[FIX] Can’t open EXE files AND can’t open REG files to fix it

I don’t know why this happened (although registry corruption is my guess), but a user of mine lost the ability to open EXE files, so when I went to fix that using Doug Knox’s EXE fix, it wouldn’t allow me to open the REG file either. Since I couldn’t open EXE files, I couldn’t open REGEDIT to insert the REG info. Here is a summary of the issues:

“Windows cannot open this file:
File: firefox.lnk

-Use web service to find appropriate service
-select program for list”

I managed to bypass this and access firefox by choosing ‘select program from list’ and then choosing it. I then found the web site with the .lnk fix and found i couldn’t open the download:

“Windows cannot open this file:
File: lnkfile_fix.reg

-Use web service to find appropriate service
-select program for list”

When i went on the start menu an clicked run and typed regedit i got this message:

“Windows cannot open this file:
File: regedit.exe

-Use web service to find appropriate service
-select program for list”

CREDIT: User calumtm http://www.computer-juice.com/forums/f48/lnk-file-association-fix-9352/

 

My workaround came from the same post, which is taken from Doug Knox’s page:

“If your EXE file associations are corrupted, it can be difficult to open REGEDIT, or to even import REG files. To work around this, press CTRL-ALT-DEL and open Task Manager. Once there, click File, then hold down the CTRL key and click New Task (Run). This will open a Command Prompt window. Enter REGEDIT.EXE and press Enter. Thanks to Nigel Andrews for this tip.”