LNK extension makes exe files inoperable

[Harold W.]

Suddenly all my exe files don't work. All shortcuts have a .lnk extension. I can get the programs to work eventually by renaming
them then opening them with "Open With" and "Other" and manually choosing the same program to open them, but there are often errors
occurring later so its not a valid solution. But many things have been lost. There was a little registry fix that I downloaded
called "linkfile_fix.reg" but it says its not a valid Win32 program. This is an excellent description of the problem here.
http://www.techsupportforum.com/showthread.php?t=45763)
I've tried doing a repair with the Windows CD (all 3 of them) to no avail.
Short of a total reinstall, can anyone think of a solution?

 

[Harold W.]

Suddenly all my exe files don't work. All shortcuts have a .lnk extension. I can get the programs to work eventually by renaming
them then opening them with "Open With" and "Other" and manually choosing the same program to open them, but there are often errors
occurring later so its not a valid solution. But many things have been lost. There was a little registry fix that I downloaded
called "linkfile_fix.reg" but it says its not a valid Win32 program. This is an excellent description of the problem here.
http://www.techsupportforum.com/showthread.php?t=45763)

I've tried doing a repair with the Windows CD (all 3 of them) to no avail.

I meant all 3 of the repair options that Win2000 offers with the installation CD, not 3 CD's.

 

[SWalters]

Suddenly all my exe files don't work. All shortcuts have a .lnk
extension. I can get the programs to work eventually by renaming them
then opening them with "Open With" and "Other" and manually choosing
the same program to open them, but there are often errors occurring
later so its not a valid solution. But many things have been lost.
There was a little registry fix that I downloaded called
"linkfile_fix.reg" but it says its not a valid Win32 program. This is
an excellent description of the problem here.
http://www.techsupportforum.com/showthread.php?t=45763) I've tried
doing a repair with the Windows CD (all 3 of them) to no avail. Short
of a total reinstall, can anyone think of a solution?

I'm hoping to hear from someone on this as well. I have a customer which
had this happen to him. I was able to fix the .exe issue by renaming
regedit.exe to regedit.com in order to access the registry. But I still
cannot fix the .lnk issue. No shortcuts work nor do newly created ones. I
have tried all of the regitry edits coming from multiple sites as well as
Microsoft's and JSI's. I've tried restarting after each change as well as
completely shutting down. Nothing...

I'm afraid I will be reloading his workstation this weekend because of
this. I was putting it off because there is usually a fix for any issue but
this one is starting to take too long to find the resolution.

Can anyone else help with this?

Thanks

 

[Harold W.]

Suddenly all my exe files don't work. All shortcuts have a .lnk

I'm hoping to hear from someone on this as well. I have a customer
which had this happen to him. I was able to fix the .exe issue by
renaming regedit.exe to regedit.com in order to access the registry.
But I still cannot fix the .lnk issue. No shortcuts work nor do newly
created ones.

Temporary workaround: rename .exe file to anything else. Right click, Open With, Other, (make sure
All Files and not just Programs are displayed at the bottom of the dialoge box), find your renamed
file, rename it .exe then open it. It should work. Its a lot of work but if you have to get it
open, that works for me.

I have tried all of the regitry edits coming from
multiple sites as well as Microsoft's and JSI's. I've tried
restarting after each change as well as completely shutting down.
Nothing...

There is a registry fix: linkfile_fix.reg

I'm afraid I will be reloading his workstation this weekend because of
this. I was putting it off because there is usually a fix for any
issue but this one is starting to take too long to find the
resolution.

http://www.computing.net/windowsxp/wwwboard/forum/132017.html
When double clicking the xp_exe_fix.reg file, windows asks what to use to open it. Go to select from
list, then browse and find C:\Windows\regedit.exe, select it and click ok, then double click
xp_exe_fix.reg again and it'll ask you if you want to add the info to the registry. Click yes and
reboot your computer. You should notice that by going Start->my computer->C:\ and opening any one of
the folders, all of the programs appear normal again and will function correctly.

If your desktop icons still have the *.lnk extension, run the linkfile_fix.reg by double clicking
it, then reboot again. make sure everything seems back to normal and your all done!

the specific locations for the files:

http://www.doughknox.com/xp/fileassoc/xp_exe_fix.zip

http://www.doughknox.com/xp/fileassoc/linkfile_fix.zip

 

[SWalters]

Temporary workaround: rename .exe file to anything else. Right
click, Open With, Other, (make sure All Files and not just Programs
are displayed at the bottom of the dialoge box), find your renamed
file, rename it .exe then open it. It should work. Its a lot of work
but if you have to get it open, that works for me.

I fixed the .exe problem as soon as I started working on this client's
PC. I don't have that issue anymore. Just the .lnk.

There is a registry fix: linkfile_fix.reg

I tried all of those files including the ones you noted below on that
other site. I also tried the solution noted by Microsoft and JSI. Still
no go...any other thoughts? Time is almost up for this problem as I'll
jsut reload it. As I said, it's a customer's workstation so I can't sit
in front of it for days on end....I just have to fix it one way or
another as fast as possible.

 

[SWalters]

Temporary workaround: rename .exe file to anything else. Right click,
Open With, Other, (make sure All Files and not just Programs are
displayed at the bottom of the dialoge box), find your renamed file,
rename it .exe then open it. It should work. Its a lot of work but if
you have to get it open, that works for me.


There is a registry fix: linkfile_fix.reg


http://www.computing.net/windowsxp/wwwboard/forum/132017.html
When double clicking the xp_exe_fix.reg file, windows asks what to use
to open it. Go to select from list, then browse and find
C:\Windows\regedit.exe, select it and click ok, then double click
xp_exe_fix.reg again and it'll ask you if you want to add the info to
the registry. Click yes and reboot your computer. You should notice that
by going Start->my computer->C:\ and opening any one of the folders, all
of the programs appear normal again and will function correctly.

If your desktop icons still have the *.lnk extension, run the
linkfile_fix.reg by double clicking it, then reboot again. make sure
everything seems back to normal and your all done!

the specific locations for the files:

http://www.doughknox.com/xp/fileassoc/xp_exe_fix.zip

http://www.doughknox.com/xp/fileassoc/linkfile_fix.zip

Update on this issue...

I fixed it by finding this registry entry and noting it was different than
others. I have no clue why this entry was the way it was but you can see
below that it is associating .lnk with win.com although ALL other entries
were correct. Including all of the .reg files noted from others. I
completely deleted the "Application"="win.com" entry as most other
extensions were listed with nothing there.

Anyway, I wanted to post this in case someone else has the same issue. It
can at least go into the google archives.


Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
\FileExts\.lnk]
"Application"="win.com"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
\FileExts\.lnk\OpenWithList]
"a"="Navw32.exe"
"MRUList"="fdeabc"
"b"="mspaint.exe"
"c"="NOTEPAD.EXE"
"d"="CMD.EXE"
"e"="command.com"
"f"="win.com"

 

[Harold W.]

It didn't work for me either.

I fixed the .exe problem as soon as I started working on this client's
PC. I don't have that issue anymore. Just the .lnk.


I tried all of those files including the ones you noted below on that
other site. I also tried the solution noted by Microsoft and JSI. Still
no go...any other thoughts? Time is almost up for this problem as I'll
jsut reload it. As I said, it's a customer's workstation so I can't sit
in front of it for days on end....I just have to fix it one way or
another as fast as possible.

 

[Harold W.]

Temporary workaround: rename .exe file to anything else. Right click,

Open With, Other, (make sure All Files and not just Programs are
displayed at the bottom of the dialoge box), find your renamed file,
rename it .exe then open it. It should work. Its a lot of work but if
you have to get it open, that works for me.


There is a registry fix: linkfile_fix.reg


http://www.computing.net/windowsxp/wwwboard/forum/132017.html
When double clicking the xp_exe_fix.reg file, windows asks what to use
to open it. Go to select from list, then browse and find
C:\Windows\regedit.exe, select it and click ok, then double click
xp_exe_fix.reg again and it'll ask you if you want to add the info to
the registry. Click yes and reboot your computer. You should notice that
by going Start->my computer->C:\ and opening any one of the folders, all
of the programs appear normal again and will function correctly.

If your desktop icons still have the *.lnk extension, run the
linkfile_fix.reg by double clicking it, then reboot again. make sure
everything seems back to normal and your all done!

the specific locations for the files:

http://www.doughknox.com/xp/fileassoc/xp_exe_fix.zip

http://www.doughknox.com/xp/fileassoc/linkfile_fix.zip

Update on this issue...

I fixed it by finding this registry entry and noting it was different than
others. I have no clue why this entry was the way it was but you can see
below that it is associating .lnk with win.com although ALL other entries
were correct. Including all of the .reg files noted from others. I
completely deleted the "Application"="win.com" entry as most other
extensions were listed with nothing there.

Anyway, I wanted to post this in case someone else has the same issue. It
can at least go into the google archives.


Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
\FileExts\.lnk]
"Application"="win.com"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
\FileExts\.lnk\OpenWithList]
"a"="Navw32.exe"
"MRUList"="fdeabc"
"b"="mspaint.exe"
"c"="NOTEPAD.EXE"
"d"="CMD.EXE"
"e"="command.com"
"f"="win.com"

I wanted to confirm something - I'm new to Registry modification. This is what I have in it.

..lnk (on left), nothing on right. Should I have "Application"="win.com" on the right? Its blank
now. Do I put in the quotation marks?

OpenWithList (on left) a:REG_SZ:WORDPAD.EXE
b:REG_SZodcmd.exe
MRUList:REG_SZ:ba

I think the oodcmd is part of the O & O Defragmentation program.

 

[SWalters]

I wanted to confirm something - I'm new to Registry modification. This
is what I have in it.

.lnk (on left), nothing on right. Should I have
"Application"="win.com" on the right? Its blank now. Do I put in the
quotation marks?

OpenWithList (on left) a:REG_SZ:WORDPAD.EXE
b:REG_SZodcmd.exe
MRUList:REG_SZ:ba

I think the oodcmd is part of the O & O Defragmentation program.

Honestly I just looked at three other Windows 2000/XP machines and none of
them even have the .lnk registry entry in

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
\FileExts\

I would actually try deleting that whole .lnk section of the registry and
see if that works. If you do not want to delete this whole link, which I
would definitely try at this point, you would at least have (Default)
REG_SZ (value not set) as the ONLY thing in the right pane when clicking
on the .lnk registry folder in the above noted location.

Also make sure you turn the PC completely off after making your changes.
Although I still don't know if I beleive it's different than just
restarting...It's not worth fumbling around with the thought.

 

[Gary Smith]

Harold W. wrote:

Honestly I just looked at three other Windows 2000/XP machines and none of
them even have the .lnk registry entry in

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
\FileExts\

I would actually try deleting that whole .lnk section of the registry and
see if that works. If you do not want to delete this whole link, which I
would definitely try at this point, you would at least have (Default)
REG_SZ (value not set) as the ONLY thing in the right pane when clicking
on the .lnk registry folder in the above noted location.

Agreed. My system does have the .lnk key with value "(Default) REG_SZ
(value not set)" and below that an OpenWithList subkey with the same null
content. This should be exactly equivalent to having no .lnk subkey at
all.

 

[Harold W.]

I wanted to confirm something - I'm new to Registry modification.

Honestly I just looked at three other Windows 2000/XP machines and
none of them even have the .lnk registry entry in

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
\FileExts\

I would actually try deleting that whole .lnk section of the
registry and see if that works. If you do not want to delete this
whole link, which I would definitely try at this point, you would at
least have (Default) REG_SZ (value not set) as the ONLY thing in the
right pane when clicking on the .lnk registry folder in the above
noted location.

Agreed. My system does have the .lnk key with value "(Default)
REG_SZ (value not set)" and below that an OpenWithList subkey with
the same null content. This should be exactly equivalent to having
no .lnk subkey at all.

Can anybody else check out if they have a lnk or .lnk in their registry?
I guess I still need to correct all the corrupted valued in their though.

 

[Harold W.]

I wanted to confirm something - I'm new to Registry modification.

This is what I have in it.

.lnk (on left), nothing on right. Should I have
"Application"="win.com" on the right? Its blank now. Do I put in
the quotation marks?

OpenWithList (on left) a:REG_SZ:WORDPAD.EXE
b:REG_SZodcmd.exe
MRUList:REG_SZ:ba

I think the oodcmd is part of the O & O Defragmentation program.

Honestly I just looked at three other Windows 2000/XP machines and
none of them even have the .lnk registry entry in

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
\FileExts\

I would actually try deleting that whole .lnk section of the
registry and see if that works. If you do not want to delete this
whole link, which I would definitely try at this point, you would at
least have (Default) REG_SZ (value not set) as the ONLY thing in the
right pane when clicking on the .lnk registry folder in the above
noted location.

Agreed. My system does have the .lnk key with value "(Default)
REG_SZ (value not set)" and below that an OpenWithList subkey with
the same null content. This should be exactly equivalent to having
no .lnk subkey at all.

Can anybody else check out if they have a lnk or .lnk in their registry?
I guess I still need to correct all the corrupted valued in their though.

Wow - it looks like I was drunk or something. It should have read:
Can anybody else check to see if they have a lnk or .lnk in their registry?
I guess I still need to correct all the corrupted values in there anyway.

 

[Gary Smith]

I wanted to confirm something - I'm new to Registry modification.
This is what I have in it.

.lnk (on left), nothing on right. Should I have
"Application"="win.com" on the right? Its blank now. Do I put in
the quotation marks?

OpenWithList (on left) a:REG_SZ:WORDPAD.EXE
b:REG_SZodcmd.exe
MRUList:REG_SZ:ba

I think the oodcmd is part of the O & O Defragmentation program.

Honestly I just looked at three other Windows 2000/XP machines and
none of them even have the .lnk registry entry in

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
\FileExts\

I would actually try deleting that whole .lnk section of the
registry and see if that works. If you do not want to delete this
whole link, which I would definitely try at this point, you would at
least have (Default) REG_SZ (value not set) as the ONLY thing in the
right pane when clicking on the .lnk registry folder in the above
noted location.

Agreed. My system does have the .lnk key with value "(Default)
REG_SZ (value not set)" and below that an OpenWithList subkey with
the same null content. This should be exactly equivalent to having
no .lnk subkey at all.

Can anybody else check out if they have a lnk or .lnk in their registry?
I guess I still need to correct all the corrupted valued in their though.

Wow - it looks like I was drunk or something. It should have read:
Can anybody else check to see if they have a lnk or .lnk in their registry?
I guess I still need to correct all the corrupted values in there anyway.

You don't actually have to correct anything. Just delete the entire key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.lnk.
I did that shorly after posting my previous response, and I can detect no
difference in operation whatsoever. That key is used for storing file
associations established on a per-user basis and populating the Open With
entry on the context menu for .lnk files. Deleting it just drops you back
to the system default, which in this case is what you want.