Window XP Icon links lost

[wabiz]

From time to time my HP ze4100 laptop running Windows XP professional loses all the link info to the desktop icons plus the document history is emptied and no longer updates apparently.

The icon labels come up but all icon images are changed to something generic, all but Internet Explorer, at least this time. I clik on the icon and get the following message:

Windows cannot open this file;

File: Microsoft Word.lnk

To open this file, Windows needs to know what program created it. Window can go online to look it up automatically, or you can manually select form a list of programs on your computer.
What do you want to do?

Use the Web service to find the appropriate program

Select the program from a list

Neither of the selections are any help so I was wondering if anyone may have a link to someplace that may have a solution or at least some discussion as why this keeps happening. The only way I fix it is reinstalling the operating system. Microsoft.com hasn't offered any solutions either. I know it has something to do with the registry being messed up and I run spybot S&D and its says it stores a copy of the registry someplace but I can't find where I can restore the backup copy it makes of the registry files.

Thanks,

 

[xwb]

Is your desktop cleanup wizard causing this?

Check Display Properties/Desktop/Customize Desktop

 

[SPotter]

I had a virus causing similar problems a while back.
I got ito the habit of using Start->AllPrograms->Accessories->SystemTools->SystemRestore
You can use it to save 'Checkpoints' and recover them.
It saved a lot of aggravation and should work for you.
There're a couple of conditions for which I even had to manually restore some system config file sets. There is a uSoft document in their web space somewhere.


Steven C. Potter I.S.P., IEng, MIED

http://www.spottek.ca

 

[IRstuff]

I run 3 different spyware programs in addition to Norton AV. It's just barely enough at that. There may be some sort of adware that's hijacked your desktop.

TTFN