DJK(John) Robinson
djkr at msn.com
Thu Aug 31 17:36:49 CDT 2006
Billy, that was a good link. Thanks! I finally got to the client yesterday and fixed the problem. In fact, the registry edit didn't do the job, but there were some useful tips - for instance, if .exe files won't work and you really want to run a particular one, then change its extension to .com temporarily. In the end, it came down to the final suggestion, trying to handle the exe association in Explorer's File Types. The difficulty is that you can't see this unless you "create" it afresh, whereupon the pre-existing entry magically appears. I've put up a page with the details if you're interested (watch for wrap): http://www.djkr.co.uk/djkrco/tech/misc/EXE_file_association_problem.doc We haven't been able to reproduce exactly the finger trouble that brought about the problem, but there is an area of vulnerability that I'm sure was involved. If the user goes to the executable and right-clicks on "Pin to Start menu", then what appears on the Start menu is a particular kind of shortcut (don't know what MS call it, but it's not the usual sort). It will appear on the Start menu with the name of the .exe file, which he will want to change to something more meaningful. Right-click on it and select Rename, and all will be well: the name of the link will have been chaged. But if instead of Rename he selected Properties, he would have been able to change the name there, too. BUT - in this case he's changing the name of the actual executable itself! The name on the Menu changes too, but his troubles have only just begun... Although nothing showed up in the registry, I still suspect the problem was in there somewhere. I've got Before and After copies (100MB each) and will explore when I have time. John -----Original Message----- From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Jon Tydda Sent: 24 August 2006 21:56 To: 'Discussion of Hardware and Software issues' Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] .exe always runs Acrobat Yes, you can put the registry entries into a text file and save it as a *.reg. Then double click the file, it'll enter the required data into the registry without using regedit. Voila... Jon -----Original Message----- From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Billy Pang Sent: 24 August 2006 21:24 To: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues; djkr at msn.com Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] .exe always runs Acrobat i found this... "How to Fix a Broken .EXE Association" http://filext.com/info/showthread.php?t=12 it is possible to fix problem by editing the registry without using regedit? i haven't tried it so not sure if it works. anyways hope it helps and good luck Billy On 8/24/06, DJK(John) Robinson <djkr at msn.com> wrote: > > Got a phone call from a (database) client in a pickle. > > He's running Win XP, and has done *something* that has resulted in > Adobe Acrobat trying to run whenever he tries to run ANY .exe program: > Word, regedit, ..., as if Explorer had somehow got a file type > association of exe with Acrobat - which doesn't make sense. > > Double-clicking on a .doc file opens up Word ok, for instance, but > trying to run Word directly brings up Acrobat. > > The last thing he recalls doing was something like pinning a new > program onto the upper pane in the Start menu, and then changing its > ?name, ?properties. Sorry, it gets a bit confused here. > > I've got him to run System Restore from command prompt in Safe Mode, > to get back to a previous checkpoint, but this failed at a late stage > on starting up Windows when it was apparently trying to run its own > restore utility program - yes, an exe, which tried to run Acrobat > ...!!&$%"@%! > > This is outside my experience, and it's a difficult thing to try to > look up in the KB. > > Any bright ideas I can pass on to him when he gets back to work in > about > 12 > hours? > > John > > _______________________________________________ > dba-Tech mailing list > dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-tech > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com > -- Billy Pang http://dbnotes.blogspot.com/ "Once the game is over, the King and the pawn go back in the same box." - Italian proverb _______________________________________________ dba-Tech mailing list dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-tech Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com -- This email has been verified as Virus free Virus Protection and more available at http://www.plus.net _______________________________________________ dba-Tech mailing list dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-tech Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com