Unable to open .exe files

Anonymous
2010-02-01T02:00:45+00:00

Vista won't load .exe files! And more problems...

Ok, so all of a sudden, my computer goes berserk and I get all these pop-ups and messages saying that my computer is infected. Then it continues to say that I can't use the computer unless I delete the Trojans. I press the Remove Virus button and it takes me to a page on IE that says I have to pay for this Windows Vista Security package to remove the viruses. I ignore that, and proceed to download Avast! the great free anti-virus program that so many people have told me about.

Well, I tried to open Avast! but Windows kept saying that that file was infected. So I shut down several times, and I still had the problem. So I gave up, went to bed, hoping that the problem would be fixed tomorrow.

Next day: I opened Windows, and I didn't have any of those pop-ups. But, I couldn't open ANYTHING. I tried to open Firefox, and something popped up saying something like "Windows cannot find the correct program to open firefox.exe, choose a program from the list" and all that was on the list was Internet Explorer.

When I tried to open Microsoft Word, it said that it couldn't find the correct program, and told me to choose frmo the listed programs, which was just Internet Explorer.

Same thing happened with Google Chrome, Avast!, and Notepad.... All of them were prompting me to open them with a different kind of program.

Thing is, when I try to open IE itself, it prompts me to open it with the correct program-opener, and lists Internet explorer.

I didn't get those pop-ups, or messages telling me I had viruses anymore...

Please help, as soon as possible.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Apps

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Anonymous
2012-03-30T01:04:56+00:00

Hello Pixel Lite,

There was a KB article created to help fix this issue, the article has a Fix it to automate the steps.

See this KB article:

Can't open .EXE files in Windows 7 or Windows Vista

Hope this helps.

L.D.

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Anonymous
2010-02-04T09:10:54+00:00

So I just fixed mine, EXEs are loading correctly now. It was a few registry issues that just need to be changed.

  1. Type command in the RUN dialog box to open Command Prompt
  2. When Command Prompt is up, type cd \windows3. Type regedit to open up the Registries.

4. Expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and find the folder of .exe

  1. Without expanding it, on the main .exe folder, Right-click (Default) and Modify. Change the Value Data to exefile6. Now in the same HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT find the folder of exefile and Right-click (Default) and Modify. Change the Value Data to "%1" %*
  2. Lastly expand exefile, expand shell, expand open, click on the command folder, Right-click (Default) and Modify. Change the Value Data to "%1" %*
  3. Close Regedit and Restart the computer. When restarted, EXE files should not prompt you to choose a program to run it now and load correctly.

Hope this helps yall out!

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-03-27T02:07:33+00:00

    Thank you so much. My PC runs Windows 7 and I ran into the same problem you did and it worked.

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-03-23T10:24:56+00:00

    If you are struggling to open up the Command Prompt

    Do a CTRL, ALT, DEL and load up the Task manager.

    Top left, go to File, now, hold CTRL, and click on 'New Task (Run..)'

    Should load it up for you without any EXE hassle

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-03-09T20:10:39+00:00

    lilvtboiraver's solution fixed the problem for me with one change to get around the problems that tlarry92 and cavortn were having (Note: You have to be logged on to Windows with Administrator rights for this to work):

    1. Open Windows Explorer by holding the Windows Key and typing E
    2. Navigate to C:\Windows and find regedit.exe

    ****3. Right Click on regedit.exe and select "Run as administrator" to open up the Registries.

    4. Expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and find the folder of .exe

    1. Without expanding it, on the main .exe folder, Right-click (Default) and Modify. Change the Value Data to exefile6. Now in the same HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT find the folder of exefile and Right-click (Default) and Modify. Change the Value Data to "%1" %*
    2. Lastly expand exefile, expand shell, expand open, click on the command folder, Right-click (Default) and Modify. Change the Value Data to "%1" %*
    3. Close Regedit and Restart the computer. When restarted, EXE files should not prompt you to choose a program to run it now and load correctly.

    I had discovered previously that I could start many programs by using "Run as administrator" even though "Open" would not work.  After using the fix I still have "start" in my right-click menu, but I'll look into that later.

    Thanks lilvtboiraver!

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