Canon MP Navigator Software Has Stopped Working

If you own a Canon All-in-One printer, you probably have Canon's MP Navigator software installed on your computer. This software is necessary for using the scan features on the printer. 

While MP Navigator is nice software, sometimes it stops working.   Folks running 64-bit versions of Windows 7 or Vista often see the error "MP Navigator has stopped working" when they click the icon to run the program.  And unfortunately, uninstalling and reinstalling the software doesn't seem to fix the problem. 

The other day I was working on a computer that had this problem and after several email exchanges with suggestions from Canon tech support, the problem persisted.   I finally found the answer on a forum and wanted to share the solution here. 

If you see a consistent error message, "MP Navigator has stopped working" you might want to try these steps.  First thing you have to do though, is show your hidden folders.  To do this ...

1. Click the START button and then CONTROL PANEL
2. Open APPEARANCE & PERSONALIZATION 
3. Open  FOLDER OPTIONS 
4. Click VIEW tab
5. Under Advanced Settings, click "Show hidden files, folders,and drives"
6. Click OK to exit window

Once the hidden folders are visible, you want to find the file named, "My websites on MSN".  For advanced users, the actual path to the file is:

C:\Users\\App Data\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Network Shortcuts\My Web Sites on MSN

For those folks who don't understand how to find a file using the path above, follow the instructions below:

1. Click the START button and then COMPUTER
2. Double click the C-Drive
3. Double click the folder named USERS
4. Double click your user folder (it may have your name or say HP Administrator on it)
5. Double click the folder named APPLICATION DATA (App Data)
6. Double click the folder named ROAMING
7. Double click the folder named MICROSOFT
8. Double click the folder named WINDOWS
9. Double click the folder named NETWORK SHORTCUTS
10. If you see an icon (or file) named "My MSN Shortcuts", delete it (and confirm deletion)

Once that file is removed, it's a good idea to undo our first set of steps and hide those folders again which are normally hidden. To do this, follow the first set of steps above.  However, when you get to step 5, be sure to check the appropriate option to "not show hidden files, folders and drives".