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.LNK files ruining my computer

Disco BanditDisco Bandit Registered User regular
edited December 2007 in Help / Advice Forum
So, I used my computer last night. Worked fine. I left it on and went to bed. Now, all of the shortcuts on my desktop don't work, and most of the actual .EXE files don't work. Windows says it doesn't know how to open any of them when I click on them, since it doesn't recognize the .LNK files they have been changed to.

Does anyone know a fix for this? I tried the first solution here: http://filext.com/faq/broken_exe_association.php

And it didn't work. I'm a little nervous digging into the registry, since I'd be lost in there. Any one know how to fix this?

Pokemon Diamond: 5412 9146 7564
Disco Bandit on

Posts

  • DrFrylockDrFrylock Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Err, this is thoroughly bizarre. Something caused this; this indicates it might be an Ad-Aware related thing. What did you change or install recently?

    DrFrylock on
  • His CorkinessHis Corkiness Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Smells a lot like a virus. Do you have a scanner? If so, which one, and run it now.

    His Corkiness on
  • Disco BanditDisco Bandit Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    I can't open any of my virus scanners because Windows can't recognize the .lnk file the scanner has been changed into. I ran Symantec's free online search, and it found nothing. While Googling this problem, I came across Stinger, which also came up clean. I ran Stinger in Safe mode, but the online one went in "regular mode."

    I'll check that link you posed, DrFrylock. Also, I haven't installed or changed anything in the past 48 hours. To reiterate, I was using the computer last night and all was well. As soon as I woke up, the problems began.

    Disco Bandit on
    Pokemon Diamond: 5412 9146 7564
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited December 2007
    .lnk is the extension for shortcuts.

    Can you view the properties (R-click, Properties) to see where the .exes have gone?

    MichaelLC on
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