Somehow I went to open a shortcut and Windows couldn't find the target but instead of pointing the shortcut to the.exe it pointed the.lnk file handler to the.exe, so now all my.lnk files are trying to be opened by the borderlands game. Somehow I went to open a shortcut and Windows couldn't find the target but instead of pointing the shortcut to the.exe it pointed the.lnk file handler to the.exe, so now all my.lnk files are trying to be opened by the borderlands game. What's going on? I'm guessing I can do it by resetting the.lnk entry in HKEYCLASSESROOT, but I don't know what to set it to. LNK files are usually seen by users as shortcuts, and used in places like the Desktop and Start Menu. LNK was actually already used as an attack vector as early as 2013. And in early 2017, we noted how Trojan downloaders used a.zip within a.zip to disguise a LNK file attachment that led to the Locky ransomware. LNK is not a virus. It is the standard file extension for Windows shortcuts. If you want to remove the shortcut, just delete it like any other file. If you want to delete the original file, fetch the shortcut's properties, locate the original file via that, and delete it. To open the 'Set Associations' menu. Scroll through the list of extensions to locate the.lnk file extension. The listing will show the description and the current default program associated with it. Click on the extension and then click on 'Change Program.' - Select the program you would like to open.lnk file types.
File TypeWindows Shortcut
Developer | Microsoft |
Popularity | |
Category | System Files |
Format | Binary |
What is an LNK file?
Fix Lnk File Association
An LNK file is a shortcut or 'link' used by Windows as a reference to an original file, folder, or application similar to an alias on the Macintosh platform. It contains the shortcut target type, location, and filename as well as the program that opens the target file and an optional shortcut key. The file can be created in Windows by right-clicking a file, folder, or executable program and then selecting Create shortcut.
LNK files typically use the same icon as their target file, but add a small curled arrow to indicate that the file points to another location. When double-clicked, the shortcut acts exactly the same way as if the user clicked the original file.
LNK files with shortcuts to a program (.EXE file) can specify attributes for how the program runs. To set the attributes, right-click the shortcut file, select 'Properties,' and modify the Target field.
Windows do not display the .lnk file extension for file shortcuts even when the 'Hide extensions for known file types' folder viewing property is unchecked. While not recommended, you may enable the file extension to be displayed by deleting the 'NeverShowExt' property within the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTlnkfile Windows registry entry. To do so, follow these instructions:
- Open 'Registry Editor' by typing 'regedit' in the taskbar search box and selecting the program.
- Navigate to the ComputerHKEY_CLASSES_ROOTlnkfile location in the program.
- Create a backup of the key by right-clicking 'lnkfile' and selecting Export (you can use this to restore your key in case of an error).
- Select the 'NeverShowExt' property and delete it.
- Restart Windows.
Read more about Windows shortcuts in the FileInfo.com Help Center.
NOTE: Changes to the LNK file association may cause your Windows desktop icons to unexpectedly change or disappear. You can visit the Help Center for instructions on how to fix your Windows icons.
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Updated 12/23/2019
Restoring file associations for shortcuts, folders and user filesFile Format Lnk
, setting up default apps and resetting associations.File associations suggest comparing the file type to the program which will execute this file. Due to failures or Windows errors, such associations may be disrupted.Contents:
Lnk File Association Windows 7
- To Recover File Associations in Windows 10
- File Associations For Ordinary Files
- Associations of Shortcuts, Folders and Executable Files
To Recover File Associations in Windows 10
File Associations For Ordinary Files
- Use the menu item «Open with». Right-click on the file, the association for which needs to be changed. From the list of suggested programs, select the application that suits your needs or look for another one.
- Launch Control Panel / Default programs / Set associations. To see which program opens this file type by default, click on the corresponding file extension. To change the default program, click on «Change program».
- Launch Settings / System / Default applications. At the bottom of the window that opens, select Choose default apps by file type.
Associations of Shortcuts, Folders and Executable Files
The methods described above are good when you deal with ordinary files (pictures, documents, audio files or videos etc). If folder, shortcut or exe.file associations are disrupted in Windows 10, you can correct such errors with the help of Registry Editor.Advanced users can do it manually. However, to save you the trouble of entering manually the corresponding values into the registry, you can also use ready-made .reg files which are meant to enter data into Windows registry.- To correct the EXE file associations;
- To correct the LNK file associations;
Download such files and run them, or right-click on the required file and choose “Merge”.Agree to the security warning by clicking “Run”.Confirm making changes to the registry by clicking on “Yes” in the next window.After that close the registry editor and restart the computer. As a result, associations for .exe and .lnk files should start working just as they did before.If you have activated automatic creation of system restore points before, then you could correct the error of file associations much quicker by using these restore points.Have you managed to recover your files associations? Leave your feedback and ask questions in your comments.