Windows 10: I got tricked by a scam video in which they asked me to edit my .exe and exefile values in...

I have tried to use this guide using Keith’s instructions at the bottom https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/accidentally-changed-exe-files/38ee2d3c-c205-46c3-b45b-8cdc3b06db13However, the very last step I could not do as it could not find the specified registry key or value. My issue is although different from him and I have a Windows 11 OS instead of Windows 10 like the original question poster, Keith’s solution was very close to working but I cannot fully process it. Can anyone assist me in finding solutions to this issue that I stupidly caused?

:)

 

Cannot run any exe file after setting registry default value=exefile

Hi,

I was having problems running some specific exe files so I found on this site the suggestion to check if the default value for the.exe files was set to "exefile".

Indeed it was not so I input exefile. The other default values were ok.

BUT NOW I CAN'T RUN ANY EXE FILE! not even regedit, cmd prompt or powershell. Not even from the win+X menu. This means I can't go check what is

inside the registry.

i can still run apps by opening files: for example i can open VLC by opening an mp3 and choosing open with from the context menu.

I additionally reset the application association to the default hoping it would help but instead all it did was rendering all my app icons as white sheets. So now I can't even tell one exe from the other!

Please help. Any suggestion on how to solve this without resetting?

Thanks a lot

Nico

[Moved from: Windows / Windows 10 / Windows settings]

 

Cant open ANY .exe

Yes you are right, this is normally caused by a virus resetting registry entries

Follow the process below and you should be OK:

• Click the Startbutton and type regedit in the Search box
• Right-click Regedit.exe in the returned list and click Run as administrator
• Browse to the following registry key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe
  
• With .exe selected, right-click (Default) and click Modify…
• Change the Value data: to exefile
• Browse to and then click on the following registry key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile
  
• With exefile selected, right-click (Default) and click Modify…
• Change the Value data: to "%1" %*
• Browse to and then click on the following registry key: KEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open
  
• With open selected, right-click (Default) and click Modify…
• Change the Value data: to "%1" %*
• Close the Registry Editor and restart your PC

 

Exe files can only be opened by "run as administrator"

Hi,

Corrupted registry settings, some third-party products, or viruses can change the default configuration for running .exe files. To rectify the issue with opening this particular file type, we suggest that you follow the steps
below:

• Right-click on the Start button, then choose Command Prompt (Admin) from the menu.
• Type regedit and press Enter.
  
• Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe.
  
• Double-click (Default) key, then set the Value data to
  exefile.
  
• Scroll down to go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open\command key.
  
• Double-click (Default) key, then set the Value data to “%1” %*.
• Restart your computer.
  

Update us if it addressed your issue.

Thank you.