exe associations disappear

I had a virus or something that blanked out my desktop and wouldn't let me open any programs (see details in this thread in the malware forum). Now my computer is working fine, but as the last few posts in the other thread indicate, every time I restart, the exe assocations are gone and if I double click a shortcut, or click on start - programs - any program, the program doesn't start and I get the message to choose which service to open the file with. Using any one of several utilities will re-associate the exe extension, and I can run programs and use the computer normally until the next restart.

This is a windows xp pro sp 3 machine. Any thoughts or help are appreciated.

 

Hello,
Download the exe file association fix here. Unzip the file in an admin account and double click.

 

Sorry, I should have paid more attention. I think you may have permissions issues on either the system hive or the keys themselves. That is just a thought. I do not have that much experience with permissions so maybe somebody here can jump in and give their thoughts on this.

 

Hi, I see you used SuperAntiSpyware. I realize TimW has said it is recommended to keep that program but I did find this recent post that may be worth a try. You could always reinstall SuperAntiSpyware if uninstalling does not fix your problem. If you use Revo and are unfamiliar with it; after the built in uninstaller finishes then Revo scans the registry and lists leftovers. You can hit the Select All button and then the Delete button. It will only delete the bolded items that it considers leftovers. I've never had a problem with Revo deleting something necessary.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/262210-45-broken-association-restart-fixed

 

I used Revo as directed and restarted several times, each time I could open programs normally just as before all this started! Looks like that was the secret sauce -- thanks a million!

 

Nice fix sach2.
This needs to be reported to SAS. Seen this unresolved on Wilders.
cheers..

 

Glad that worked for you.

@sikvik, I noticed that most threads with the "exe after reboot" problem all seemed to mention SAS being used at some point. The problem seems to go back to early 2010 and I saw posts on SAS forum but they all said use the standard exe fix but it didn't resolve the problem. It must only effect a small number of users and so they haven't addressed it thoroughly or can't replicate it, so it gets chalked up to malware.

 

Just checked OP's, post in Malware removal.
This is a new one for me, SAS log.

SAS does have a O20 for Winlogon. Could this have prevented the fixed change, in the reg on reboot?
Bizarre..

Cheers..