Error message problem (Desktop shortcuts)

[Guest]

I ran into a problem while looking for a file today. I saved a word document
but it saved to a folder that I had a real hard time finding. Once I found it
and moved it to where I wanted my desktop shortcuts quit working. When I
click on one it comes up
"Windows cannot access the specified device,path, or file. You may not have
the appropiate permissions to access the item." I canaccess thses files from
the start menu but not the desktop, does anyone have any idea what I did
wrong.

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi Marty,

Create a new shortcut, or update the path in the shortcut to reflect the
new location of the file in question.

 

[Guest]

I've tried to create new shortcuts but as soon as I put them on my desktop I
get the same message. How do I update the path?

 

[Ian Kenefick]

I've tried to create new shortcuts but as soon as I put them on my desktop I
get the same message. How do I update the path?

1]Right click on the shortcut in question
2]Select properties
3]Modify the target to the correct path
4]Click ok.

 

[Bert Kinney]

Try this. Open My Computer and navigate to the file you want to create a
shortcut for. Right click on the file and drag it to the desktop and
select Create Shortcut Here when the mouse button is released. Does this
shortcut function?

 

[Guest]

The shortcut appears and the path is the same as it is in the start menu but
as soon as I click on the shortcut I still get the same message. I even tried
deleting the shortcuts and putting new ones in and it still won't work. It's
not a big deal it's just frustrating when I click on something and I get that
message. It's a pain going into the start menu all the time. No matter what I
do I still get the message. It's almost like I changed something in the user
settings but I don't know what or how I did it.

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi Marty,

It could be that the shortcut file association is damages. Download the
following fix and run it.
LNK (Shortcut) File Association Fix (Restores Default Shortcut Behavior)

Windows XP File Assocation Fixes
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/file_assoc.htm

 

[Guest]

Downloaded and ran the program and still nothing has changed. I even
restarted my computer after that and tried putting new shortcuts up and still
nothing. Any other suggestions??????????????????

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi Marty,

Merge the two registry fixes on line 12 at Kelly's site.
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

 

[Guest]

Tried that and once again it didn't fix the problem. I may not have done the
download right either. All I did was click on the link and run the program
when asked. Is that the right thing to do?

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi,

Select Save rather than Run and save the .reg file to the desktop,
then right click on the file and merge.
This will merge the information into the registry.

 

[Guest]

When I did that the link(shortcut) opened right away but in order for it to
work I have to do it everytime. Is this what is supposed to happen or did I
do something wrong again?

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi,

Restart the system an boot into Safe Mode by tapping on the F8 key after
the BIOS information goes by.
Do shortcuts work on the desktop in Safe Mode?

 

[Guest]

No they don't ork insafe mode either. They do work when I merge the fix
though(both in regular and safe mode)

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi,

I'm running out of ideas here. At this point I would suggest checking
for virus/spyware infection.

Virus and Spyware removal and prevention:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/spyware.html

 

[Guest]

I have already done that too. I ran a virus scan with Norton, I did a spyware
check with Spybot and I also ran Ad-Aware. I found no problems and all those
programs are up to date and running all the time. I don't think that is the
problem. I think I must have deleted something when searching for that file
or I disabled something that I can't find. Thanks for all the help though.
Marty

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi,

Then my guess is that some 3ed party app is taking control of the
shortcut function. Was there anything new installed that may have caused
this, such as a tweaking tool or something? Can you pinpoint when this
started happening?

 

[Guest]

Hi,

I'm running out of ideas here. At this point I would suggest checking
for virus/spyware infection.

Virus and Spyware removal and prevention:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/spyware.html