Applications do not run when double-clicking !!! 1

[tonymcp]

Hi guys. Listen to this one: After I installed my new printer drivers I got a strange message I never saw before saying "I/O Error" in something which I can't remember now. I thought maybe the CD was defective so i thought I would try again after a reboot.

On next reboot and from then on whenever I double click on any application or even if i try to run something from Start-->Run, I get the "Open With" window saying "choose program you want to use to open this file" as if Windows doesn't know how to open .exe files anymore. If I right-click the app and select "Run as..." then I can run it without a problem. Has anyone ever encountered such a thing? Obviously something got fragged (doom???) in my registry. I re-installed windows (repair installation) and I also run the SFC but to no avail so i don't know what to do next as I am trying to avoid a clean install ! Any ideas?

Thanks,

Tony

 

[smah]

Use Kelly Theriot's .exe fix down near the bottom of the E section.

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_abc.htm

 

[linney]

How is it in Safe Mode, or in Normal Mode but has a different user?

811151 - How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=811151

See if System Restore will get you back to a restore point before your problem with Explorer.

Try running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors. Right-click your Drive icon/ Properties/ Tools/ Error Checking. Select both boxes.

As the problem started after installing your printer and software, you could try uninstalling the printer software and deleting the printer.

 

[linney]

Forget about System Restore, I meant to edit that sentence out of my reply.

 

[tonymcp]

Thanks for your comments guys. Unfortunately I cannot even run the registry editor so I can't follow the directions on the MS KB but never mind I will try to find the time and do a clean install. It's all right when I do it for clients but when it is for my own computer then I try to avoid it. Alas, I think it's the only way.

Tony


Tony
AP CompuServices
MCP

 

[ASG0856]

Sounds like file associations have been corrupted

 

[smah]

You don't need to actually start the registry editor for the info that I posted above. Just merge the file

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/regs_edits/xp_exe_fix.reg

 

[DTracy]

Did you have the workstation connected to a LAN that has a policy set for users not using exe or com files?

David.

 

[tonymcp]

Thanks you for your comments everyone. Especially a big thanks to smah for providing a spot-on solution. I will keep this in mind in case one of my clients get this problem in the future.

DTracy FYI I did not implement any policies on my workshop's network but I discovered to day that my system got a strange new virus which thankfully my Kaspersky amtivirus got rid of. Don't know if it had anything to do with the corrupted associations but it's all right now I imported those reg entries. Once again thank you all !

Tony
AP CompuServices
MCP