For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

Hello everybody,

my dad's PC (WIN98/SE) came up with a problem: the links are no longer
recognized as links. Not Internet links: FILE LINKS!

All the links (except for Explorer, that is not a link) on the desktop
now show the generic Windows icon; the little arrow in the lower corner
(characteristic of the links) has disappeared; and the extension .LNK or
..PIF (for DOS applications), normally hidden, is now visible.

If you click on any link, the window that asks you to choose the
application to be used to open that file pops up: but it does not refer
to the APPLICATION file, it refers to the LINK! This means that what went
lost is not the association between a file and the application used to
open it (as sometimes may happen), but something at a lower level: the
association between .LNK and .PIF files and the system.

If you launch directly the executable file of the application from
START|RUN, it opens regularly like always: another proof that what went
lost is just the capability to execute the LINKS, not the applications.

How to get out of this? We have at our disposal another machine with
WIN98/SE, should any file need to be copied from a working system.

Thank you everybody for your help.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

Paolo wrote:

Hello everybody,

my dad's PC (WIN98/SE) came up with a problem: the links are no longer
recognized as links. Not Internet links: FILE LINKS!

All the links (except for Explorer, that is not a link) on the desktop
now show the generic Windows icon; the little arrow in the lower corner
(characteristic of the links) has disappeared; and the extension .LNK
or
.PIF (for DOS applications), normally hidden, is now visible.

If you click on any link, the window that asks you to choose the
application to be used to open that file pops up: but it does not refer
to the APPLICATION file, it refers to the LINK! This means that what
went
lost is not the association between a file and the application used to
open it (as sometimes may happen), but something at a lower level: the
association between .LNK and .PIF files and the system.

If you launch directly the executable file of the application from
START|RUN, it opens regularly like always: another proof that what went
lost is just the capability to execute the LINKS, not the applications.

How to get out of this? We have at our disposal another machine with
WIN98/SE, should any file need to be copied from a working system.

Thank you everybody for your help.


Is the problem less than 5 days old? In that case try a registry restore.

"How to Manually Restore the Windows 98/Me Registry"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/221512

Choose the backup from before the problem arrived.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

"Paolo" wrote in message
...
Hello everybody,
If you click on any link,

If You?
---------


If you launch directly

If You?
----------

How to get out of this?

Tale a deep breath....

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

Sorry can`t help but they are refered to as short cuts not links.

--
I`m not a complete idiot, there`s still a few bits missing

Tale a deep breath....
LOL

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

Hi Paolo,

If Ingeborg's suggestion of restoring the previous registry does not work for you,
download this zip file:
http://home.satx.rr.com/badour/assets/images/LnkW98.zip
from MVP Ron Badour's web page:
http://home.satx.rr.com/badour/html/reg_files.html

Unzip the .reg file in the .zip file to your Desktop, then right-click the .reg
file, click "Merge" on the menu that appears, then OK to the confirmation message.

That will repair the .LNK association. If you need to also repair the .PIF
association, let me know and I will upload a .reg file for that to my web space, and
post a link.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
http://dts-l.org/
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Paolo" wrote in message
...
Hello everybody,

my dad's PC (WIN98/SE) came up with a problem: the links are no longer
recognized as links. Not Internet links: FILE LINKS!

All the links (except for Explorer, that is not a link) on the desktop
now show the generic Windows icon; the little arrow in the lower corner
(characteristic of the links) has disappeared; and the extension .LNK or
.PIF (for DOS applications), normally hidden, is now visible.

If you click on any link, the window that asks you to choose the
application to be used to open that file pops up: but it does not refer
to the APPLICATION file, it refers to the LINK! This means that what went
lost is not the association between a file and the application used to
open it (as sometimes may happen), but something at a lower level: the
association between .LNK and .PIF files and the system.

If you launch directly the executable file of the application from
START|RUN, it opens regularly like always: another proof that what went
lost is just the capability to execute the LINKS, not the applications.

How to get out of this? We have at our disposal another machine with
WIN98/SE, should any file need to be copied from a working system.

Thank you everybody for your help.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

On Fri, 3 Nov 2006 11:29:58 -0000, "kimbo_"
wrote:

Sorry can`t help but they are refered to as short cuts not links.

Well, sorry for that, but the Italian name they are referred to is
translated "LINK" in English.

Apart of this, any suggestion?
Thank you Ingeborg, I'll try it ASAP.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

They may be referred to as Shortcuts in English, but the filetype is
"lnkfile" with the (hidden) extension LNK. LNK is short for LINK.

--

Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
http://grystmill.com/articles/cleanboot.htm
http://grystmill.com/articles/security.htm

"kimbo_" wrote in message
...
Sorry can`t help but they are refered to as short cuts not links.

--
I`m not a complete idiot, there`s still a few bits missing

Tale a deep breath....
LOL

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

On Fri, 03 Nov 2006 09:57:38 GMT, Paolo put finger
to keyboard and composed:

the extension .LNK or
.PIF (for DOS applications), normally hidden, is now visible.

FWIW I have intentionally set up my PC to display the extensions of
all my .lnk and .pif files. Maybe I'm paranoid but I suspect malware
could hide inside an innocent looking file such as filename.txt(.pif).

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

On Fri, 3 Nov 2006 08:58:28 -0500, "glee"
wrote:

Hi Paolo,

If Ingeborg's suggestion of restoring the previous registry does not work for you,
download this zip file:
http://home.satx.rr.com/badour/assets/images/LnkW98.zip
from MVP Ron Badour's web page:
http://home.satx.rr.com/badour/html/reg_files.html

Unzip the .reg file in the .zip file to your Desktop, then right-click the .reg
file, click "Merge" on the menu that appears, then OK to the confirmation message.

That will repair the .LNK association. If you need to also repair the .PIF
association, let me know and I will upload a .reg file for that to my web space, and
post a link.

Glen, there is a problem: when I right-click on that file, there isn't
any "MERGE" option available. This isn't a mere question of language
(my WIN98 is italian): there isn't any option that would mean "merge" in
Italian. There are the usual options of always: copy-cut-paste etc...
What do I do?
Sorry for crossposting, if it's OK for you to keep this discussion in
microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion or any other, I will quit the
others.

Thank you.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

Except in extraordinary (and temporary) circumstances, Show All Files should
always be enabled and Hide Extensions should always be DISabled. In fact,
with one exception (Show pop-up descriptions) I always change Win98's folder
options for Files & Folders to exactly the opposite of duhfaults.

--

Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
http://grystmill.com/articles/cleanboot.htm
http://grystmill.com/articles/security.htm

"Franc Zabkar" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 03 Nov 2006 09:57:38 GMT, Paolo put finger
to keyboard and composed:

the extension .LNK or
.PIF (for DOS applications), normally hidden, is now visible.

FWIW I have intentionally set up my PC to display the extensions of
all my .lnk and .pif files. Maybe I'm paranoid but I suspect malware
could hide inside an innocent looking file such as filename.txt(.pif).

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

On Fri, 3 Nov 2006 11:57:28 -0800, "Gary S. Terhune"
put finger to keyboard and composed:

Except in extraordinary (and temporary) circumstances, Show All Files should
always be enabled and Hide Extensions should always be DISabled. In fact,
with one exception (Show pop-up descriptions) I always change Win98's folder
options for Files & Folders to exactly the opposite of duhfaults.

The extensions for LNK and PIF files remain hidden irrespective of the
Hide Extensions setting.

SHS (shellscrap) is another exploitable extension that does not obey
the Hide Extensions setting.

See http://www.pc-help.org/security/scrap.htm


Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
http://grystmill.com/articles/cleanboot.htm
http://grystmill.com/articles/security.htm

"Franc Zabkar" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 03 Nov 2006 09:57:38 GMT, Paolo put finger
to keyboard and composed:

the extension .LNK or
.PIF (for DOS applications), normally hidden, is now visible.

FWIW I have intentionally set up my PC to display the extensions of
all my .lnk and .pif files. Maybe I'm paranoid but I suspect malware
could hide inside an innocent looking file such as filename.txt(.pif).

- Franc Zabkar

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

You're right. My brain is more than a bit tired today.

--

Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
http://grystmill.com/articles/cleanboot.htm
http://grystmill.com/articles/security.htm

"Franc Zabkar" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 3 Nov 2006 11:57:28 -0800, "Gary S. Terhune"
put finger to keyboard and composed:

Except in extraordinary (and temporary) circumstances, Show All Files
should
always be enabled and Hide Extensions should always be DISabled. In fact,
with one exception (Show pop-up descriptions) I always change Win98's
folder
options for Files & Folders to exactly the opposite of duhfaults.

The extensions for LNK and PIF files remain hidden irrespective of the
Hide Extensions setting.

SHS (shellscrap) is another exploitable extension that does not obey
the Hide Extensions setting.

See http://www.pc-help.org/security/scrap.htm


Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
http://grystmill.com/articles/cleanboot.htm
http://grystmill.com/articles/security.htm

"Franc Zabkar" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 03 Nov 2006 09:57:38 GMT, Paolo put finger
to keyboard and composed:

the extension .LNK or
.PIF (for DOS applications), normally hidden, is now visible.

FWIW I have intentionally set up my PC to display the extensions of
all my .lnk and .pif files. Maybe I'm paranoid but I suspect malware
could hide inside an innocent looking file such as filename.txt(.pif).

- Franc Zabkar

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

"Paolo" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 3 Nov 2006 08:58:28 -0500, "glee"
wrote:

Hi Paolo,

If Ingeborg's suggestion of restoring the previous registry does not work for you,
download this zip file:
http://home.satx.rr.com/badour/assets/images/LnkW98.zip
from MVP Ron Badour's web page:
http://home.satx.rr.com/badour/html/reg_files.html

Unzip the .reg file in the .zip file to your Desktop, then right-click the .reg
file, click "Merge" on the menu that appears, then OK to the confirmation message.

That will repair the .LNK association. If you need to also repair the .PIF
association, let me know and I will upload a .reg file for that to my web space,
and
post a link.

Glen, there is a problem: when I right-click on that file, there isn't
any "MERGE" option available. This isn't a mere question of language
(my WIN98 is italian): there isn't any option that would mean "merge" in
Italian. There are the usual options of always: copy-cut-paste etc...
What do I do?
Sorry for crossposting, if it's OK for you to keep this discussion in
microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion or any other, I will quit the
others.

Thank you.

Paolo,

Are you right-clicking on the extracted file with the .reg extension, or on the .zip
file?

What happens if you double-click the .reg file?

Try Franc's suggestion....
Click Start Run, type: regedit.exe |Click OK|
Click the Registry menu Import..., and point it to the .reg file you extracted.

We may need to fix your .reg file association also.

It's fine with me to keep the thread in win98.gen_discussion.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
http://dts-l.org/
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

Okay folks, nothing seems to work... do you have any idea? (apart from
FORMAT C: of course...)

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

Start Notepad, copy and paste the following text to it and save it as "LNK.REG".
Put the file on the problem computer, double-click it, then confirm the change.
You may have to restart the computer for the change to take effect.

REGEDIT4
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.lnk]
@="lnkfile"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.lnk\ShellNew]
"Command"="C:\\WINDOWS\\rundll32.exe AppWiz.Cpl,NewLinkHere %2"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile]
@="Shortcut"
"EditFlags"=hex:01,00,00,00
"IsShortcut"=""
"NeverShowExt"=""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile\CLSID]
@="{00021401-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile\shellex]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile\shellex\IconHandler]
@="{00021401-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile\shellex\DropHandler]
@="{00021401-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile\shellex\ContextMenuHandl ers]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile\shellex\ContextMenuHandl ers\{00021401-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}]
@=""
[end]

Ben

"Paolo" wrote in message ...
Hello everybody,

my dad's PC (WIN98/SE) came up with a problem: the links are no longer
recognized as links. Not Internet links: FILE LINKS!

All the links (except for Explorer, that is not a link) on the desktop
now show the generic Windows icon; the little arrow in the lower corner
(characteristic of the links) has disappeared; and the extension .LNK or
.PIF (for DOS applications), normally hidden, is now visible.

If you click on any link, the window that asks you to choose the
application to be used to open that file pops up: but it does not refer
to the APPLICATION file, it refers to the LINK! This means that what went
lost is not the association between a file and the application used to
open it (as sometimes may happen), but something at a lower level: the
association between .LNK and .PIF files and the system.

If you launch directly the executable file of the application from
START|RUN, it opens regularly like always: another proof that what went
lost is just the capability to execute the LINKS, not the applications.

How to get out of this? We have at our disposal another machine with
WIN98/SE, should any file need to be copied from a working system.

Thank you everybody for your help.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

Paolo,
Please answer my questions inb my last reply:

Are you right-clicking on the extracted file with the .reg extension, or on the .zip
file?

What exactly happens if you double-click the .reg file?

Try Franc's suggestion....
Click Start Run, type: regedit.exe |Click OK|
Click the Registry menu Import..., and point it to the .reg file you extracted.
What happens when you do that?

Please don't say "Nothing"....describe what happens.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
http://dts-l.org/
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Paolo" wrote in message
...
Okay folks, nothing seems to work... do you have any idea? (apart from
FORMAT C: of course...)

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

"Ben Myers" wrote in
:

REGEDIT4
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.lnk]

Anybody got the equivalent fix for .URL files? Mine are no longer behaving
as internet shortcuts, and always show the extension, as described here for
..LNK files.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

Decide which application will handle the shortcuts, then reinstall it.
If you use Internet Explorer, click "Start", "Run", type "msinfo32",
select "Tools", "Internet Explorer Repair tool", select "Repair
Internet Explorer" and click "OK".

Ben

"Rich" wrote in message ...
"Ben Myers" wrote in
:

REGEDIT4
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.lnk]

Anybody got the equivalent fix for .URL files? Mine are no longer behaving
as internet shortcuts, and always show the extension, as described here for
.LNK files.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

Well, I have one, but I don't post to alt.windows98, so with your chosen
follow-up, it ain't happening. If you are willing to subscribe to one of the
other ones (I have the rest subscribed) I'll be glad to post the REG file.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User
http://grystmill.com/articles/cleanboot.htm
http://grystmill.com/articles/security.htm

"Rich" wrote in message
...
"Ben Myers" wrote in
:

REGEDIT4
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.lnk]

Anybody got the equivalent fix for .URL files? Mine are no longer
behaving
as internet shortcuts, and always show the extension, as described here
for
.LNK files.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote in
:

Well, I have one, but I don't post to alt.windows98, so with your
chosen follow-up, it ain't happening. If you are willing to subscribe
to one of the other ones (I have the rest subscribed) I'll be glad to
post the REG file.

Sorry - don't post much, and also didn't realize
microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion was even available on this lame
server. I'm there now, so fire away. Thanks.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

On Sat, 4 Nov 2006 09:53:25 -0500, "glee"
wrote:

Paolo,
Please answer my questions inb my last reply:

Are you right-clicking on the extracted file with the .reg extension, or on the .zip
file?

What exactly happens if you double-click the .reg file?

Try Franc's suggestion....
Click Start Run, type: regedit.exe |Click OK|
Click the Registry menu Import..., and point it to the .reg file you extracted.
What happens when you do that?

Please don't say "Nothing"....describe what happens.

I was right-clicking on the .REG (extracted) file of course, I threw away
the ZIP file as soon as I extracted the REG file :)
There is no "MERGE" option because the system does NOT recognize it as a
register file, there is just the "Open with...", "Copy", "Cut"... the
usual stuff.
I said "nothing" because after all the trials, the system keeped (keeps)
behaving just as before...

Sorry for being so late in my answer.

Thank you for your patience.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

"Paolo" wrote in message
...
| On Sat, 4 Nov 2006 09:53:25 -0500, "glee"
| wrote:
|
| Paolo,
| Please answer my questions inb my last reply:
|
| Are you right-clicking on the extracted file with the .reg extension,
or on the .zip
| file?
|
| What exactly happens if you double-click the .reg file?
|
| Try Franc's suggestion....
| Click Start Run, type: regedit.exe |Click OK|
| Click the Registry menu Import..., and point it to the .reg file you
extracted.
| What happens when you do that?
|
| Please don't say "Nothing"....describe what happens.
|
| I was right-clicking on the .REG (extracted) file of course, I threw
away
| the ZIP file as soon as I extracted the REG file :)
| There is no "MERGE" option because the system does NOT recognize it as
a
| register file, there is just the "Open with...", "Copy", "Cut"... the
| usual stuff.
| I said "nothing" because after all the trials, the system keeped
(keeps)
| behaving just as before...
|
| Sorry for being so late in my answer.
|
| Thank you for your patience.

(a) What about the other part of that...?...

"START button, Run, RegEdit, Registry menu, Import Registry File"

(b) What do you see in this Registry key, if anything other than
CDRAutoRun & NoDriveTypeAutoRun...?...

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies\Exp
lorer

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

You need to fix the .reg file association, Paolo. Here is one way to do it,
borrowed from an old post by Steve Yandl:

You can use Regedit to manually write back the settings for reg files, or you can
build a reg file from what's posted between the lines below (don't forget extra
carriage return at end of file), name it "fixreg.reg" and merge the reg file with
the command line:

regedit.exe fixreg.reg

/---start below this line---------------------------------------
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.reg]
@="regfile"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\regfile]
@="Registration Entries"
"EditFlags"=hex:00,00,00,00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\regfile\DefaultIcon]
@="c:\\windows\\regedit.exe,1"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\regfile\shell]
@=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\regfile\shell\open]
@="Mer&ge"
"EditFlags"=hex:01,00,00,00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\regfile\shell\open\command]
@="regedit.exe \"%1\""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\regfile\shell\print]
@=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\regfile\shell\print\command]
@="c:\\windows\\NOTEPAD.EXE /p %1"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\regfile\shell\edit]
@="&Edit"
"EditFlags"=hex:01,00,00,00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\regfile\shell\edit\command]
@="c:\\windows\\NOTEPAD.EXE %1"


/---end here---------------------------------------
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
http://dts-l.org/
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Paolo" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 4 Nov 2006 09:53:25 -0500, "glee"
wrote:

Paolo,
Please answer my questions inb my last reply:

Are you right-clicking on the extracted file with the .reg extension, or on the
.zip
file?

What exactly happens if you double-click the .reg file?

Try Franc's suggestion....
Click Start Run, type: regedit.exe |Click OK|
Click the Registry menu Import..., and point it to the .reg file you extracted.
What happens when you do that?

Please don't say "Nothing"....describe what happens.

I was right-clicking on the .REG (extracted) file of course, I threw away
the ZIP file as soon as I extracted the REG file :)
There is no "MERGE" option because the system does NOT recognize it as a
register file, there is just the "Open with...", "Copy", "Cut"... the
usual stuff.
I said "nothing" because after all the trials, the system keeped (keeps)
behaving just as before...

Sorry for being so late in my answer.

Thank you for your patience.

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

Glee, I wrote you through your Email but got no answer, did you get it?

For The REAL Expert... Win 98 does not know how to handle LINKS any longer :-(
 

No, the email address I use here is just a spam trap.....I don't get anything there.
If you need to email me, use:
glen.vee @ gmail dot com
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
http://dts-l.org/

"Paolo" wrote in message
...
Glee, I wrote you through your Email but got no answer, did you get it?