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How can I Fix .lnk file?

Posted By : julie of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on October 26, 2004

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What program opens .LNK files, and what must I do to get it/fix the problem with my program that opens it?

P.S.

My computer doesn't know what to open .LNK files, AKA shortcuts with.

This question was answered on October 26, 2004. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.


You can correct this by either restoring the registry key from another working computer or manually replacing the registry key

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved Use this tool at your own risk

To restore the registry key from another computer, perform the following steps:

1 Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) and select the following subkey:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.lnk

2.From the Edit menu, click Delete.

3.On another Windows NT 4.0 computer, start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) and select the registry key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.lnk.

4.From the Registry menu, click Save Key.

5.Copy this file to the computer exhibiting the problem or to a floppy disk.

6.On the computer exhibiting the problem, recreate the registry key by selecting HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and then from the Edit menu, click Add Key Type .lnk for the key name.

7.Select the new key, click Restore from the Registry menu, and select the file from the other computer or floppy disk.

8.Quit Registry Editor and restart the computer Test a Program menu item or shortcut.

IF you want to manually enter the information, perform the following steps:

1.Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe), select the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT subkey, and then click Add Key on the Edit menu.

2.In the Key Name box type ".lnk" (without quotation marks), and then click OK Note that you should leave the Class box blank.

3.In the Add Value dialog box, click OK to leave the Value Name blank, and click REG_SZ in the Data Type list.

4.In the String Editor box, type "lnkfile" (without quotation marks), and then click OK.

5.Select the .lnk key you just re-created under the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT subkey On the Edit menu, click Add Key and then type "ShellNew" (without quotation marks) Note that you should leave the Class box blank.

6.Click Add Value on the Edit menu, type "command" (without quotation marks) in the Data Name box, click REG_SZ in the Data name box, and then type "RunDLL32 AppWiz.Cpl,NewLinkHere %1" (without quotation marks) as the string value.

7.Quit Registry Editor, and then restart the computer.

Good Luck!

About the author

Posted by julie of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on October 26, 2004

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