starship_troopers Posted December 8, 2009 CID Share Posted December 8, 2009 ok so somehow my settings got changed to .exe files open with notepad...well now they open with exploreer.exe so it just creates an infinite number of explorer.exe processes...now i even tried changing the registry for it, doesnt work...i tried going to my default programs list, but it doesnt work...hell .exe files werent even listed....so how do i fix this? i really dont want to restore my laptop as it has tons of valuable info on it...so ...any ideas? basically even my taskbar icons that are pinned even have the little explorer.exe as the default program, so now even my gadgets wont load at startup because it just creates this infinite loop of opening explorer.exe...in 15 seconds of my cmputer being on there is seriously like 500 processes just from this...how do i fix it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudmanc4 Posted December 8, 2009 CID Share Posted December 8, 2009 wow, hehe, I take it you have gone into the folder that the specific file type is contained, and right clicked it , clicked "open as" , then made sure that the little box underneath that says " always open with " < or something like that , is not ticked ? You could also try going to folder options, and clicking file types,and se what you could do there. Unless 7 is nothing like this. I have 7, but haven't really done anything with it yet, so excuse me if I'm talkin out my arse...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dliw Posted December 8, 2009 CID Share Posted December 8, 2009 You either got infected with something or something in the registry is corrupt. You could do a System Restore if you knew the approximate date the problem started. There is a way to do a repair on Win7 in order not to lose any documents, photos, etc. I've done it twice so far, because I experiment a lot, and it works completely. Just put in the disk and go through the regular process and chose the upgrade option.. Let it get all the updates when asked. You won't lose anything this way except some visual settings. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starship_troopers Posted December 8, 2009 Author CID Share Posted December 8, 2009 yeah thats the problem, if i can make it that far, its not checked no, but what program is it supposed to open with anyway lol. but yeah folder options doesnt have that in windows 7...or at least i looked through every tab and didnt see anything like that. well thats the problem i have no disk, the only backup i have is a drive image from the last time i backed up...i can get to the hidden partition easily, with a system restore option there, i guess i can try it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudmanc4 Posted December 8, 2009 CID Share Posted December 8, 2009 ryan i will install what I have today, I should have already, then i will look and see. Is i possible you were infected, as dliw stated ? or were you as you say just fiddling ? Here , try this....... 1. Open Command Prompt by typing command in RUN dialog box. 2. Now provide following command: cdwindows 3. It'll activate Windows folder. Now provide following command to open Registry Editor: regedit If you can't open it, then do it from task manager 4. Now goto following key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.exe In right-side pane, change value of Default key to exefile 5. Now goto: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellopencommand In right-side pane, change value of Default key to: "%1" %* 6. Thats it. Now exit Registry Editor and restart your Windows. Now you should be able to open EXE files without any problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starship_troopers Posted December 8, 2009 Author CID Share Posted December 8, 2009 lol system restore didnt work but i got a game demo i uninstalled back yeah mudman i was just being my sleep deprived self and got ahead of myself and hit the wrong button...but i went to my recovery console and went to the registry, and everything from that was fine, i saw that earlier (havent been to bed yet its now past 8am lol)...but everything in that "fix" was set exactly as that. i have one more thing to try then im confused. i even made my own .reg file...says its a registry entry and everything but when i tried to right click on it and click merge it said it wasnt a registry file...haha it cant make up its mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starship_troopers Posted December 8, 2009 Author CID Share Posted December 8, 2009 haha apparently coffee and mudmans response helped out. along with some friends on another site i got ahold of. they gave me a link to a website and i got this .reg file you can copy into notepad (god knows it was easy enough to open ) and you save it as a .reg instead of .txt. then you right click on the file and click merge. and restart. works like a charm. you guys got my brain fired up with the responses. thank you guys a TON. :grin2: its basically what mudman said but if your computer is stubborn like mine and wont fix by manually changing the registry, this way will probably do it...mine did. here is the contents of the .reg file if anyone has this problem in the near future. copy and paste all of this: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.exe] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.exe] @="exefile" "Content Type"="application/x-msdownload" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.exePersistentHandler] @="{098f2470-bae0-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefile] @="Application" "EditFlags"=hex:38,07,00,00 "FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52, 00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00, 32,00,5c,00,73,00,68,00,65,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c, 00,2c,00,2d,00,31,00,30,00,31,00,35,00,36,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileDefaultIcon] @="%1" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshell] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellopen] "EditFlags"=hex:00,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellopencommand] @=""%1" %*" "IsolatedCommand"=""%1" %*" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellrunas] "HasLUAShield"="" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellrunascommand] @=""%1" %*" "IsolatedCommand"=""%1" %*" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellrunasuser] @="@shell32.dll,-50944" "Extended"="" "SuppressionPolicyEx"="{F211AA05-D4DF-4370-A2A0-9F19C09756A7}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellrunasusercommand] "DelegateExecute"="{ea72d00e-4960-42fa-ba92-7792a7944c1d}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellex] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellexContextMenuHandlers] @="Compatibility" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellexContextMenuHandlersCompatibility] @="{1d27f844-3a1f-4410-85ac-14651078412d}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellexDropHandler] @="{86C86720-42A0-1069-A2E8-08002B30309D}" [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTSystemFileAssociations.exe] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTSystemFileAssociations.exe] "FullDetails"="prop:System.PropGroup.Description;System.FileDescription;System.ItemTypeText;System.FileVersion;System.Software.ProductName;System.Software.ProductVersion;System.Copyright;*System.Category;*System.Comment;System.Size;System.DateModified;System.Language;*System.Trademarks;*System.OriginalFileName" "InfoTip"="prop:System.FileDescription;System.Company;System.FileVersion;System.DateCreated;System.Size" "TileInfo"="prop:System.FileDescription;System.Company;System.FileVersion;System.DateCreated;System.Size" [-HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerFileExts.exe] [HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerFileExts.exe] [HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerFileExts.exeOpenWithList] [HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerFileExts.exeOpenWithProgids] "exefile"=hex(0): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudmanc4 Posted December 8, 2009 CID Share Posted December 8, 2009 Holy cow !!!! Do you know what you did exactly to do that ? I suppose not though hehe Glad it's back ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starship_troopers Posted December 8, 2009 Author CID Share Posted December 8, 2009 lol well...i was downloading something and for some reason when i opened the exe to install the program it said windows can not find a program to open this file, or whatever it says. so i accidentally clicked make default for this file type and notepad was selected...so instead of clicking cancel i clicked ok...thats when the fun began lol. i know how to get it right back to how it was though....just for some reason im not sure why, but it wanted to open with explorer.exe but if i wanted to recreate that problem i just select browse on default programs and select explorer.exe manually lol. good learning tool on how to fix the registry i think. but yeah it was my fault for getting ahead of myself....yeah im glad its back as well. ...and as a young male normally does...im going back to downloading that program again lol. this time i will be sure to do it right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starship_troopers Posted December 8, 2009 Author CID Share Posted December 8, 2009 i might add a note....besides getting the crap scared out of me for a few seconds before i remembered i have another computer to look up an answer on...i had my backup hard drive in my hand and was looking for the cable to plug it into my e-sata port and do a boot from that drive LOL. so i hope this help fixes anyone who has the same problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudmanc4 Posted December 8, 2009 CID Share Posted December 8, 2009 There has to be a "user friendly" way to do this. Without editing the registry. Like other versions of windows. Or am I missing something ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starship_troopers Posted December 8, 2009 Author CID Share Posted December 8, 2009 i feel as though im missing it as well. thats why i went as drastic as changing the registry. i'd still love to know if there is an easier way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akbar5006 Posted December 23, 2009 CID Share Posted December 23, 2009 heyyyy i am havinn the same problem which disk do u needdd?? recovery disk??? plzzzz help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starship_troopers Posted December 23, 2009 Author CID Share Posted December 23, 2009 heyyyy i am havinn the same problem which disk do u needdd?? recovery disk??? plzzzz help i didnt use a disk. actually i opened notepad and put this in it Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.exe] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.exe] @="exefile" "Content Type"="application/x-msdownload" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.exePersistentHandler] @="{098f2470-bae0-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefile] @="Application" "EditFlags"=hex:38,07,00,00 "FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52, 00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00, 32,00,5c,00,73,00,68,00,65,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c, 00,2c,00,2d,00,31,00,30,00,31,00,35,00,36,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileDefaultIcon] @="%1" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshell] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellopen] "EditFlags"=hex:00,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellopencommand] @=""%1" %*" "IsolatedCommand"=""%1" %*" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellrunas] "HasLUAShield"="" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellrunascommand] @=""%1" %*" "IsolatedCommand"=""%1" %*" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellrunasuser] @="@shell32.dll,-50944" "Extended"="" "SuppressionPolicyEx"="{F211AA05-D4DF-4370-A2A0-9F19C09756A7}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellrunasusercommand] "DelegateExecute"="{ea72d00e-4960-42fa-ba92-7792a7944c1d}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellex] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellexContextMenuHandlers] @="Compatibility" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellexContextMenuHandlersCompatibility] @="{1d27f844-3a1f-4410-85ac-14651078412d}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTexefileshellexDropHandler] @="{86C86720-42A0-1069-A2E8-08002B30309D}" [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTSystemFileAssociations.exe] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTSystemFileAssociations.exe] "FullDetails"="prop:System.PropGroup.Description;System.FileDescription;System.ItemTypeText;System.FileVersion;System.Software.ProductName;System.Software.ProductVersion;System.Copyright;*System.Category;*System.Comment;System.Size;System.DateModified;System.Language;*System.Trademarks;*System.OriginalFileName" "InfoTip"="prop:System.FileDescription;System.Company;System.FileVersion;System.DateCreated;System.Size" "TileInfo"="prop:System.FileDescription;System.Company;System.FileVersion;System.DateCreated;System.Size" [-HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerFileExts.exe] [HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerFileExts.exe] [HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerFileExts.exeOpenWithList] [HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerFileExts.exeOpenWithProgids] "exefile"=hex(0): then saved it as registry.reg (make sure you save it as a .reg file so it can be merged with the registry. then go to where you saved the notepad file to then right click on it and click merge. then reboot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akbar5006 Posted December 23, 2009 CID Share Posted December 23, 2009 i didnt use a disk. actually i opened notepad and put this in it then saved it as registry.reg (make sure you save it as a .reg file so it can be merged with the registry. then go to where you saved the notepad file to then right click on it and click merge. then reboot. i just tried this method n it that this specfice file is not a registry soo is there any other way to fix this plzz help i am usin window 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starship_troopers Posted December 23, 2009 Author CID Share Posted December 23, 2009 i just tried this method n it that this specfice file is not a registry soo is there any other way to fix this plzz help i am usin window 7 im sorry, could you explain what you mean by the specific file is not a registry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akbar5006 Posted December 23, 2009 CID Share Posted December 23, 2009 well it was sayin somethin like that i forgot the details lol but its all gud now i found out away to restore settin n it wroked soo ya but thanks aloott man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starship_troopers Posted December 23, 2009 Author CID Share Posted December 23, 2009 ohh. ok i think i know what you mean about what was wrong, well glad you fixed it man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starship_troopers Posted September 23, 2010 Author CID Share Posted September 23, 2010 reviving this topic. Maybe this topic should be pinned. i was skimming through some pages in this section and saw this again. helped out a couple people so far. just wondering if a mod/admin should pin this topic just incase someone else has this problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudmanc4 Posted September 23, 2010 CID Share Posted September 23, 2010 Done bro , and yea , it has helped out , most the time when people have an issue , they search it , and fix there issue , but dont always post . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA3LE Posted September 23, 2010 CID Share Posted September 23, 2010 moved to guides Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nirvruti Patel Posted January 7, 2013 CID Share Posted January 7, 2013 i have the same problem all exe files are shown with word file ..please tell me the way to restore settings? i have tried to change registry by save it in notepad as registry.reg and then merge..but it didn't work.. Please help me.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA3LE Posted January 8, 2013 CID Share Posted January 8, 2013 i have the same problem all exe files are shown with word file ..please tell me the way to restore settings? i have tried to change registry by save it in notepad as registry.reg and then merge..but it didn't work.. Please help me.... You want to change the file association. Here's an example for windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307859 To change which program starts when you double-click a file Notes You cannot use this method for a file that does not have a file name extension, or for a file that has an .exe, .com, or .bat extension. If you change the program that Windows uses to open a certain kind of file, and that program was not designed for the type of data in that file, the files may not appear correctly in the program. To be safe, note the name of the program that Windows previously used to open the file type so that you can reverse your settings if it is necessary. To change which program starts when you double-click a file, follow these steps: Open Windows Explorer by right-clicking the Start button, and then click Explore. Click a folder that contains a file of the type that you want Windows to open in a program that you select. Right-click the file and, depending on the programs installed on your computer, complete one of the following steps: Click Open With to choose the program that you want. Point to Open With, and then click Choose Program to choose the program that you want. [*]The Open With dialog box is displayed. Use one of the following methods to select the program that you want to use for this file type: In the Programs list, click the program that you want to use. Click Browse, locate and then click the program that you want to use, and then click Open. Click Look for the appropriate program on the Web to browse the Internet for the program that you want to use. [*]Click to select the Always use the selected program to open this kind of file check box if it is not selected. [*]Click OK. Note From now on, Windows XP will open all files that have this file name extension in the program that you selected. To change this, you must follow these steps again and associate a different program with this file name extension. In the past you may have accidentally right clicked an exe file and gone to "open with >> notepad" --- you just need to disassociate it. Nirvruti Patel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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