Recently I ran into a problem with the Image Resize Utility that comes with Windows XP. I believe that the problem stems from installation of one of the components in Office XP (or the first two service packs for it.) Anyway, basically the Image Resize Utility quit working entirely, no more resizing images on the fly when using the Send To Mail Recipient option.
So I hopped on Google and proceeded to run some searches. Nothing useful. So I tried Microsoft. The best option I could find was an updated Image Resizer Utility that added the ability to resize images to the hard drive, both singly and in groups, plus the original mail options. So I thought maybe the program had gone corrupt and installed the updated version. (By the way, I recommend the upgrade, and check out the other Power Toys while your there.)
Still nothing. Then I played with some settings in the File Types tab, and cleared and rechecked some boxes in some of the various graphics programs I use. This time I got lucky and the bmp's started working. That's when I decided to check the bmp class in the registry and compare to some of the other file types. There were at least four keys listed under bmp that weren't present with any other file types, so I started adding the keys one by one to the jpg class. I found that the following key added to the registry restores the Resize Utility to working order for jpg files.
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.jpg]
"PerceivedType"="image"
"Content Type"="image/jpg"
Technically, the Content Type line isn't needed, but I figured it may save me some hassle later just having it in there. After that, I wrote a short registry file in Notepad, saved it and changed the extension to reg. Feel free to download the registry update, then change the file extension from txt to reg. You'll have to right click and save the file to your desktop. If you download the text file, don't forget to rename it to resize.reg once you've reviewed it. (Both files are available below.) Then double-click the file to add it to your registry. This particular registry add-in will make it possible to resize files in the following formats: bmp, gif, ico, jpg, jpe, jfif, png, tif, and tiff.
If you still have problems, there is a nice workaround. It is a free software called Fast Image Resizer by adionsoft. Be sure to check the option to "Add to Send To menu" during installation to make it available when right-clicking on images. You can configure the software via the Option button when you start it up, after installation. It can be started from the Start Menu, Desktop, Quick Launch, or Send To shortcuts. Keep in mind that starting via the Send To option Automatically begins the resize process. This may be a superior resizer to the built-in resizer for windows. I found the default Excellent quality to give the best and fastest results in most situations.Also Drag and Drop, destination folders and rotation are supported.