Desktop Shortcuts not opening

[Sue]

I was cleaning out old files and I must have removed something critical. I
have to open up my files through start/allprograms instead of being able to
open shortcuts on desktop. Any suggestions? Thanks, Sue

 

[Unknown]

Open any program and create a new desktop Icon (shortcut) and delete the old
one.

 

[Elmo]

I was cleaning out old files and I must have removed something critical. I
have to open up my files through Start, All Programs instead of being able to
open shortcuts on desktop. Any suggestions? Thanks, Sue

First, click Start, Run, type:

SFC /SCANNOW

Click OK. (Please notice the space before the slash.) If any files are
damaged or missing, they'll be replaced. You may need to reboot
afterwards so damaged files will be replaced.

Next, try the .lnk and .url associations fixes here:
Fix File Associations.
http://dougknox.com/xp/file_assoc.htm