Desktop shortcuts have stopped working.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Frank Martin
  • Start date Start date
F

Frank Martin

All of a sudden these don't work; instead I
get an error message "Windows cannot access
the specified device path or file. You may
not have permission to access the item".

The only change I made was to install an
external USB2 modem.

Cold booting does not help.

Please help, Frank
 
Hi Frank,

Go to www.dougknox.com, click on WindowsXP Fixes, then on File Association
Fixes. Download and run the .lnk (shortcut) fix, see if that helps. If not,
try the .exe fix as well.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
Thanks, I tried both these but neither
worked.
Afterwards I deleted some old shortcuts and
then installed new replacements ones but
still no luck.

Regards Frank


in message
 
It's probably time to do some basic tests in order to
determine the root cause of your problem. Try this:
1. Create a new shortcut on your desktop. As its
command line, specify this:
cmd /c pause
2. Double click the new shortcut. You're supposed
to see this prompt: "Press any key to continue".

Did you see this prompt? If yes, right-click one of the
shortcuts that do NOT work, click Properties, then
report the text in the Target field.
 
Thanks, I tried this but I get the same
problem.

But I tried the way you suggest to make a
shortcut to my Photoshop folder and this
worked, and opened the folder and showed all
the files.

But if I use the old method and try to create
a shortcut from Photoshop.exe then it gives
the usual error.

The target field in the first (successful)
case is
"C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop 5.5"

The target field in the second (failed) case
is:
"C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop
5.5\Photoshp.exe"




message
 
Frank said:
Thanks, I tried this but I get the same
problem.

But I tried the way you suggest to make a
shortcut to my Photoshop folder and this
worked, and opened the folder and showed all
the files.

But if I use the old method and try to create
a shortcut from Photoshop.exe then it gives
the usual error.

The target field in the first (successful)
case is
"C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop 5.5"

The target field in the second (failed) case
is:
"C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop
5.5\Photoshp.exe"
Click to expand...

If you are the same Frank Martin who has another similar thread in this
newsgroup about running Chkdsk unsuccessfully - I suggest you get a
hard drive diagnostic utility from the drive mftr.'s website. Make
bootable media (floppy or CD) with it and then boot with it to do a
thorough test. If the drive fails any physical tests, replace it. If
the drive is physically sound but shows file system errors (Windows),
back up your data and do a Repair Install. If the Repair Install
doesn't work, do a Clean Install.

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm - Repair Install
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install

Malke
 
I seem to have the same problem as Frank. I installed Norton SystemWorks
2006 Premier and none of the desktop shortcuts work nor do hyperlinks in
email.

Tried the above to associate links with launchers - no luck.

Pretty sure nothing is wrong with disk drive.
 
Tom said:
I seem to have the same problem as Frank. I installed Norton
SystemWorks 2006 Premier and none of the desktop shortcuts work nor do
hyperlinks in email.

Tried the above to associate links with launchers - no luck.

Pretty sure nothing is wrong with disk drive.
Click to expand...

You should start a new thread for your question instead of tacking it
onto this one, particularly since your problem is different from the
OP's.

It can be very hard for a non-technical person to know what to include
in a post to a tech support newsgroup. Here is a link that will help
you with that - http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

In the meantime, if you have a clear cause-and-effect with the
installation of NSW, uninstall it and see if the problems are gone.

Malke
 
message
You should start a new thread for your
question instead of tacking it
onto this one, particularly since your
problem is different from the
OP's.

It can be very hard for a non-technical
person to know what to include
in a post to a tech support newsgroup. Here
is a link that will help
you with that -
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

In the meantime, if you have a clear
cause-and-effect with the
installation of NSW, uninstall it and see
if the problems are gone.

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows User/Shell
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"
Click to expand...

I am close to panic.
Now I have to open Access & Word from the
Search facility and click on the *.exe file,
and many shortcuts in the start menu are now
not working and giving the above error
message.
What is the difference between the "Target"
box and the "Start In" box? Can this have
any relevance here?
Regards,Frank
 
Frank said:
I am close to panic.
Now I have to open Access & Word from the
Search facility and click on the *.exe file,
and many shortcuts in the start menu are now
not working and giving the above error
message.
What is the difference between the "Target"
box and the "Start In" box? Can this have
any relevance here?
Regards,Frank
Click to expand...

Frank, have you done any of the tests that were suggested to you? Have
you run a hard drive diagnostic? Perhaps you should take the machine to
a professional computer repair shop (not your local version of
BigStoreUSA) and have them take a look. There is no need to panic;
however, a skilled professional with hands-on access to the machine may
see something immediately that isn't apparent to people just reading
about it in a newsgroup.

Malke
 
Well, I don't think a new thread was waranted. Clearly my problem is
identical to Franks, I was just offering some additional information - such
as having installed NSW (which I uninstalled, to no avail) and the
information that hyperlinks in email weren't working either.

Additionally, I ran HD diagnostics and they turned up nothing.

In most cases, a simple reply to a question might be easier than to tell the
writer that the question belongs somewhere else.
 
message
Frank, have you done any of the tests that
were suggested to you? Have
you run a hard drive diagnostic? Perhaps
you should take the machine to
a professional computer repair shop (not
your local version of
BigStoreUSA) and have them take a look.
There is no need to panic;
however, a skilled professional with
hands-on access to the machine may
see something immediately that isn't
apparent to people just reading
about it in a newsgroup.

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows User/Shell
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"
Click to expand...



I finally fixed this.

I solved the problem just today.

The problem was that in the "Documents and
Settings" section of my username, the
"Desktop" folder had been transferred into
the "Cookie" folder. I fixed it by
transferring it back.


To investigate this problem just do a search
on "*.lnk" to detect all the shortcut paths
to detect any weird paths.
 
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