Member Avatar for tounoni

i am having a very serious problem indeed, i am a novice so i can just describe my nightmare i installed a dbmanager software to view a mysql file, the next thing after installing and rebooting, was all file extensions in my taskbar and startmenu were replaced by .lnk of one program, each time i try to execute any program, it will open that particular program, then i uninstalled the program now tho i can open the correct program all icons of all programs in my start menu are now replaced with the same icon. i have tried unsuccessfully to resore to an earlier time, i get the message that my computer was not restored, this is a nightmare, PLEASE PLEASE HELP!!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Comatose

Dani AI

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A few focused things to try (diagnose first, then fix). The symptoms you describe match two separate, common causes: broken .lnk (shortcut) file associations in the registry, or a corrupted icon cache that makes every shortcut look identical. ’s idea of testing in a fresh user account is a good diagnostic: if a new profile is clean, the problem is confined to your user hive; if the same problem appears there it’s system‑wide. (support.microsoft.com)

If shortcuts open the wrong application or every double‑click launches the same program, reset the .lnk association from an elevated Command Prompt (run as Administrator). Run these two commands exactly:

assoc .lnk=lnkfile
ftype lnkfile="%1" %*

After that, check (with regedit) that HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.lnk has a default value of lnkfile and that HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile exists and contains the usual entries (for example the IsShortcut marker and the Shell\Open\Command default of "%1" %*). Back up the registry or create a restore point first; editing the registry can break things if done incorrectly. (learn.microsoft.com)

If programs run correctly but icons are wrong, rebuild the icon cache for the affected profile (Windows XP stores the cache at %userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\IconCache.db). The safe sequence is to log off, remove that IconCache.db file (or use TweakUI’s “Rebuild Icons”), then log back in — Windows will rebuild the cache. If you prefer a command approach, stop Explorer, delete the file, then restart Explorer and reboot. (support.microsoft.com)

Always scan for malware (some “shortcut” infections alter .lnk behavior) and run System File Checker if registry/system files may be damaged:

sfc /scannow

If the problem returns after fixes, the next safe step is to migrate to a fresh user profile (copy data only, not registry settings). ’s icon‑repair idea is useful for icon redraws, but prefer the registry/assoc/icon‑cache steps and full anti‑malware scans first. (learn.microsoft.com)

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Member Avatar for gemini4

Go In Control Panel/User Account and create a new user account in there. Login and see if in there you have more icons. You can also recreate each icon you are missing by going in c:\program files right clicking on the executable files and choosing Send to\Desktop(Create Shortcut)

Member Avatar for tounoni

thanks so much i am now re-creating shortcuts of the executable files from c:\program files. SO FAR SO GREAT
thanks
tounoni

Member Avatar for Comatose

I just built a program that goes through an entire hard-drive, and makes the Icon of the .lnk file the same as the program that it points to. You can feel free to download, install, and distribute it at will, so that this can be prevented in the future (if not prevented, easily fixed.). Be aware, that it doesn't fix where the shortcut points to (your post says that all the icons opened something else, it does not fix that) but after you uninstalled all the icons were messed up.... this program will fix the messed up icons. Anyway, here is the link:

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