Windows 10: Windows .exe file association broken - every program including cmd, regedit, notepad,...

THIS IS NOT A DUPLICATE - I HAVE TRIED THE EXISTING REMEDY


I have already read The file may start a different program when you run an .exe file in Windows and applied the registry fix to no effect.


This started immediately after I created a file association for


.tsv tab-separated values -> excel.exe


All the executable icons on my desktop changed into the Excel icon.


Any attempt to launch any .exe directly launches Excel instead and tries to open the .exe file as the input document, which of course fails with varying errors depending on whether Excel thinks the executable is merely unrecognized or possibly a plugin.


It is completely impossible to launch a .exe file by directly invoking it. This includes even cmd.exe, regedit, taskmgr, notepad, etc. If you double-click the executable, or enter its name in the Windows Start menu, Excel launches instead.


Curiously, programs that have a file association, and for which an associated document file exists, can be launched by double-clicking the associated document or data file. For example, I have the association .txt->TextPad, and can launch TextPad by opening an existing .txt file, even though launching TextPad directly i.e. from a pinned taskbar icon launches Excel instead.


I tried the registry fix in the article cited above. It applied without errors but did not fix the issue. I cannot start regedit in order to verify the registry changes were applied.


I then booted into the recovery command line and was able to run regedit. I mounted the correct user hive and looked for .exe file associations, and was unable to find anything that looked unusual; no mentions of excel.exe in unexpected places. Also, the registry key mentioned in the above fix FileExts does not exist. Did file associations move somewhere else in Windows 10 1909 or earlier?


Next I thought to uninstall Excel to see if that would reset the association. There is no separate entry for Excel in the apps list, only for Microsoft365. Attempting to uninstall that gives "This file does not have an app associated with int for performing this action" which I suspect is because it's trying to execute OfficeClickToRun.exe and that is failing.


I'm stumped. I can't even download the upgrade to 20H2 and run it because it comes a .exe file -- which I can't open. And it's not certain that would fix the problem


If I download and copy the ISO image to a usb stick, will I still have the in-place install option to keep all apps and data?

:)

 

exe files and regedit

I can't access any of my exe files or regedit. Every time I double click on a program, Windows 10 tells me to find an app to open it. When regedit came up the first time, I looked up the steps to getting my exe files to be recognized by Windows 10 and
that didn't work. Now, I can't get regedit to work! i am so frustrated. Could somebody help me and tell me what is going on here please?

 

File Associations How to determine the target program file

Burr,

%userprofile%\desktop will fail to find the path for a relocated Desktop folder.

You would need to incorporate the batch method shown in Find the user Desktop folder path - PS, vbs, batch methods - TenForums

Denis

 

File Associations How to determine the target program file

A file extension, say, txt is associated to a file type (txtfile), which in turn can open a specific program (Notepad) when the file is double-clicked or double-tapped. This will produce a list of them all:

1. Display all extensions and their associated file types by firstly copying the following 4 lines:
assoc >"%userprofile%\desktop\assoc.txt
start notepad "%userprofile%\desktop\assoc.txt
exit
cls

Now open Command Prompt (Admin). Using the mouse right-click, paste the 4 copied lines to the Command Prompt window. A .txt file is created on the Desktop and Notepad will open and display the list. The list represents the registry keys located in the merged HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. In the left pane (using regedit), look for the extension, for example .txt. The (Default) field in the right pane contains the file type, e.g. txtfile.

2. Now display all file types and their associated programs by substituting the above 4 lines with these:
ftype >"%userprofile%\desktop\ftype.txt
start notepad "%userprofile%\desktop\ftype.txt
exit
cls

Another .txt file is created on the Desktop and Notepad will open and display it. This list represents the registry keys in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT further down beyond the extensions using regedit. Look for the file type, for example txtfile, then click or tap shell\open\command. In the right pane, the (Default) field shows the full path of the program that opens it, e.g. notepad.

3. NOTE. In operation, any keys in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes (current user) take precedence over those in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes (all users) and both keys appear as the merged HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. Any changes should be made to HKCU and HKLM. The HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT keys are intended to be read from, not written to.