After crash, Windows7 does not want run any *.exe. It claims that it cannot find them

Question

It only runs self-starting programs. The registry seems messed up. It does not run any *.exe program, not even regedit from the command screen. It says it is not there even when I am in its directory: (Windows cannot find 'C:\Windows\regedit.exe'. Make sure you typed name correctly, and try again.)

I have registry backups from cc-cleaner that I would like to restore) Also, CC_cleaner does not find restore points. Windows does nor run any of the recovery, setup or diagnostic programs. Is there a place where the file CC_registryBackup.reg can be placed to cure the sick Windows7? Any ideas?

Answer 1

There are a few reasons why you can't execute .exe files... and all of them are bad.

It may be possible to fix the problem, but it is likely that you will continue to have problems. Typically this is caused by a virus (that modified the registry has quite possibly changed additional things or is still active.) or a hard drive that has become corrupted. (you will likely see more corruption as time goes on)

If you're set on trying to duct-tape the problem... start by looking in the registry and browse to the following registry key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe

right-click (Default) and click Modify… and change the value data: to exefile, and then browse to

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile

Make sure the key (Default) is set to Change the Value data: to "%1" %*

Browse to and then click on the following registry key:

KEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open

right-click (Default) and click Modify… and make sure the value is"%1" %*

At this point, close the Registry Editor and restart your PC. You should be able to run exe files again after all that.

It is likely .com, .bat, .pif or other executable files have been modified, and will present similar problems as time goes on.

IMHO, this is a horrible duct-tape patch... to fix the problem correctly, backup important data, perform a full disk-scan (for bad sectors using a diagnostic disk from drive manufacturer) and look for bad-sectors... and if you find bad-sectors... toss the drive & get a new one... and if not... wipe/reload windows from scratch.

If the virus is REALLY new, and you're REALLY unlucky, this may not get rid of some of the latest viruses... as they've figured out how to rewrite some drives` internal firmware, which has the possibility to restore the virus even when the drive is formatted or overwritten even before an OS is installed.

---

If you can't figure out how to edit the registry (since regedit.exe probably won't load) you probably shouldn't be attempting this. If you're still hell-bent on fixing this yourself, I would suggest looking at burning one of many pre-built recovery isos, like hirens bootcd. If you don't have a 2nd computer to burn the iso to a disk, and don't have a friend nearby to hook you up... you could also try using regedit on a second computer in the same network and open the registry remotely (assuming firewall isn't blocking). If none of these options work for you... well... you're outa luck.