When you run an .exe file on a Windows Vista-based or Windows 7-based computer, the file may start a different program

When you run an .exe file on a Windows Vista-based computer, the file may start a different program. Additionally, the icon for the .exe file may not appear as expected. You may also receive additional errors from the .exe file or from the program that starts.

Windows Vista users may choose to have us fix this problem for you. To do this, go to the "Fix it for me" section. To fix this problem yourself, go to the "Let me fix it myself" section.


Note Windows 7 users should go to the "Let me fix it myself" section.

To fix this problem automatically on a computer that is running Windows Vista, click the Fix it button or link. Click Run in the File Download dialog box, and then follow the steps in the Fix it wizard.

Fix this problem
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Note This wizard may be in English only. However, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.

Note If you are not on the computer that has the problem, you can save the automatic fix to a flash drive or to a CD, and then you can run it on the computer that has the problem.

Next, go to the "Did this fix the problem?" section.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: To resolve this problem, reset the registry subkey for the file association of the .exe file back to the default setting. To do this, follow these steps:

1. To open the Task Manager, press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC.
2. Click File , press CTRL and click New Task (Run…) at the same time. A command prompt opens.
3. At the command prompt, type notepad, and then press ENTER.
4. Paste the following text into Notepad:

   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
   
   [-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe]
   
   [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe]
   
   [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe\OpenWithList]
   
   [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe\OpenWithProgids]
   "exefile"=hex(0):
   

5. On the File menu, click Save as.
6. Select All Files in the Save as type list, and then type Exe.reg in the File name box.
7. Select Unicode in the Encoding list.
8. Return to the Command Prompt window, type REG IMPORT Exe.reg, and then press ENTER.
9. Click Yes, and then click OK in response to the registry prompts.
10. Log off from your account. Then, log back onto your account.

Note You may have to restart the computer to restore the program icons to their original appearance.

Note After the problem is resolved, delete the Exe.reg file so that it is not mistakenly added back to the registry at a later date.

Check whether the problem is fixed by running an .exe file. If the .exe file runs correctly, you are finished with this article. If the problem is not fixed, you can contact support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus) .

For help with common system maintenance tasks in Windows Vista, visit the following Microsoft Web page: