Complete File Association Wipe...

So I was looking for a site to watch a tv show of mine and some of them wanted me to download applications so that I could view it. One was PlayitAll and I believe the other was Xvid or maybe DivX. I then decided i didn't want either so I uninstalled. I can't say exactly what I was doing at the time but suddenly all my shortcuts icons and exe icons everywhere (desktop, start menu, in folders, quick launch everywhere) turned to the unassociated icon. I was able through shear luck to get an EXE File Association Fix imported from HERE to my Reg. From there I just started scanning and found nothing and I posted on the malware section. SOOOO this may not be a virus and I would appreciate any direction from you guys as support here has always been wonderful.

I am really trying to establish the how and why this happened because I don't want it to happen again :-o

Currently on start up I have these three errors. I am wondering if it is because of the association wipe.

The three errors:

Error 1:
"Could not load file or assembly 'MOM.Implementation' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified."

Error 2:
"Apple Application Support was not found.

Apple Application Support is required to run iTunesHelper. Please uninstall itunes, then install iTunes again.

Error 2"

(there are actually two windows with the same iTunesHelper error that pop up but both have identical messages)

 

Greetings, Amandalynn.

Do you have your XP CD? If so, I suggest running a system file check (Start > Run, enter sfc /scannow). After the scan completes, reboot and see if your symptoms have changed.

 

Maybe try System Restore and 'roll back' to a date a few days before this problem started?

 

Also, I know that TweakUI has some fixes that could prove helpful, including an icon rebuilder that will replace all your icons with what they should be, instead of the plain generic unassociated icon. Also, if you need to re-associate file types, check out these links:
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/file_assoc.htm
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_easy_file.htm
http://howtofixthings.org/easy-file-associations-repair-for-windows-xp-vista-by-britec/
http://www.xs4all.nl/~wstudios/Associate/index.html
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/openwithadd.htm
I found a page that is essentially a batch file. You'd first have to restore the .BAT association using the fix from the first Doug Knox link above. Then highlight all the text from the first REM down to the end of the word "Restored" in the main window at this link and then copy-n-paste it in to Notepad and Save As a .BAT file. Then run it and it should restore all your associations.
And check out this thread that I started a while back where I had a similar problem.

Good luck!!! Keep us posted!

(I have used the info and files from the Doug Knox links, so I know that they're clean and functional; I have also used the .BAT file method that I described above, and I know that it works -maybe not 100%- but I have used it with a decent degree of success; the other things I linked to I have NOT personally tried, so I can't vouch for their usefulness or validity)

 

I keep waiting too long to edit my posts - I apologize for the numerous posts here, but I keep finding and remembering stuff :-o The 2nd link above for Doug Knox has the fully assembled .BAT file for restoring the default XP file associations. This means you don't have to "build" the batch file yourself via copy-n-paste as I described above (even though it's MUCH more fun to build it yourself, it makes you feel like you've learned and accomplished something, and you'll be proud of yourself LOL ). I missed the link to it 'cuz it's way at the end of a long line of text, and the color scheme at that site kind of 'hides' the link. I'll give you a direct link to the full BAT file, simply click here and the download dialog should open.