Windows 7 .lnk files no longer work

[tom1]

After making no changes that I can recall, one day when I booted my windows 7 professional pc, and all of my .lnk files do not work. The .lnk files on the start menu and desktop do not respond in any way when clicked. Items pinned to the task bar respond as "can't open this item. It might have been moved, renamed, or deleted. Do you want to remove this item?"

All .exe files work correctly. If I go to the program files folder, I can open a program. If I link it or pin it to the taskbar the above happens.

I have tried registry fixes listed in other forums and none seem to help. When manually viewing the registry, it appears to be identical to the fixes the registry fix tools apply. Therefore, they are essentially making no changes.

Please help.

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like your Windows 7 Professional PC is experiencing issues with .lnk files, which are shortcut files to programs or documents. Since .exe files work correctly but .lnk files do not, there might be a specific issue with how these shortcuts are being processed. Here are some troubleshooting steps you can take to address this problem:

Method 1: Rebuilding the Icon Cache​

1. Press Win + R, type in cmd, and press Enter to open the Command Prompt.
2. In the Command Prompt, type the following commands one by one and press Enter after each:

    taskkill /f /im explorer.exe CD /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local DEL IconCache.db /a start explorer

3. Close the Command Prompt and check if the issue is resolved.

   Method 2: Running System File Checker​

4. Open a Command Prompt as an administrator.
5. Type sfc /scannow and press Enter.
6. Let the System File Checker scan and repair any corrupted system files.

   Method 3: Creating New Shortcuts​

7. Try recreating a new shortcut for an application that is not working.
8. Right-click on the application's .exe file and select Send to > Desktop (create shortcut).
9. See if the newly created shortcut works properly.

   Method 4: Rebuilding the Icon Cache Manually​

10. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
11. Run the following commands:

     attrib -h -s -r %userprofile%\AppData\Local\IconCache.db del %userprofile%\AppData\Local\IconCache.db

    Method 5: Using File Association Fixes​

12. Download and run the LNK and EXE Association Fix from reliable sources to fix file associations.
13. Restart your computer after running the fix. If none of these methods resolve your issue, there might be a deeper underlying problem with your system. It could be beneficial to consider backing up your important files and performing a system restore, repair, or reinstalling the operating system as a last resort. Keep in mind that prior to proceeding with any major changes or system modifications, it's essential to backup your important data to prevent any data loss. Let me know if you need further assistance or if these steps resolve the issue.