Cant open .exe files restore is no help

[jamesL]

When i boot the computer, at the splash screen, a window pops up with a
few symbols and an ok button. I have to push it or it wont continue to
load. On the desktop, none of the exe files are useable, when clicked,
i get "Windows cannot open this file." luckily i can still access the
internet, and checked out this site
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/file_assoc.htm. I inported the registry
files, and when i rebooted everythign worked for about 2 minutes, then
all the icons went back to the un-usable state. nothing in the start
menu works either. I tried system restore, and it still didnt work. any
ideas?

thanks
james

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi James,

Try running System Restore from Safe Mode.

1. Restart your computer, and then press F8 during the initial startup to
start your computer in Safe Mode or Safe Mode with a command prompt.
2. Log on to your computer with an administrator account or with an account
that has administrator credentials.
3. In Safe Mode type or paste the following command in the Start - Run box
then press Enter. In Safe Mode Command Prompt type the following command then
press ENTER.

%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

4. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to restore your computer
to an earlier state, or undo the last restore if available.