Microsoft has released an automatic Fix it tool to fix a very annoying problem faced by Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 users. This problem occurs if your computer is infected or was infected by malware such as XP Antivirus 2012, XP internet Security 2012 or a variant of the Win32/FakeRean virus.
The problem starts when you try to open a file having extension such as .exe, .com, .bat, .cmd, .reg, .regedit or .secfile in Windows. As soon as you open the file, Windows launches an incorrect program or a completely different file. The icon of the program might be also different and sometimes you might also see error messages from the program.
If you are also facing this problem, you can fix it using following simple steps or by running automatic Fix it utility mentioned at the end:
1. Type %windir% in Run or Start Menu search box and press Enter. It'll open "Windows" folder in Explorer.
2. Now look for regedit.exe file. Right-click on it and select "Run as Administrator" option.
3. It'll open Registry Editor. Now go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes
4. Under "Classes" key, look for following keys:
- .bat
- .cmd
- .com
- .exe
- .reg
- .regedit
- secfile
5. Right-click on each of the above mentioned keys one by one and select "Delete" option. It'll delete the keys.
6. Close Registry Editor and restart your system. It should fix the problem.
PS: If you don't want to edit Windows Registry manually, you can download following Fix it tool released by Microsoft which will automatically fix this problem:
Download Fix It to Fix Wrong Program or File Opening Problem in Windows
Also don't forget to scan your system with a good antivirus and anti-spyware software. Check out following topic to download a free antivirus and anti-spyware software for your system:
[Top 5] Best Free Antivirus and Anti-Spyware Software for Windows
Thanks to our friend Rob Margel for sharing the Fix it tool...
Posted by: Vishal Gupta | Categories: Troubleshooting, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP
Avinash
My laptop is affected by an unknown type of virus by which i am unable to open any kind of .exe files. I checked ur site for the solution, downloaded & ran the ms fixit.msi ... It still didnot help. U had also stated about using regedit.exe, deleting some file associations but it couldn't open as the regedit itself was not opening (shows a blank page like icon & double clicking it shows 'open with' dialogue screen). Please help me in this regards.
VG
^^ Did you try method B mentioned in following tutorial:
http://www.askvg.com/solution-exe-files-always-open-with-notepad-or-other-applications/