How to Restore the .exe File Association
Back to Windows XP
This is when you have a problem running programs. It seems that when you try to launch an application, you have an error message saying that Windows needs to know what program created the file. Also you can't run System Restore to try to fix the problem.
This happens when the file association for the .exe extension in the registry gets corrupted, and it can be caused by a virus. You can edit the registry to restore the association. Here's how:
- Click Start, Run. In the Run box, type cmd.
- Type the following at the command prompt. Hit Enter after each line:
cd\windows
copy regedit.exe regedit.com
start regedit.com [or regedit.com]
- Open the registry editor and go to the following key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open\command.
- Double-click the (Default) value in the right pane.
- Delete the value data shown, and type: "%1" %*" in the Value Data field. Include the quotes.
- Close the Registry Editor.
- Restart Windows.