Can't open .EXE files in Windows 7 or Windows Vista

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Symptoms

You receive errors, or nothing happens when you start an .EXE file in Windows 7 or Windows Vista. Additionally, you may receive messages saying that you have a virus.

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Cause

This issue can occur if a virus or other 3rd party application has changed or corrupted some default registry settings.

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Resolution

To resolve this issue, you can reset the registry settings to their default settings. To do this, follow these steps.

Click the Startbutton and type regedit in the Search box
Right-click Regedit.exe in the returned list and click Run as administrator
Browse to the following registry key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe
With .exe selected, right-click (Default) and click Modify…
Change the Value data: to exefile
Browse to and then click on the following registry key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile
With exefileselected, right-click (Default) and click Modify…
Change the Value data: to "%1" %*
Browse to and then click on the following registry key:

KEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open
With openselected, right-click (Default) and click Modify…
Change the Value data: to "%1" %*
Close the Registry Editor and restart your PC