you want it, and try again.
BTW, on the surface this problem doesn't strike me as malware behavior, but I suppose a good malware scan might be a good idea.
If none of that works, I think you may have to consider the system restore or registry scanning/cleaning/editing options I mentioned earlier.
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I never got my problem solved so I ended up uninstalling Vivaldi.
Today I thought I should try it again. So, now I have the opposite problem. Torch starts ok (my default borwser) but the Vivaldi shortcut does not start Vivaldi.exe but torch - and tried to download vivaldi.exe from my own disk!
Now, I may have a weird system, but at least one other guy send me a mail about the same original problem. So, Vivaldi team - SOMETHING that you do is severely not standard on Windows.. I have never seen this behaviour on my machine - and to my knowledge no malware (except NSA, China and Russian eaves dropper programs
So, why would a normal shortcut for Vivaldi be turned into starting Torch, when NO other shortcuts elicit this behavior?
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It's a good question - but in the meantime have you tried going to the .exe and generating a shortcut from it?
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There's an option in Windows context menu to "open with", used to make Windows open a particular file (including a shortcut reference) with a specified program. Even if the shortcut is correct, Windows will over-ride it and use the link in the 'open with' instructions when clicking the shortcut. If this open-with option gets set intentionally or unintentionally for either/both browser shortcuts, clicking the affected shortcut will instead open the wrong program. This sounds as if it may be causing your problem, since the open-with list entries survive uninstalls and reinstalls of their called programs until the listing itself is manually altered or removed. To remove all the past 'open with' user choices:
Open Regedit
Back up your registry
Locate and open the Key folder:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts.Lnk
Locate the sub-folder: UserChoice
Delete that folder
Close RegEdit
Close and restart WindowsNOTE: as with any registry change, back up the registry first, just in case. Windows will auto-create a new UserChoice folder when/if it's ever needed for a new user choice.
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Thanks for your replies. I tried making a new shortcut - which seems to work. With my last problem it also worked - for a while. then "something" in Windows decided to change it back. So, right now, everything works. I am just VERY curious as to how one installs a program like Vivaldi and then get the effect I see.
As I mentioned, no other program has ever done this - neither on others nor on my pc. So Vivaldi is doing something that definitely is different.
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Hey there,
I had the exact same situation with Chromium and Vivaldi. The problem disappeared after I installed Vivaldi in C:\Program files instead of the ~AppData\local - folder. Knowing that both Chromium and the Torch Browser are always installed in ~AppData\local, I think this might be relevant. I am now installing Torch to see if Chromium and Torch get "mixed up" like that as well.
I'll let you know. -