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All .exe's Are Changed to .lnk

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Gary

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Apr 8, 2007, 6:21:03 AM4/8/07
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Hi All,

I turned my computer on, it hung at the windows desktop, so I restarted
it and all my programs on the start menu now have a .lnk association.

How do I fix this?

Please Help

Gary

Universe_JDJ

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Apr 8, 2007, 7:22:45 AM4/8/07
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All your programs on the start menu should be .ink files -- as they're
shortcuts not executables...

Alan Edwards

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Apr 8, 2007, 7:42:13 AM4/8/07
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Try the LNK (shortcut) fix here:
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/file_assoc.htm

...Alan
--
Alan Edwards, MS MVP Windows - Internet Explorer
http://dts-l.org/index.htm

Gary

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Apr 8, 2007, 8:35:28 AM4/8/07
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Alan Edwards wrote:
> Try the LNK (shortcut) fix here:
> http://www.dougknox.com/xp/file_assoc.htm
>
> ...Alan
I tried this solution but whenever I try to run this file it opens edit
pad. As a matter of fact whenever I try to open any file on the start
menu or try to install a program or click on an exe it opens edit pad.

Gary

Ibrahim

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Apr 8, 2007, 9:48:02 AM4/8/07
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"Gary" wrote:

I think that it's a shortcut extention
try doing this
Start>all Programs>Accessories>Windows Explorer>then tools>Folder Option>
Restore Defaults on all Tab's
hope it works :)

Gary

unread,
Apr 8, 2007, 10:42:03 AM4/8/07
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WOW!! HOLY Mackerel!!! Finally got the Doug Knox thing to work----The
system is back

You folks are GREAT

Thanks for all your help

Gary

Poprivet

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Apr 8, 2007, 11:16:39 AM4/8/07
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Can anyone explain the mechanics of the fix that worked here? Just curious.

Pop`


cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)

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Apr 8, 2007, 8:03:54 PM4/8/07
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On Sun, 8 Apr 2007 11:16:39 -0400, "Poprivet"
>Gary wrote:
>> Ibrahim wrote:
>>> "Gary" wrote:

>>>> I turned my computer on, it hung at the windows desktop, so I
>>>> restarted it and all my programs on the start menu now have a .lnk
>>>> association. How do I fix this?

>> WOW!! HOLY Mackerel!!! Finally got the Doug Knox thing to work----The
>> system is back

>Can anyone explain the mechanics of the fix that worked here? Just curious.

I dunno what the "Doug Knox thing" was, but I suspect the fix was to
restore broken associations for .lnk and/or .exe

Shrotcuts in the Start Menu are mostly .lnk files, which point to
local file system objects other than DOS programs (which use .pif).

Two of the settings applied to .lnk are IsShortcut and NeverShowExt.
If those are lost, then you may see the .lnk extension (that was
always there) in the Start Menu, as well as for any .lnk shortcuts on
the desktop (where the arrow overlays may vanish).

OTOH, the file association for .exe is to run itself as the "command".
Some malware adds themselves as the "command" for .exe, so that if the
malware file id deleted without cleaning this up, .exe no longer run.

In this case, it's more likely that a corrupted registry caused the
hang, or the bad exit from the hang corrupted the registry.

If that damaged file associations, then you might get these (d)effects

>--------------- ---- --- -- - - - -
"We have captured lightning and used
it to teach sand how to think."
>--------------- ---- --- -- - - - -

Alan Edwards

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Apr 8, 2007, 9:50:18 PM4/8/07
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Extract linkfile_fix.reg from linkfile_fix.zip, right-click
linkfile_fix.reg and select "Merge"

...Alan
--
Alan Edwards, MS MVP Windows - Internet Explorer
http://dts-l.org/index.htm

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