Broken EXE association on Windows XP, Vista and Seven
Executable(.EXE) files are the programs you run for most tasks on a computer. Now and again someone reports that they have, in error, assigned some other program to the.EXEextension without first establishing aSystem Restore Pointso they can recover from making this error. When that happens little will run on the computer. Instead, when an .EXE file is clicked some program will start and attempt to process that file instead.
A symptom of this often appears as shortcuts become.LNKfiles where the.LNKextension shows up and none of them work. This is all fixed in the registry.
Further Note:Before attempting any fixes listed here turn any anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-adware, or other anti- program off or at least disable their active monitoring of the registry. Such programs may have caused the problem by “fixing” the registry for you and may attempt to prevent you from fixing it yourself.
Turn them back on when done but watch carefully what they want to do with the registry or you may be back here again.
First Thing to Try
Before playing with the registry try this first.Open theFile Typesdialog from any Explorer window — useMy DocumentsorMy Computer(Tools | Folder Options | File TypesTab). Scroll down to where .EXE would be in the alphabetical order and make certain.EXEis not there (if it is, then edit it there by changing the association toApplication).
Finally, select the New button, type inEXEfor the extension and select theAdvancedbutton. From the list pick “Application“. It should look something like this.
Broken EXE association on Windows XP, Vista and Seven
While not shown on the picture above there should be a “Restore” button you can click. If so, use that and, hopefully, this should cure the problem (thanks to forum member diginono for finding and posting this solution). TheRestorebutton only shows up when there is a problem on the system.
If this works but there is still a problem withLNKfiles then scroll down to the end of thisFAQfor a solution to that.
If this did not work, then you have to play with the registry.
Registry Fix Method
Warning: editing the System Registry can have seriously affect your system. Make no changes to theSystem Registrywithout having a complete backup of important files and only after setting aSystem Restore Point.
There are severalSystem Registrychanges that need to be made. You can edit the registry directly yourself, changing the various entries manually. Or, you can use cut and paste from this page.
Use the download links to get the .REG file for the proper fix and the text on this page as the check to make certain you got the right one (you can open a .REG file in any text editor). Once you have the.REGfile stored on your system see below for how to use it.
Note:Be certain to save the.REGfile on the computer where the problem is and not on some mapped network drive.
Be careful.Be certain you have the proper version of the Registry editor for the operating system version you are running.
Step 1 – Preparation
Windows XP
Here are the System Registry changes that need to be made for Windows XP to properly recognize .EXE files (watch out for line wrap on the longer lines…or, as an alternate,from the link above this article(right click on the linkand choose the “Save as…” option in IE or “Save Link As” option inFirefox), and then save it to disk.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe]
@=”exefile”
“Content Type”=”application/x-msdownload”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe\PersistentHandler]
@=”{098f2470-bae0-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile]
@=”Application”
“EditFlags”=hex:38,07,00,00
“TileInfo”=”prop:FileDescription;Company;FileVersion”
“InfoTip”=”prop:FileDescription;Company;FileVersion;Create;Size”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\DefaultIcon]
@=”%1″
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open]
“EditFlags”=hex:00,00,00,00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open\command]
@=”\”%1\” %*”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas\command]
@=”\”%1\” %*”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\DropHandler]
@=”{86C86720-42A0-1069-A2E8-08002B30309D}”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers\PEAnalyser]
@=”{09A63660-16F9-11d0-B1DF-004F56001CA7}”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers\PifProps]
@=”{86F19A00-42A0-1069-A2E9-08002B30309D}”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers\ShimLayer Property Page]
@=”{513D916F-2A8E-4F51-AEAB-0CBC76FB1AF8}”
Windows 98
Here are the System Registry changes that need to be made for Windows 98 to properly recognize.EXEfiles (watch out for line wrap on the longer lines…or, as an alternate,from the link above this article(right click on the linkand choose the “Save as…” option in IE or “Save Link As” option inFirefox), then save it to disk.
REGEDIT4[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe]
@=”exefile”
“Content Type”=”application/x-msdownload”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile]
@=”Application”
“EditFlags”=hex:d8,07,00,00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell]
@=”"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open]
@=”"
“EditFlags”=hex:00,00,00,00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open\command]
@=”\”%1\” %*”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers\{86F19A00-42A0-1069-A2E9-08002B30309D}]
@=”"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\DefaultIcon]
@=”%1″
Warning: editing theSystem Registrycan have seriously affect your system. Make no changes to the System Registry without having a complete backup of important files and only after setting aSystem Restore Point.
Step 2 -Start the Registry Editor
Since theRegistry Editoris, itself, an EXE file this can be the hardest part of this process. There are several things you can try. Try each until one of them works. Once the Registry Editor is open and running skip down to Step 3.
a) The first thing to try is the easiest. Double click on the saved REG file and see if it starts the registry editor and merges. If you are lucky, theREGfile will merge and the problem will be solved and you don’t need Step 3 below. Unfortunately, this rarely works.
b) The next thing to try is just as easy. Right click on the saved REG file and selectMergefrom the options presented. If you are lucky, the REG file will merge and the problem will be solved and you don’t needStep 3below. Unfortunately, this also rarely works.
c) Similar to (b) just above, right click on the saved REG file and if Registry Editor is shown select that. If not, select theOpen Withoption and browse to the Windows directory (usually eitherC:\WindowsorC:\WINNT). Scroll down to theregedit.exefile and select that. This sometimes works and, if so, the REG file will merge and you don’t need Step 3 below.
d) The next thing to try is to use theRun Ascommand. Open a Windows Explorer window and navigate to theWindowsdirectory (usually eitherC:\WindowsorC:\WINNT). Scroll down to theregedit.exefile. Right click on the file. On the menu that pops up look for theRun As…item and click on it. Sometimes when you do that the editor will start (try this several times in a row; it often takes multiple tries).
e) If that didn’t work, yet another trick to try is to open aCommand Promptwindow via the Task Manager and try to runRegeditfrom there. Press the keychord (all three keys together)Control-Alt-Deleteonce only. Then, press and hold theControlkey while you click on theFilemenu and then theNew Task (Run)item. Release theControlkey. A Command Prompt window should have opened. At the prompt type the full nameREGEDIT.EXEand see if that starts theRegistry Editor.
f)OK, that didn’t work. Now, we’ll try to trick the system. Open a Command Prompt window (Start | Programs | Accessories | Command Prompt). This should leave you in theC:\Documents and Settings\[username]directory.
Issue the sequence of commands in bold:
- C:\Documents and Settings\[username]>CD \
- C:\>CD WINDOWS(or WINNT if that’s your system directory)
- C:\Windows>COPY REGEDIT.EXE REGEDIT.COM
- C:\Windows>REGEDIT.COM
What this does is have you navigate to your Windows directory and then make a copy of theREGEDIT.EXEprogram as the fileREGEDIT.COMand then run that .COM file copy. Windows will be fooled by this, see the .EXE headers and run the Regedit program.
If none of these techniques work and you still can’t get theRegistry Editorto open keep trying the third (#c) trick above (right clicking and selectingRun As). This often needs multiple tries but also often works when other methods won’t.
If none of these techniques work and you still can’t get the Registry Editor, we are sorry.
Step 3 -Merge the REG File
Assuming you got the Registry Editor to work using one of the techniques above, you now need to merge the REG file into the registry. Select theFile | Importmenu item, navigate to the .REG file and select it. Once imported, the .EXE file association should come back.
If you are able to get into theRegeditprogram but it won’t let you make changes, try going toEdit | Permissionsin the menu and then make certain that you have permission to make the changes.Sometimes, permissions are removed by somesoftwareso you might have to check the “allow” box for the user log in you used when signing onto thecomputer.
LNK Association
Sometimes the LNK association will come back when you fix the EXE association but sometimes it does not. If not, open the folder options as before: Open the File Types dialog from any Explorer window — use My Documents or My Computer (Tools | Folder Options | File Types Tab). Scroll down to where .LNK would be in the alphabetical order and see if it’s there (it should not be). As above, make a new association, name it LNK and in the association box select Shortcut. That should fix the LNK association.
Finally…
After all that, whatever fix you apply, be certain to restart the computer before attempting to do anything else with it. The restart should fix the problem as Windows reloads the registry.Hopefully…
Windows Vista
Yes, the same problem appears to happen under Vista as well as prior versions of Windows. The method described here should work but you have to do a bit more work as there is presently no .REG file download FILExt has created. When sufficient numbers of people have tested this there will be a more formal writeup with a download.
If the Vista EXE association is damaged the location in the registry most likely changed is in this key…
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe]
The “OpenWithList” and “UserChoice” subkeys probably have some program listed as opening the .EXE file extension. These need to be cleared and, when cleared, the system will go back to the default and theEXEextension should then work again.
You can do this by creating a .REG file with these lines in it…
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe\OpenWithList]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe\OpenWithProgids]
“exefile”=hex(0):
Usecut/pasteto copy these five lines to an editor like Notepad and then save the file with a .REG file extension. Copy the file to the misbehavingVistamachine and double click on it (or right click and selectMerge). You will likely have to sayOKto a number of different things (theuser access controland the registry editor for certain) but afterward (and a restart to be certain) the system EXE association should come back.
Registry fixes for Vista file extensions(including the EXE fix)
Warning:Editing the System Registry can have seriously affect your system. Make no changes to the System Registry without having a complete backup of important files and only after setting aSystem Restore Point.
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