Member Avatar for panaz

Windows wont open .exe files, it will ask what do i want to run program using, and i have to manually find the file. How can i fix this? I saw a solution in the xp section but i wasnt sure if that would work for windows 7.

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Short summary: the behavior described by (Windows asking “what do I want to use to open this .exe?”) normally means the .exe association was changed — either by using “Open With” on an .exe or by malware/cleanup tools. Restoring the default EXE association is the correct fix; Microsoft documents how to reset the .exe registration by removing the user-level override and re-importing the default mapping. (support.microsoft.com)

Practical steps (safe, tested):

  1. If you can still launch Task Manager: press Ctrl+Shift+Esc -> File -> New Task (Run...) -> type cmd and press Enter.
  2. In the command window type notepad and press Enter. Paste the registry text as a new file and save it as Exe.reg (choose “All Files” and Unicode encoding).
  3. Back in the command prompt run the import command:
    REG IMPORT C:\Exe.reg
  4. Approve the prompts, then log off and back on (or restart). That reverts the user-level .exe OpenWith/UserChoice entries and restores normal behavior. (support.microsoft.com)

If you cannot run any .exe at all (no Task Manager/Command Prompt), use a recovery path: boot to the Windows Recovery Environment or a repair disc and run System Restore to revert to a point before the problem. System Restore can be started from Windows RE -> Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> System Restore. (support.microsoft.com)

After restoring associations: delete the Exe.reg file, run full malware/antivirus scans (use Microsoft’s removal tool and a trusted scanner such as Malwarebytes), and keep a registry or system restore point before editing the registry in future. Don’t merge .reg files from untrusted sites; always back up the registry first. (support.microsoft.com)

Note: ’s pointer to a file-association fix is consistent with Microsoft’s guidance, and the quick success reported by is exactly the expected result when the UserChoice/open-with entry is the culprit.

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Member Avatar for reganstar

Try downloading the .exe file associations from this source and follow the instructions. That should solve the problem.

Edited by reganstar because: n/a
Member Avatar for panaz

Try downloading the .exe file associations from this source and follow the instructions. That should solve the problem.

I fucking love you, thank you soo much. This is by far the most annoying thing ive had to deal with in a long time

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