Friend used regedit and i cant fix it

[Sir_Donut]

friend was trying to play a game, someone told him to change the exe reg file from exe to %1" % and now he cant open any .exe program, even system applications, cant open task manager cant over cmd cant run anything as admin either. has anyone got any advice

 

[Boomwebsearch]

7 minutes ago, Sir_Donut said:

friend was trying to play a game, someone told him to change the exe reg file from exe to %1" % and now he cant open any .exe program, even system applications, cant open task manager cant over cmd cant run anything as admin either. has anyone got any advice

 

Generally, it is not a good idea to edit the registry values if you are not exactly sure what it will modify. Although, mistakes are okay as long as we learn something from them.

 

Use Glarysoft's registry repair tool to fix error/s in the registry (in safe-mode boot with networking):    https://www.glarysoft.com/registry-repair/

[Sir_Donut]

i appreciate the help, problem is i cant open any.exe files, also it seems that windows has decided his administrator account is not an admin so i cant even tell him to run cmd as admin or open regedit as admin, even the basics like task manager can not be opened. he tried reseting his machine aswell which led him getting to 50% then error and restart

 

[Boomwebsearch]

4 minutes ago, Sir_Donut said:

i appreciate the help, problem is i cant open any.exe files, also it seems that windows has decided his administrator account is not an admin so i cant even tell him to run cmd as admin or open regedit as admin, even the basics like task manager can not be opened. he tried reseting his machine aswell which led him getting to 50% then error and restart

 

You want to boot into Windows safe-mode (with networking enabled), then download Glarysoft's registry repair tool, and see if it will allow for the program to run:    https://support.shaw.ca/t5/internet-articles/how-to-boot-your-computer-in-safe-mode-with-networking-windows/ta-p/5450

[Sir_Donut]

thanks again, sadly ive already tried that and the same issues are there, cant launch exe and cant launch as admin.. its looking like a reinstall of windows at this point because someone else wanted to play a dodgy copy of blackops 2 XD

[Boomwebsearch]

2 minutes ago, Sir_Donut said:

thanks again, sadly ive already tried that and the same issues are there, cant launch exe and cant launch as admin.. its looking like a reinstall of windows at this point because someone else wanted to play a dodgy copy of blackops 2 XD

Try to run a repair installation of Windows where you can keep your files and programs:    

 

[Sir_Donut]

got them doing that now, its failed twice tho so not looking good

[HanZie82]

3 minutes ago, Sir_Donut said:

thanks again, sadly ive already tried that and the same issues are there, cant launch exe and cant launch as admin.. its looking like a reinstall of windows at this point because someone else wanted to play a dodgy copy of blackops 2 XD

As a fellow helper of friends, tell him you'll chop his fingers of next time he fucking around in the regeditor. hahahaha.
Even well versed computer users have nothing to do there.

But yeah unless you can find the exact thing that was changed (if you can even open the regeditor now) a reinstall (or restore previous state) might be you're only viable option.
^{And i really dont like saying that since its the easy help-excuse. There should always be a fix possible.}

[Sir_Donut]

trust me i hate doing it as well, i run a free remote support thing and always help when i can but i cant even remote in to fix this one sadly

[Way2Broke]

Do you have system restore enable or any kind of system backup? This is where system backup and restore is very useful. 

[Boomwebsearch]

9 minutes ago, HanZie82 said:

And i really dont like saying that since its the easy help-excuse. There should always be a fix possible.

Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to fix Windows OS errors. Maybe Microsoft's support team would be able to help resolve the issue:

 tel:+1 (800) 642-7676

Website:    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hub/4338813/windows-help?os=windows-10 

[HanZie82]

33 minutes ago, Boomwebsearch said:

Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to fix Windows OS errors. Maybe Microsoft's support team would be able to help resolve the issue:

 tel:+1 (800) 642-7676

Website:    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hub/4338813/windows-help?os=windows-10 

As the one being called for any errors, im curious.

Has anyone ever gotten good help from there? The phone number that is.
(I already know how hard it is to get a good answer on the support forums there).

[Mortenrb]

Well, there's a few things I can think of, and these are those I know of:

If you're somehow able to move a .reg file to your computer (via a friends computer, maybe?) with the contents:

 

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open\command]
@="\"%1\" %*"
"IsolatedCommand"="\"%1\" %*"

and then double-click it.

This should, hopefully, make exe files run with the correct parametres.

 

Other than that, you might want to try to get a memory stick with Windows 10 and try to repair it from there.

 

There's always the last method, and that's to copy the registry from C:\Windows\System32\Config (I believe it should either be software or system), this can be opened and edited on a different Windows machine and placed back on the currently not working machine. I have a vage memory of doing this to fix a W2k PC at work some years ago, but I am unsure if the solution worked as I wanted.

[homeap5]

You can download (using another computer) bootable registry editor and revert changes (by editing key described by @Mortenrb).

 

https://www.raymond.cc/blog/how-to-edit-windows-registry-key-values-without-booting-in-windows/