Can't run any programs on PC

Help!

I cannot run any programs on my computer, including System Restore.
Whether I double-click a shortcut or the actual EXE file I get an
error message "Windows cannot access the specified device,path or
file..."

I was able to create a new user account, and I can log onto that
account. Everything is normal in that account.

Is there anyway to fix my account, or must I copy all my files and
settings over to the new account?

Thanks in advance.

Bill

Hi Bill,

Have you checked for any corruption of?

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.lnk

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

"Bill Eversole" <> wrote in message
news:153b6d83-a7a5-47ec-af66-...
> Help!
>
> I cannot run any programs on my computer, including System Restore.
> Whether I double-click a shortcut or the actual EXE file I get an
> error message "Windows cannot access the specified device,path or
> file..."
>
> I was able to create a new user account, and I can log onto that
> account. Everything is normal in that account.
>
> Is there anyway to fix my account, or must I copy all my files and
> settings over to the new account?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Bill

Josh White wrote:

> On Sat, 20 Dec 2008 08:34:58 -0500, "Rick Rogers" <>
> wrote:
>
>>Hi Bill,
>>
>>Have you checked for any corruption of?
>>
>>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Cur rentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe
>>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Cur rentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.lnk
>
> How does one do THAT?

Start Orb>Search Box>type: regedit. When regedit appears in the Results
above, right-click and choose "run as administrator". Regedit will open
with administrative privileges and you can navigate to the above keys and
see if the values are correct. If not, change them to match the ones above.

The OP's issue may also be caused by infection but presumably you were only
asking about how to check for damaged/incorrect registry keys.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

On Dec 20, 7:34*am, "Rick Rogers" <r...@mvps.org> wrote:
> Hi Bill,
>
> Have you checked for any corruption of?
>
> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe
> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.lnk
>
> --
> Best of Luck,
>
> Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVPhttp://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
> Windows help -www.rickrogers.org
> My thoughtshttp://rick-mvp.blogspot.com
>
> "Bill Eversole" <bever...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:153b6d83-a7a5-47ec-af66-...
>
> > Help!
>
> > I cannot run any programs on my computer, including System Restore.
> > Whether I double-click a shortcut or the actual EXE file I get an
> > error message "Windows cannot access the specified device,path or
> > file..."
>
> > I was able to create a new user account, and I can log onto that
> > account. *Everything is normal in that account.
>
> > Is there anyway to fix my account, or must I copy all my files and
> > settings over to the new account?
>
> > Thanks in advance.
>
> > Bill

Rick,

Thanks for your reply. I will keep your suggestion for the "next
time"....hopefully there won't be a next time.

This time I was impatient and created a new user account before I read
your post.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Bill