Corrupt registry settings or some third party product (or virus) can change the default configuration for running EXE files. This may lead to failed operation when you try to run EXE files. Oct 03, 2016 get a message saying Can't open this type of file, had a computer crash a few days ago, but I have always had this problem with some.exe files, before I upgraded to windows 10, I had windows 8.1 and had the same problem. Get a message saying Can't open this type of file, had a computer crash a few days ago, but I have always had this problem with some.exe files, before I upgraded to windows 10, I had windows 8.1 and had the same problem. Haven't got Microsoft office at the moment. EXE files are also helpful for packaging and distributing small scripts or macros, as they allow the user to reduce their work to a single file while compressing its size. Running EXE files in Windows is a fairly straightforward process, but it gets a bit more complicated trying to run an EXE on a Mac. You can also extract files from an EXE file.
You might encounter a situation where you may not be able to open any .exe files or shortcut link files, i.e., EXE or LNK files. You might instead get a “Open with” dialog box, or it may open the file in another program. This happens if the file association of these file extensions may have got corrupted on your Windows 10/8/7 PC.
EXE files will not open or not working
How to Run.JAR Files on Windows 10 If the issue is with your Computer or a Laptop you should try using Reimage Plus which can scan the repositories and replace corrupt and missing files. This works in most cases, where the issue is originated due to a system corruption. Windows 10 home edition. Logged in as administrator, but cannot install or run programs, it says i don't have permission to perform this action. Changed uac to allow all. Disabled inheritance. Still cannot install/run exe. Have updated. Still no joy. Any suggestions would be helpful.
A corrupted Registry, caused either by bad software or malware or any other reason, can lead to your Windows being unable to open a particular file type.
When file associations for executable, batch, or COM files are changed, it could cause your executables not to start. For example, when you try to click open a .exe file the programs will not start, or the Open with box might appear, or Windows will say that it cannot open this file and ask what you would like to use to open the program, or it may start a different program.
Fix broken EXE file association
1] To rectify the situation, I suggest you download and apply the following registry fixes.
For fixing the .exe file extension download this EXE Fix.
For fixing the .lnk file extension download this LNK Fix.
Exe Files Download
Right on the File and Click on Merge.
You will get a warning, asking Are you sure you want to continue.
Click Yes and reboot the system.
2] FixExec is designed to resolve these issues by rebuilding the executable file association’s Windows Registry keys that may have become damaged or corrupted. If the tool detects any of these associations are missing, corrupted, changed or hijacked, the settings will be set back to Windows defaults. FixExec tool will fix the .exe, .bat and .com file associations in Windows. It will also terminate any malicious processes found in typical areas. You can download it from bleepingcomputer.com.
3] Microsoft has also released a Fix It to fix EXE file association problems. See if it applies to your version of Windows.
If the icons do not show up correctly, then you might need to rebuild the Icon cache. This post will show you how to reset all File Associations to default in Windows 10.
Generally speaking, in other situations, you can use our freeware File Association Fixer will let you repair and fix file associations and extensions in a single click. The app offers 18 file association fixes & 26 file association fixes for Windows.
TIP: Download this tool to quickly find & fix Windows errors automatically
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If you are unable to download any exe file in Windows 10 or even on Windows 7/8/8.1, there may be a problem in your Internet Options or Windows Registry needs to be configured correctly.
This error usually occurs when you have disabled downloading of executable files in Internet Options. This can be done manually by any user or it can also be altered automatically through some software. While there can be many other possibilities, these two are the most popular ones. We will talk about fixing unable to download any exe file in Windows 10 using both methods one by one. Let’s start with fixing Internet Options.
You may also like to read about our 3 must have tools to fix most Windows problems without getting help from a techie.
Quick Summary
Fixing unable to download any exe file using Internet Options
May be your Internet Options are not set properly that’s why .exe file downloading is creating an issue. Apply below steps to set Internet Options orderly.
Can't Download Exe Files
Type Internet Options in the Start Menu and open the first result you get.
Go to Security tab, in Internet Options window, and select Custom Level.
A new window will open. Here find Downloads, expand it further and enable File Download and Font Download.
Scroll below and look for another option with name Launching applications and unsafe files, select the Prompt option for it.
Press Apply and OK. Close all open windows.
Fixing exe files not opening using Windows Registry
Open Registry Editor window by typing regedit.exe in Run dialog/. And go to the following entry. “HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPloiciesAttachments”.
Here you have to create a new 32-bit DWORD value with name ScanWithAntivirus and set its value to 1, this value will off or disable the scan.
So now any file you will download, antivirus software will not scan it, and your download will not suffer anymore.
Running Exe Files Windows 10 2019
Adding a Registry for EXE file extension
Download the following Registry key: Reset Exe in Windows Registry
Now go to file where you save it, double-click on it to add this registry into Windows Registry.
A confirmatory window will open to ask you for changes you are going to made in Registry Editor. Press Yes, and here you are done.
Run Exe Files Windows 10
After applying the fixes, hopefully your issue of unable to downloading or save any exe file will be resolved. But be sure of what you are downloading, and always download from official websites to avoid viruses with downloads, as you may suffer any issue if the virus comes along with your download files.