My shortcuts won’t work. How can I reset them, if that is what is wrong?
When desktop shortcuts stop working, there are a few possibilities including broken file associations and corruption. Let’s take a look at some of the causes and potential solutions for your broken shortcuts.
Broken File Associations
First, are all of your shortcuts damaged or just certain ones, such as shortcuts to Web pages? If you notice that shortcuts pointing to Web pages are failing, then it’s likely that the file association for URLs is broken.
In Windows Vista, go to Control Panel > Default Programs and click on “Associate a file type or protocol with a program.” Scroll through the list of file associations and protocols and re-associate the one that isn’t working with the appropriate program. For example, if your Web page shortcuts aren’t opening, you’d scroll down to HTTP, highlight it, and click Change Program. From there, you’d select Internet Explorer.
In Windows XP, the process is different. Right-click Start and choose Explore. Find a file with the same extension as the shortcut that you having difficulty with. Choose Open With > Choose Programs > Browse. Find the appropriate program and make sure to mark “Always use the selected program to open this file type.”
Corrupt Shortcuts
Shortcuts on the desktop can become corrupt and fail to work. This is often due to a corrupt iconcache.db file. If all of your desktop shortcuts have failed, then it’s likely that the iconcache.db file is damaged. Fortunately, you can delete the bad file and then reboot your computer. Windows will create a brand new iconcache.db file when it reloads and your shortcuts should work as expected.
The iconcache.db file is located in the following folders:
- %UserProfile%\AppData\Local\iconcache.db (Windows Vista)
- C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Local Settings\Application Data\iconcache.db (Windows XP)
Go ahead and delete the file and then use the Task Manager to shut down every “explorer.exe” process. This will stop the graphical interface of your computer, which is alarming but harmless. This step is necessary to avoid any interference with the process. Because your Start button won’t work with Explorer.exe shut down, use the Control + Alt + Delete key combination to reboot the computer.
Creating New Shortcuts
If just one or two shortcuts aren’t working, you can delete the shortcut and recreate it easily enough. For example, if your shortcut to Microsoft Word doesn’t work, delete it and then go into Windows Explorer by right-clicking Start and choosing Explore. Navigate to the Microsoft Office folder and find “winword.exe.” Right-click it and choose Create Shortcut. Once created, drag and drop to your desktop.
Celeste Stewart | May 28th, 2009
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