Go Back   Cyber Tech Help Support Forums > Operating Systems > Older Windows Versions > Windows ME

Notices

Windows ME Problem solving for the Windows ME Operating System

Reply
 
Topic Tools
  #1  
Old November 28th, 2004, 12:54 PM
IainElder IainElder is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
O/S: Windows XP Pro
Location: St Andrews, Scotland
Age: 35
Posts: 56
EXE file association fix for ME?

Hello.
I can no longer use EXE files. Does anyone here know a way of restoring their proper assocation, without a format or re-install? I have already googled for a solution myself, but i can only find XP fixes,which don't work.

I caused the problem myself, when i stupidly and accidentally made an EXE association in the 'Tools>Folder Options>File Types' Dialog. Even after removing it, I still can't run EXE files directly. When I try to run a program, I get an 'Open with...' dialog, as if EXE were an unrecognised file format.

I have worked out a temporary workaround, as a program will still run if you tell Windows to open a file associated with the program, rather than running the program directly. For example, to run my web browser, I created an empty file called "_.FIREFOX", and made an oassociation for FIREFOX files to be opened by firefox.exe.

This solution doesn't always work however, and as you can imagine, it is fiddly and annoying to have to do this for every new program you want to use. Does anyone know how to fix the probem for good (using regedit etc)? Thank you for your time.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old November 28th, 2004, 04:14 PM
twistedcranium's Avatar
twistedcranium twistedcranium is offline
CTH Subscriber
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 1,133
Hello there Iain Elder, welcome to CTH!

An exe file does not need to have a file type in Windows since it is an executable file. It should be a program that something else is opened with. Windows inherently knows what to do with an executable (*.exe, *.com, *.bat) so there is no need to set any "open with" properties for executables.

Sounds like you might have some spyware or even a virus. You should head on over to the "Cyber Safety" forum here and have some of the folks there help you out before trying anything else.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old November 28th, 2004, 05:10 PM
IainElder IainElder is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
O/S: Windows XP Pro
Location: St Andrews, Scotland
Age: 35
Posts: 56
Thank you for your reply, but I don't think you understand. *I* caused the problem, not a virus. I know exactly what I did to cause it, and I could reproduce it; I just don't know how to reverse it. I think what I really mean is that I don't want a file association fix, but i want Windows to properly recognise EXEs again.

I know that windows normally knows internally how to handle EXEs, COMs, BATs etc. But after accidentally defining EXE as a file type, i seem to have stopped it being able to use EXEs properly.

I suspect the problem is in the registry, but I am not overly confident about changing any key values unless I'm certain that i know what I'm doing.
I'm slowly facing up to the possible reality that I may have to re-install Windows to rectify the problem, but I would be very thankful if someone could tell me how to fix it instead.

ps Thanks for the welcome! This site looks very helpful, I may use it often!

Last edited by IainElder; November 28th, 2004 at 05:13 PM. Reason: I forgot something
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old November 28th, 2004, 06:26 PM
degsy's Avatar
degsy degsy is offline
Cyber Tech Help Moderator
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: North-East, UK
Posts: 22,475
Hi,
Try this http://filext.com/faq/idx/2/016/How_to/article/
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old November 28th, 2004, 08:39 PM
IainElder IainElder is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
O/S: Windows XP Pro
Location: St Andrews, Scotland
Age: 35
Posts: 56
Smile

Quote:
Originally Posted by degsy
Thanks, Degsy! This is exactly what I was looking for. Everything is working normally again. I'll keep a copy of that for future reference. Thanks again, man.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old November 28th, 2004, 08:41 PM
degsy's Avatar
degsy degsy is offline
Cyber Tech Help Moderator
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: North-East, UK
Posts: 22,475
no probs
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old November 30th, 2005, 06:57 AM
macman23 macman23 is offline
New Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1
Another good reference for help with file extensions is FileInfo.net. I like the interface better than Filext.com.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Topic Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Topics
Topic Topic Starter Forum Replies Last Post
File Association. washton Windows XP 6 September 7th, 2006 03:43 PM
PDF File association davet30 Windows XP 9 April 29th, 2006 08:12 AM
File Association? Lloyd Applications 1 September 30th, 2005 04:48 PM
SCN File Association OhReally The Anything Else Board 1 November 16th, 2003 03:02 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 09:08 AM.