"What program would you like to open this with?"

Every time I go to open ANYTHING on my mother's laptop, a dialogue pops up asking me what to open the file with. Even if that file is by itself an executable.

That's not to say the programs can't open (if I click to open Firefox and choose to open it WITH Firefox, I can use Firefox).

How would I go about fixing this problem?

The OS of her laptop is Windows 7, by the way.

To fix a file association:

1. Right click on a file, and select properties.
2. Next to "Opens With..." if there is no program selected, click on the "Change" button.
3. Select the appropriate program you wish to use from the menu. If it is not in the menu, click on "Browse..." and find the program in the "Program Files" folder. *NOTE: Be mindful as to whether you are going to use a 32-bit or 64-bit program, as there are separate folders for each. I believe "Program Files" is 64-bit if you're using a 64-bit OS, and "Program Files (x86)" is where the 32-bit counterparts are stored.

Click OK, and that should do it! If you need to click on "Browse..." to find the program you need, Windows should open up your Program Files folder by default. If not, navigate to it or the "Program Files (x86) to find the application/program you're looking for.

It's odd that everything you open is yielding this prompt though. She may have a corrupt OS or virus that's causing this.

The only thing that has decided to attack her computer (to my knowledge) is some stupid adware.

The last option I would have to do is a factory reset, but I don't think that would be a problem if I back up her files. Thanks, man!

At least the recovery process is easy, if it comes down to it. You could try a virus removal, but... blah! That takes awhile and is more involved. If she doesn't mind reinstalling some programs, then best of luck with with the recovery!

Thanks; I don't know when I'll get on that, though

Have you tried Restoring .lnk file associations ?

Yes; the same thing happens, though D:

This website has some .zip files with files that might fix the registry and this problem. You might need to open the .reg files with Notepad and edit the registry manually, though.

File Association Fixes for Windows 7 - The Winhelponline Blog

If the .lnk fix above doesn't solve the problem, then you probably need the .exe fix from this site, and possibly others as well.

Well...
Success! Thank you! File associations are now a-ok!

Nice! Those are handy files. My W.O.T shows that the site has a good reputation/is safe, as well. Thanks distantshores!

Kyouken? If the problem is resolved... may I now crash the thread by posting funny cat pictures?

That depends - does that coupon work at the right restaurant?
(Don't shoot me for the terrible joke, btw)

I believe the coupon is good for "One thread crashing of your choice".

"Expires on 6/11/12"

Oh, tragic! Looks like you can't redeem it.

How much is it worth? I've seen some coupons go for as much as 1/20 of a cent.

What is the cash value of a Schrute buck??

Okay, I'll give up on trying to crash the thread... maybe. Maybe after this.

1/100th of a cent. Apparently if you have ten cents worth of Schrute bucks, you get five extra minutes on your lunch break. I need to print some of those out and give them to my teacher so I have more lunchtime.

That cat is chewing on that piece of (lettuce?) wrong.

I believe that's catnip. And when you go get lunch, order something for this character: