In Windows 7, .LNK File associations changed

Anonymous
2009-12-01T13:47:55+00:00

All of the desktop shortcut icons and Start program icons on a new Windows 7machine have had their file  association changed from whatever the default association was to another program, ie. IE Explorer, with the result that none of the links launch the correct program.  Changing the Open With setting of any one link to any other program causes all of the links to change to the selected program.  Consequently, nothing works.  Is there a default file association for *.LNK files and if so can the current file association be changed back to the correct Windows default?  The system has Norton Anti-virus running and up-to-date so no indication of a virus problem and while the user isn't certain, recalls responding to an 'open with' request while starting a game.  All other configuration settings appear to be okay.  Any suggestions?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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Anonymous
2009-12-02T02:40:32+00:00

Hi XRO,

Welcome to Microsoft Answers Forum. As per your information I feel that the computer is effected with some virus, I would suggest you to run malware scan. LNK file is a shortcut to a program (.EXE file), it can contain attributes to define how the program runs; to set the attributes, right-click the shortcut file, select "Properties," and modify the Target Field.

LNK file icons typically include a small curled arrow to indicate that the file points to another location.

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistasecurity/thread/ba80504b-61f1-4d71-960f-b561798b7b42 http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistaappearance/thread/549cf3d1-5fa8-4611-813d-7795f431b48a ****

Hope this helps. Let us know the results.

Thanks & Regards,

Vijay – Microsoft Support ****Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-07-24T14:34:42+00:00

    This answer is not helpful.  It says it's malware, but the truth is it's very easy to do this manually by accident. 

    Does Microsoft have a way to undo that change and disassociate .lnk with another program?

    Or, as an alternative, is there a program that you can associate .lnk with to allow shortcuts to open again?

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-10-13T14:07:41+00:00

    I looked through the answers, but none of them helped me (I had the same issue, but I accidently "broke" the .lnk association myself by changing the default assignment).

    The following helped me:

    1. Place a link on the desktop (a file with .lnk extension, can be a fake text file which you just renamed)
    2. Open explorer through the Windows start menu (type "explorer", then select "Windows Explorer")
    3. In Windows Explorer, open "Documents", then "DESKTOP"
    4. Right-Click on the prepared .lnk file, in the context menu select "Open with...", then "Choose default Program..."
    5. The "Open with" opens up. Ensure that "Always use the selected program..." is checked, then select "Windows Explorer" as the default program in the section "Recommended Programs" and click OK.

    In my case, that repaired the association for .lnk files.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-01-01T21:36:37+00:00

    the only simple way to remove the association IS THIS

    http://www.winhelponline.com/articles/231/1/An-Utility-to-Unassociate-File-Types-in-Windows-7-and-Vista.html

    JUST CLICK Remove .lnk file association AND THATS IT

    THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!   Made my New Year!

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