Messed up of a few system file icons!

janlafata · 07-09-2008, 09:53 PM

I can't believe myself. I've had done two major bonehead mistakes in one week! And I thought I was getting the hang of all of this!

Hopefully this is a simple one to fix. I messed up quite a few Vista system icons and I can't seem to get them all back to default. It all started when I was opening a .dll file that I thought was tied into Firefox. I can't remember whether it was or not. All I know is now t all of my.dll files have a Firefox logo icon. And if you open up properties, it says "Opens with Firefox!

So I did a lot of searching for answers. One included deleting the Icon database file in C:\ Users\Name\AppData\Local, then rebooting. Supposedly that will set things right. It didn't!

Then a tried a variety a Icon fix-it programs including WinBubbles, Vista Visual Master and a bunch of little dinky fix-it programs, some that were just a registry key to add. But nothing worked.

But while I was writing this thread, I kept trying things out, in hopes that I wouldn't have to bother you with issue (and actually so I could then bother you with another issue I'm having!) So I tried one last Google search. What I came up with was a registry entry called extfix.

Actually I think it has a slightly different name on other websites, but the fix is the same. And just by adding this information to the registry, this was supposed to restore all the file extensions. And it did, at least for my.dll files. I just right-clicked and hit Merge, rebooted and went into windows to see if my .dll icons had changed. They had. It currently looks like a blank white piece of paper that has the tip folded back on the top right and on the page are two blue gears, one large and one small.

I also open up properties on a .dll file and it says "Opens with unknown application", which I believe is what it is supposed to say. So now with that fixed, I moved on to the next concern. The icon and file association for Configuration Settings or .ini files. This needs a little explanation how they got the way they are.

When I was running one of those icon restore programs that I mentioned, I was trying to actually change the Firefox icon that was associated with the .dll files. The program gave me quite a few icon choices to pick from and I picked the one that I thought most closely resembled the default icon that I could remember, a blank white page with lines on it and the top right corner folded back. It has one large blue gear on it leaning towards the left.

But when I went to change the .dll icon, for some reason it didn't do anything for the .dll file icon. Instead it changed the .ini file icons. And now they're all that way. And if you click on properties of a .ini file it says "Opens with Notepad". Now I'm not sure, that might be correct, but shouldn't it say "Opens with unknown program" just like the .dll file?

Either way, it's obvious to me that besides with the .ini file icon possibly being wrong, it probably does not also have the right association. So that's where I'm at currently. One problem is fixed, but I'm not sure about the .ini files. Everything in Windows does work ok though however, which I am thankful for.

I patiently wait for your input.
Jan LaFata

CaptainMazda · 08-09-2008, 03:03 AM

Hi Jan,

.ini files are by default associated with Notepad or Wordpad so there's nothing to worry about. Anything else you need?

janlafata · 08-09-2008, 06:33 PM

Captain Mazda...Thanks for your reply. That's just what I needed to hear. Now if I can just learn a little bit more about this file extension restore utility that I used, which is just a registry entry that you right-click on and hit merge to return everything to default.

It's called extfix and I can't even remember where I found it now. To be honest, I think I first saw it on a not so friendly site. You know, one of those sites that alerts Firefox to show a warning page instead of the real site. But being as stubborn as I am, I did finally get it to open, but I couldn't get the file to download.

But I was able to do a quick Google search and find it, I think on some Japanese site or something!. Like I said, this one little registry entry restored all of my .dlll icons to default, just like that. It almost sounds too good to be true and because of the lack of information about the file on any decent site, one would almost think it's a virus or spyware or something. But I don't think that's the case because my system is running fine!

By the way, I love the picture of Angelina Jolie!

CaptainMazda · 08-09-2008, 08:15 PM

Good to hear everything's fine. Just continue taking extra precaution with downloading from shady sites. Websites such as Cnet and Soft32 offer software downloads that are guaranteed safe. Although, it's always good practice to scan everything you download regardless of where it's from.

And thank you, I do too