I am missing the images related to many desktop icons and task bar icons

Here's the long-awaited up date:

-the fix-it solution
http://support.microsoft.com/mats/system_maintenance_for_windows/ did not work for me

- the rebuild icon cache :  http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/how-to-rebuild-the-icon-cache-in-windows-vista/
http://superuser.com/questions/50363/desktop-icons-corrupted-in-windows-7-how-do-i-fix-this
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/920-desktop-icons-change-restore-default-icon.html partially worked.

On my lower task bar, I have icons on everything, however 3 of them are the wrong icon. Also on the desktop, most of the documents which are Microsoft Word documents do not have the correct icon. In addition to that there is maybe one or 2 non-Word shortcuts which don't have the right icon either.

By the way, this was performed after I ran a quick Malwarebytes scan, which showed that everything was all right.

At this point, I can't tell which of the solutions are duplicates of other solutions, so I'm sort of at a standstill as to what to try next. Please advise. Thanks for your help.

Did you already try to restore both the default EXE and LNK file type associations as I suggested?  That solution wasn't included in any other post.

>>  however 3 of them are the wrong icon  <<   you can try to restore the icons manually
right clikc the icon>properties, and look up the proper icon, and point to it

Run5k - the docx extension for MS Word was not listed so I couldn't try anything.

nobus-After right clicking on properties, where is the section on icons? I couldn't find any.

Photoman11, I understand that the DOCX file extension wasn't on that list.  However, that actually wasn't what I had suggested.  I said the following:

"...utilize the link found on the subsequent list to restore both the default EXE and LNK file type associations."

It may not have any impact, but based upon the fact that you have encountered a certain type of problems throughout the last week and you don't want to utilize a system restore point, it might be a wise move.

The bottom line:  it can't hurt, and it might help.

"After right clicking on properties, where is the section on icons? I couldn't find any."

Right-click -> Properties -> Shortcut tab -> Change Icon button near the bottom

Run5k-see screenshot because I couldn't find it.

ded9, or do I go to see or set up a new user profile?
shortcut-tab.jpg

Create a new user account...reboot ..login under the new user account and check.



Ded9

you should pick an icon of a program, not of a document...

Photoman11, I was going to say the same thing that Nobus already did.  You need to change the icon on a program shortcut, not a document itself.

Also, I apologize if I sound a bit repetitive, but did you try restoring the default EXE and LNK file associations?

Run5k,

Yes, I did try restoring the default EXE and LNK file. I will let you know the other thing left right try them.

It's the good news bad news story again. The screenshot says it all. What do you suggest?
application-icon.jpg

Photoman11, it looks like Microsoft Word won't allow you to change the built-in Word 2007 icon.  However, I think that you can work around this limitation.

Click on the Start button and in the Search programs and files area, type winword.exe.  When the result appears under the Programs heading, right-click winword, scroll down to Send to and select Desktop (create shortcut).  Once the shortcut is on the desktop, you can easily right-click and rename it Microsoft Word 2007.  After that, you should now be able to right-click -> Properties -> Shortcut tab -> Change Icon button near the bottom and see something similar to the screen shot that I captured below using Word 2010.

After you have selected an appropriate icon, you should then be able to copy that new shortcut anywhere you want, such as the taskbar itself.

 

since i don't get an answer to my posts - i'll sign off..

Nobus,

A little confused here, since it was your suggestion to change the icon on a program and not the documents. Unless I am totally missing something.

Anyway, regarding the suggestion about Winword, the shortcut created have the Word icon already on it. What the heck does that mean?

Foolishly thinking I was on a roll, I created a document to test, saved it on the desktop and ... nothing, same old non-icon. however, I did underpin all the non-icon applications for my taskbar and followed your logic and when I placed the new ones on the taskbar, all the icons are back ... at least on the applications.

That only leaves about 15-25 documents with no identification for what the application is. Any ideas on how to get that right? But, at least we're making progress.
icon.jpg
Word-document-icon.jpg

On that Testing.docx, try right-click -> Open with -> Choose default program.  Select Microsoft Word, and ensure that the box is checked next to Always use the selected program to open this kind of file.  Hopefully that will reset your default icon.

If not, try the same procedure but this time you are temporarily setting .docx files to open with WordPad, and then do the process again to switch back to Microsoft Word.

very creative solution.

I thought you had it because what I tried the first step, choosing Microsoft Word to be the default program, the document opened but neither that document nor any other word document's icon changed. So I tried your WordPad suggestion and lo and behold, many documents (I didn't check everyone but of the ones I've looked at-all did have the WordPad icon) it looked like success was around the corner.

(You probably know where this is gonna wind up) ... when I then chose one of the WordPad documents and went through the process again, choosing Microsoft Word, all the documents reverted back to what they looked like before the WordPad step (a non-recognizable icon).

I then tried the same process with winword.exe for the heck of it but was unsuccessful there too. I am attaching a screenshot of all the settings for my folder options in case something there is hindering the solution.
Folder-options.jpg

Within the Windows Explorer folder options, you can also utilize the Restore Defaults button in the lower-right corner of that same view.

Beyond that, it seems like your options are rather limited if you really don't want to use a System Restore.  You could conceivably try to actually reinstall Office 2007 to establish the baseline again, which should theoretically restore your default icons associations also.  After that, the only viable option might be a Windows 7 in-place repair install.  It would still preserve your important data:  user accounts, personal data files, and applications...

Windows 7 - Repair Install

Run5k is right do a repair on word through add/remove programs
If that does not fix it run "sfc /scannow" from an elevated command prompt

Also did you ever try Ded9's suggestion?


Create a new user account...reboot ..login under the new user account and check
Ded9

Reading through all of these suggestions I wonder if a more thorough malware scan wouldn't be in order. The symptoms you describe are similar to the "Recovery" rogue described by ~rpg here:
Windows-XP-Vista-Recovery-rogue-Desktop-icons-missing-Empty-program-files:

If the OS related advice you're getting doesn't work out, go the anti-malware route and see if anything else pops up.

Another source is here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-windows-recovery

You should also note that many variants of malware can now block Malwarebytes from operating properly. Immediately prior to doing your scan, you should run a rogue process stopper such as this:

Rogue-Killer-What-a-great-name

Bill,

Thank you for your detailed instructions-they were very clear. Unfortunately, the first approach (task manager) did not solve the issue. In attempting to execute your 2nd solution, I ran into a problem which are shown on the screenshot ... namely, right clicking on the desktop does not have an option for Properties.

Is there a different route to accomplish the steps in the 2nd solution that does not involve first locating Properties?
desktop-properties.jpg

photoman11 your snap gives a big key.
you have installed Stardock> Fences on your windows 7
 Fences is a program that helps you organize your desktop and can hide your icons when they are not in use for everyone else.
Stardock has spam.
I used to have this with windows xp and had lots of issues with icons corruption and used a tool called tweak ui to rebuild them
I dont know what or if  you used Impulse or have seen it in the Stardock program Fences but here's a headsup on what it is
Impulse (software)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_(software)
have you double clicked to bring back any hidden icons?
Stardock Fences
http://www.stardock.com/products/fences/
http://www.windows7news.com/2010/01/16/windows-7-utilities-stardock-fences/
It may have damaged the icons cache.
Uninstall fences and do a system restore.
If you have problems uninstalling it
Stardock's Impulse client is required to remove this application
http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?/topic/25579-stardocks-impulse-client-is-required-to-remove-this-application/
or
How To Use Revo Uninstaller To Completely Uninstall Programs
http://www.guidingtech.com/457/revo-uninstaller/

How many desktops did you make, as soon you started to experience icon issues I would have looked first to my fences and Uninstall it. Then reinstall it
Or create a new admninistrator account.
Hope this assists you .

Merete,

Very interesting! Let me answer your questions in order:

I've been using Fences for about 18 months and did not realize that there were bugs with it. I have had problems with my icons before also, so you could be onto something.

As for Impulse, I have not seen it related to Fences, in my program folders, or listed in Revo. Is there another definitive way for me to check? If I do not have Impulse, what if anything does that mean?

During the time I have had Fences, I have double clicked the desktop numerous times (all of them but twice, unintentionally). And everything on the desktop was cleared off and reappeared as per design.

The main reason that I have been using Fences is because I use a voice activation software called Dragon NaturallySpeaking. One of the features within Dragon, is that if you have a shortcut on your desktop you can verbally issue a command to open the application, document, Firefox URL, etc. (whatever the short cut is of) which is a nice feature. Because of that, I probably have approximately 100-140 shortcuts that are very manageable when put in smaller Fence windows.

If Fences is causing this problem, I'm between a rock and a hard place because not having icons on several applications (mostly Microsoft apps like Word and Excel) is a real pain, but if I had to give up all the short cuts that I have gotten very used to activating verbally with Dragon, that would be a major pain. I believe there is a software package that can be used with Dragon and would accomplish the same thing as well as other features, but it sells for $100.

Re: uninstalling Fences, I can certainly experiment and place all of the shortcuts that I have on my desktop (currently, in about 10 fences), into one folder, uninstall Fences, reboot, and then install Fences again. The major inconvenience will be the re-creating of the 10 Fences and moving all of the icons from my one folder, into them. I also don't know what will happen with the Snapshots I have taken in Fences, or if there's a way to save them before I uninstall the app.

I don't quite understand why I would need to do a system restore after uninstalling fences. I am a little gun shy about doing so because a whole series of problems were kicked off after I uploaded the latest Microsoft updates about 3-4 weeks ago. If I do a system restore, how far back do I go and is there any way to minimize the risk of re-creating all the problems, I have finally solved (except this icon one), since the last big up date?

You ask about how many desktops I made, and I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you saying that I could have multiple desktops? If you are, I never realized that, so I'm sure I don't have any others than the one I've always used. How would I even find out?

At the end, you mentioned something about creating a new administrator account. I'm not sure how to do that or what benefit I would gain by doing so. Are you implying that with the new administrator account it's possible that fences won't cause any conflicts?

Hi photoman11, My mistake with how many desktops, disregard that please,
I do feel for your situation caught between a rock and hard place,
I shall be merciful.
Bugs !! <<no > spam  possibly yes.
I''l need to recap then to proceed, so briefly
ok  something changed your icons,  possibly a virus or spam from this Outlook Email scam?
What happened there?
I don't use Outlook but do use Pay Pal and haven't had any debacles?

I'll need to recap what has been offered and what you have done.
ran a quick Malware bytes scan, which showed that everything was all right.<<ok
nobus offered to>rebuild icon cache<partially worked.
5g6tdcv4 offered> do a repair on word through add/remove programs< I'd add to that  and rather do a repair on office using the setup disc.< have you tried this?

Have you simply tried to delete the bad shortcuts / recreate them? from programs files  office.
Refs to>On my lower task bar, I have icons on everything, however 3 of them are the wrong icon.<< these are only pinned unpin them and pin new ones.

 Also on the desktop, most of the documents which are Microsoft Word documents do not have the correct icon.<< repair office.
 May fix this asociation>> In addition to that there is maybe one or 2 non-Word shortcuts which don't have the right icon either.


there is two areas I am unclear on.
you didn't answer one of my questions,
.docx  format.<< which office do you run?  2007? 2010?
Since I have 2003 I cant run these word  docx without the Compatibility Patch for office 2010
and that was my line of thinking if this patch is corrupted uninstall it re-install it if applicable.

And finally>
You may still have some spyware on-board. This is very simple to do and very quick
Please download hijackthis to a folder unzip to that folder and run hijackthis do a system scan and save log post the analysed log back here
http://free.antivirus.com/hijackthis/
How to guide
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/how-to-use-hijackthis/
Regards Merete

Merete,

I have not tried to do a repair of word or of office. Yes, I have the discs, so would you suggest I try this now or after you look at the results from the hijackthis log?

Regarding doing a repair, since I've never done that before, I am not sure what the first step is. Do I completely delete Microsoft Office and then  install the discs and watch for some Wizard or prompt option to repair, or what? Or, do I install the disk and do everything from the add/remove programs off the control panel?

I have tried to delete several documents that had no icon, and then re-create a shortcut for the document, placing it onto the desktop. Same problem resulted-no icon.

As for the icons on the task bar, score one point for my side-I was able to create new shortcuts that worked there. See the screenshot for a little experiment I ran because it might tell you something, although I don't know what it means.

The 2 areas you are unclear on: All my Microsoft apps are 2007, so I have Outlook 2007. Your comments about the compatibility patch for office 2010 – is there any equivalent concern with me having office 2007?

I ran the 2.0.4 version of HijackThis and attached the log.

I really appreciate all your help.


Taskbar-test.jpg
hijackthis-v2.0.4.txt

Good Morning, thank you for the log, seems you still have a couple of spyware /  nasty there.
Please re-run hijackthis then  look down the hijack log to these lines>
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL,(Default) = http://www.forumswatcher.com/search.htm << fix this one
And this one put a tick it in it
O20 - AppInit_DLLs: C:\PROGRA~2\Google\GOOGLE~1\GO36F4~1.DLL <<  and then select fix checked
then close out hijackthis
-----------------------------------
Great to see we have progress and that made sense that the pinned icons were nolonger good.
So now it's just word.
To put pieces together for you photoman11
your Outlook had some form of malware via emails, and then you ran a scan and any problems found were fixed, as Outlook is part of Office that may have caused other aspects of Office to become unstable.
You can repair word per say but I think in this instance repair office as a whole maybe in order as Outlook is all integrated.
But always ensure all malware is gone before repairing any damaged programs otherwise the repair will probably not  fix it
Since you have the newer version of Office unlike my 2003  :)
Windows Office 2007 has a new feature (which replaces detect and repair) << old way
The diagnostic utility will check  it within Office 2007
here's how to
Detect and Repair Applications In Microsoft Office 2007
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/microsoft-office/detect-and-repair-applications-in-microsoft-office-2007/

 here's how to do a repair as based on the method offered by 5g6tdcv4
How to install the individual 2007 Office features or to repair the installed 2007 Office programs
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/924611
Remember to close your open programs.
And reboot
Good Luck.
Merete

Merete,

Those were outstanding instructions ... and I actually understood them. I followed the HijackThis instructions to the letter, but since I have become a little bit paranoid, after checking both the entries you pointed out, and having Hijack this fix them, before moving on to the reboot stage and proceeding with Microsoft Office; I decided to run HijackThis again. Here's the latest:

-R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL,(Default) = http://www.forumswatcher.com/search.htm - no problem, it is gone.

- O20 - AppInit_DLLs: C:\PROGRA~2\Google\GOOGLE~1\GO36F4~1.DLL - STILL THERE!

I rebooted, ran HijackThis again and found exactly the same situation as above ... - O20 - AppInit_DLLs: C:\PROGRA~2\Google\GOOGLE~1\GO36F4~1.DLL was still there. I checked it off again to be fixed, HijackThis supposedly fixed it. But after rebooting and running HijackThis again, it was still there.

I poked around in HijackThis to see if there were any other good sounding options and under the miscellaneous tools, read up on and implemented the "Delete a file on reboot" option. Closed everything down again, rebooted, ran HijackThis again, and IT IS STILL THERE. It refuses to be evicted.

Should I go into the registry or wherever the file is located and try to manually delete it? Or, is there a better approach?

One down ... one to go.

Thanks, ok next step
 photoman11, it my not be a virus just some form of spyware, you have Google Desktop right?
Maybe the only way to remove it is to uninstall Google desktop.
To start with check your task manager and see if the Google Services are running Google desktop etx.
uninstall Google Desktop or stop the services
Did hijackthis report that there was it couldnt clean?
Please post back a new log from hijackthis.
GOEC62~1.DLL is a file that is normally assoicated with Google. This product is part of the google desktop software. Many spyware programs or companies will often use similiar names so always check to make sure the hard disk location is correct for this file.

Hi photoman

I have been holding back since Merete's eagle eye spotted the Stardock "Fences" application in your Right-Click menu to see where it would go, and you seem to have made some good progress.

May I just get a "sit rep".  Am I right in thinking that the only remaining issue is that the icons for MS Office file types do not show?

What I suggest you do while looking at what icons show and what ones don't is to temporarily display file extensions after the file names.  It looks like your preference is to hide all file extensions, and this makes it harder to assess the situation.
Merete has Windows 7 and can translate the instructions that I provide for Windows XP.
Control Panel > Folder Options > File Types > View tab.
UNTICK The "Hide extensions of known file types" box.
Click the "Apply" button.  Changes should be immediate.

A quick way to test is with a batch file that creates empty files with the different extensions in a new folder. Although the files are just text files with different extensions and WILL NOT open AS the file extension would normally do for a properly encoded file of that type, the icons should be applied to them if available and properly registered for the various MS Office file types.  These empty files ARE NOT intended to test the applications, so DON'T double-click on them.  You can run the batch file before you repair Office and then run it afterwards to compare the difference.

Along with the file extensions that I know I used these pages as references because I have Office 2003 and don't have Access or Outlook installed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_2007_filename_extensions
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms406049.aspx
If I missed any or included ones that don't usually show extensions we can always check afterwards.

Just save the following batch file to any folder and double-click on it.  At the end, after it has created a new sub-folder in the folder where you placed the batch file, it will open Windows Explorer and display the new files.  When you close the Explorer window the command window behind it will close, but the folder will remain for you to inspect.
 MakeOfficeTestFiles.cmd
I hope you will find this helpful in your troubleshooting.

Bill

Bill,

This is starting to get scary...

Yesterday, November 6, around noon-I answered this post. I checked back around 6 PM and my answer was not showing.

I then proceeded to respond again, assuming that I had not click on the Submit button. This time I watched while the page was updated and my new comment was in fact showing on the page. That I am positive.

Today, November 7 at 11 AM I checked again and my response is missing again. What in the world could possibly be causing that?

On the off chance that this message actually makes it through and sticks let me recap my previous messages which did not:

I was able to change my settings so that the file extensions show. Unfortunately, everything from that point on ... i had no idea what it meant, or what I was supposed to do. I'd set up a folder, loaded the file in it, but not much happened after that. I did nothing as far as repairing office because I didn't want to make a bad situation worse since I had no idea what the previous step was supposed to accomplish. And, I had no idea whether it was accomplished. I have attached the log (several times) but don't know if it's exactly the same as the one you downloaded or actually something changed.

So now I have 2 concerns, the original plus why are my responses not remaining on the expert exchange log. Just for the heck of it I am going to take a screenshot after this one works in case I need to show it after my response vanishes again.

malware?  are you answering EE on the "bad " pc?  then i don't wonder
i would do a fresh install  - long ago

Could be a ripple effect, after you clean out malware, whatever hold the had that program may behave differently.
The only thing we did was to remove one edit from the hijackthis log.
You can put that back photoman11
this one>
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL,(Default) = http://www.forumswatcher.com/search.htm <<

Open hijackthis and on the front page open>View a List of  backups, highlight the one you removed and click restore.

See if your problem with comments in EE work now.

If I can make a suggestion, I would prefer to continue first with the icon issue and finalize that issue once and for all. Then meanwhile, I can see how the comments are going (literally and figuratively) and if need be restore the one item from HijackThis.

At this point, Bill, I'm still not exactly sure what if anything am supposed to be doing regarding the 2nd half of your suggestion which I did not understand even slightly. Because of that I have not attempted to do any repair on office so the icon situation is the same as it was.

What do you suggest?

If I may on behalf of BillDL or until he returns, what he is suggesting is to create a dummy file extension to test what your problem maybe in regards to the missing icons..
Since we have only one problem left in this area
a word .docx is missing the correct icon.
I would suggest two simple steps
This will determin if the old docx is corrupted.
Can you open the old and copy and paste the contents into a new?
Make a new word does it have the correct icon?

 or use the simple inbuilt repair within Office
from my above post>>
 to repair the installed 2007 Office programs
This article describes how to install 2007 Microsoft Office features and how to repair 2007 Office programs and features that are already installed.
-------------------------------------------------
First Option>
Run the Microsoft Office Diagnostics feature
To run the Microsoft Office Diagnostics feature from a 2007 Office program, follow these steps: 1.Start the Office Diagnostics tool.
To do this, use either of the following methods:
¿For a menu-based 2007 Office program, click Office Diagnostics on the Help menu.
•In the Navigation Pane, click Resource.
•Click Diagnose.
2.Click Continue.
3.Click Start Diagnostics.

Note If the Office Diagnostics tool identifies a problem, it tries to fix the problem.<< done deal here
4.When the Office Diagnostics tool completes, click Close.

Note You can also run the Microsoft Office Diagnostics feature from the Start menu. To do this, follow these steps:
1.In Windows, click Start
2.Point to All Programs, point to Microsoft Office, point to Microsoft Office Tools, and then click Microsoft Office Diagnostics.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd option>
Run the Detect and Repair feature
1.Click Start.
2. Windows 7, copy and paste (or type) the following command in the Search programs and files box, and then press ENTER:
                           appwiz.cpl
3.Click the name of the Microsoft Office Edition 2007 that you want to change, and then click Change.
4.Click the option Repair, and then click Continue.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/924611
Remember to close your open programs.
And reboot

Merete,

Thanks for stepping in. Just to clarify, it is not one Word document but more like 10 different Word documents which are missing the icon. There are also 3 Excel documents missing that icon as well.

I have performed your test (you open the old and copy and paste the contents into a new document?
Make a new word does it have the correct icon?) about 5 times with different documents in the last week and in each case the new document had a different look, but still not the Word icon.

This is just too damn frustrating for me to continue on this. I cannot even run the diagnostic tools because I get an error message-see screenshot. and it doesn't matter whether I sign onto a Microsoft office product as administrator or not. I get the same message. so I went to option number 2...

For step #3, I click on Change, a window briefly appeared for a split second that said something to the effect of: it is setting something up to run ... and that was it. Absolutely nothing happened after that. There was no option of repair anywhere.

Is my entire system screwed up or what?

Since my machine rejected everything you suggested, I figured I'll go for the trifecta of hell and load the original office DVDs. At this point, I didn't care if the damn thing caught on fire. If a wizard was supposed to open and guide me through the process, somebody must've killed the wizard because nothing happened.

Since my downhill momentum is picking up, I figure I would see what the Event Viewer Says. In a nice little error message pop up, It Said: event log service is unavailable. Verify that the service is running.

trying to fix these icons is just not worth the effort. The problem is, it looks like the problem with the icons is just the tip of the iceberg with me unable to do all these other things that I should be able to do. Or, am I misreading and overreact thing is I hate this computer?

Is there test or program that can be run to determine the condition of my machine?

At this point I clicked on the Submit button, and of course, nothing happened (see screenshot)
event-log.jpg
change.jpg

of course, when I tried to add the information about what happened when I clicked on the Submit button, and add the screenshot, it wouldn't let me. So I had to wait until this time to do it.
submit.jpg

I tried to think of what I had done last 24 hours that might have an impact and the only thing I could think of was I added the plug-in Firefox called SEO quake. Ironically, this is something that I find extremely useful but I deleted it to see what would happen to my responses through this window with expert exchange.

Interestingly, when I went to add files, it allowed me to do so quickly. Also, I'm going to click on the Submit button and if you see no further message from me, that means it went through properly and quickly.

Hi photoman11 the above eror you can't run Office Diagnostic because you don't have sufficient permissions >> ( To run Office diagnostics, access Microsoft Windows Event Log is required)
Turn Windows Event Logs on
 Open>Start>Run>type in >     services.msc    <~ or copy it and paste it into run>OK Enter
 
Now scroll down to Event Viewer.  Or Windows Events
Double Click on it and make the Startup type > Automatic from the drop down box.
Click Apply.
then right click the line it's on and ( Start button to start the service. ) from the top of the options
Click OK.

Otherwsie please try using your setup dis, this is and always has been my preferred method
as I mentioned earlier, I insert my office dvd and run setup it should detect your office and ask you what you want to do, re-install or repair.
In your not offered this reinstall.
Like I said I cant see how these self diagnostics if corrupted can fix your office one would imagine you need to use the Disc.
Please let me how I can help further or you get stuck  and your progress
as a quick guide
do the following.
Make a Backup of Outlook before doing this
How to Back Up or Copy Your Outlook Mail, Contacts and Other Data step by step
http://email.about.com/od/outlooktips/ss/outlook_backup.htm
http://www.ucalgary.ca/it/help/articles/email/clients/outlook07/impexp

ReInstall Microsoft Outlook 2007 over the top of the current installation that should repair all of office including Outlook.
Restart the computer If you need Office SP1 use the windows updates
How to uninstall or remove Microsoft Office 2007 suites
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928218/
Merete
Run.jpg
Start-Events.jpg
starting-events.jpg

Thank you Merete for stepping in to explain what I was aiming at in my comment ID 37087008 to which I attached the batch file "MakeOfficeTestFiles.cmd".

Hi photoman.  I'm sorry if this terrified and confused you.  The intention was actually quite simple, but my explanation of the suggestion was clearly a bit "wordy" or technical sounding.

The batch file is just a "DOS" program that creates a whole bunch of empty files and gives them each different file extensions commonly created or used by Microsoft Office applications.  When run by double-clicking the downloaded *.CMD file, these test files files would be very quickly created in a NEW folder named "Office_Test_Files".  In fact, it should only have taken a second or two to create the files.

By just looking at the empty files that were created, you would have been able to instantly see which file extensions were not displaying the expected icons, and we could then have specifically addressed those file types to correct the issue.

Merete was heading down a good investigatory path by suggesting that perhaps only certain of your documents were corrupt and therefore not showing the icon for this reason.

You see, generally the Windows Registry acts as a "lookup" for registered file extensions and therefore ANY file (even a GIF or TXT file) given a .DOC extension will display the Word icon regardless of whether it is a real *.DOC file or not.  There may, however, be instances where the actual file contents determine whether the file is really a DOC file or not and the correct icon is shown or not.  So, Merete's theory was that perhaps a corrupt Word document may not be getting seen as a proper Word document.  This has been discounted by you when you created a new Word document, pasted the contents of another into it, and resaved it as a document known to be good and uncorrupted, and it STILL doesn't show the expected Word icon.

So, in my opinion your Registry is missing the [DefaultIcon] key or value for whatever file extensions you have that still are not showing the expected icons.  This is why a "repair" of Microsoft Office has been suggested.  This is the type of weird occurrence that the "repair" option was provided to rectify.

I see that you are having a number of other issues besides the missing icons one though, and I would imagine that you will be almost totally bald by now with all the clumps of hair you have yanked out in dispair.

I think it's best if I leave somebody with Windows 7 to address the various other issues you are having because it will be much easier to check things out and post accurate screenshots and instructions.  I don't have a computer poserful enough to run Windows 7 because I am broke, but if you would care to buy me one that will then I will happily answer all your Windows 7 questions ;-)

As far as the Experts-Exchange problems are concerned, I am finding the site almost intolerable at times in terms of how long it takes to load pages and display new posts, so I'm not immediately convinced that your computer is the sole problem.  From what I can see the main delay is being caused by the annoying "Stay Up To Date" panel at the right of my screen that load Google Plus, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook icons.  From what I can see they have to load freshly for each new page rather than from the browser cache, and this leaves pages hanging for ages when I open a question or post a comment.  It seems that I can live without those "social networking" icons, but others believe them to be an essential ingredient of life, and there is no option to hide the "stay up to date" panel!!

Let's see how long this takes to post and reload all the crap into it.

Wonderful!  A full minute to load 4 useless "social networking" icons in Internet Explorer.  The rest of the content was already cached and caused no delays.

That sounds bad Billdl, i am not experiencing any issues and I dont have a very fast dsl only 512 kb, May i make a suggestion for slow loading EE pages use the other skin.
There is premium and expert, premium loads all the bling expert has larger text and not a lot of bling.
Worth a test maybe :P
If you dont know just look over to the top right under your account.
I use the premium.
best wishes
Merete

Also I use Maxthon browser
http://www.maxthon.com/
Have few different browsers to test

Merete,

- It seems that my Windows Event Log was already set at Automatic.
- Your next suggestion:" then right click the line it's on and ( Start button to start the service. ) from the top of the options
Click OK." I DID RIGHT-CLICK ON THE LINE AND SELECTED "START" FROM THE CONTEXT MENU. THERE WAS NO CHANCE TO HIT OKAY BECAUSE A WINDOW OPENED AND STARTED PROCESSING AND GOT ABOUT 10% OF THE WAY THROUGH BEFORE IT CLOSED AND AN ERROR WINDOW MESSAGE POPPED UP (see screenshot).

Since this approach did not seem to be working too well, you mentioned about using the original office discs. The thing I find confusing is that you mention "I insert my office dvd and run setup it should detect your office " but when I inserted the disc...

First I get the Autoplay window-see screenshot, and was tempted to click on the run set up.exe, but resisted. So I close that and go to the start button and enter what your suggestion said.

When I finally do get to look at the list of programs, the only 2 which even have Microsoft Office in them are the file validation add in and the office live add-in-see screenshot. So, I close that screen.

Being a glutton for punishment, as you obviously have figured out by now, I reinstalled the disc and did click on the run setup. EXE option. A window opened asking if I wanted to do something with the Microsoft bootstrap program. Since I had slippers on at the time, I said no. I mean, come on ... who needs a program to help you tie your boot straps. Although I did feel like going and getting a pair of boots and smashing them into the computer, but if I did that, I'd have no way to watch porn.

Does anyone have any idea what is going on with my computer?

I do not know how relevant this is, but when I originally bought my wonderful HP PC, it came with Vista and a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it was released. The discs I am talking about are the upgrade discs. I cannot remember all the details regarding the discs because I think part of the brouhaha it created was that they were being touted as upgrade discs when in fact they contained the entire Windows 7 operating system. I don't know if all this even makes any sense but I thought I would point it out in case it adds any clues to this mystery.

Bill,

Your response didn't terrify me; it was just that it seemed like every time I tried to do one thing, not only did the one thing not work but it opened up a can of worms of 3 other things that didn't work. It was so frustrating that I think a partial meltdown occurred.
after-office-disk-inserted.jpg
programs-and-features-no-office-.jpg
Event-log.jpg

Hmm  seems your office is no longer installed? or was it ever?
Stay calm and keep your slippers on, warm feet help reduce stress :P
You have Office.org  ?? there photoman11
Maybe you have been using that?
Office 12?
What is that? Is this copy you had ?
Run the Setup.exe and let it do what it needs to photoman11 if that is your office.
Office setup should be fine, if you have uninstalled it then the setup just needs to update a few things first
In regards to the bootstrap
During the installation of computer programs it is sometimes necessary to update the installer or package manager itself.
The common pattern for this is to use a small executable bootstrapper file (e.g. setup.exe) which updates the installer and starts the real installation after the update.
Sometimes the bootstrapper also installs other prerequisites for the software during the bootstrapping process.

Lol in regards to one slippers and boots.
With the events maybe enabling it activated any backlogs.

Here what is in my Programs and Features.
my-programs-and-features.jpg

Short version please go ahead and run.exe and say yes when you see this>A window opened asking if I wanted to do something with the Microsoft bootstrap program
It should be fine as you have the latest version of .netframework, it maybe offering to fix some things/ the bootstrap is just an executable file responsible for automatically performing some of the oprations such as this installation and making sure you have everything you need of some of the components of the office software, it is also used for the detection of what has already been installed there, processing any error codes it finds determins if you need to update anything first
Setup.exe Bootstrapper Sample Operations
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/xhz1cfs8(vs.71).aspx
If get any problems after the bootstrap runs or doesnt finalise.
 download the
.NET 4 Framework Standalone version
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=17718
Installing the .NET Framework
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/5a4x27ek.aspx
But you should be fine, just ensure you are connected to the internet
All the best
Merete

" I did feel like going and getting a pair of boots and smashing them into the computer, but if I did that, I'd have no way to watch porn."
I can feel your pain, but we must be careful what we talk about in Merete's presence:
 ;-)

LOL !!!
 I'm getting lopsided carrying that huge shield the arrows have lifted my head a bit thanks BillDL  you're very funny   ;)

My apologies to the Angels, but everybody misunderstood. I should've capitalized "Porn" because I meant Caesar J. Porn, the first Roman soldier who is credited with figuring out which end of the spear to aim at the enemy. Rumor has it that he only figured it out because the other soldiers kept snickering when he walked by.

Anyway, I'm about to get my boots on, and strap them up, so if I'm unable to issue another post, that means that my computer has finally had enough of me and decided to lock me out. If that doesn't happen, I will report my findings.

Well, that was fun.

The screenshots will probably show a more interesting story but the narrative to go with it will explain the steps:

1. I inserted disc #1 and double clicked on the .exe suggestion (a.k.a. the dreaded bootstrap). See the screenshot for the error message I got.
2. I downloaded .NET 4 Framework Standalone version, as suggested by the angelic one
3. While it was loading, I could almost swear I saw tiny little Devils being forcibly removed from my computer by what appeared to be angels wearing large combat boots (which I took as a very good sign)
4. Back went disk #1 and I tried the same thing as in step #1 ... with unfortunately, the same results.
5. Thinking that perhaps I needed to reboot for the framework to do whatever it is supposed to do, I rebooted (this time the Angels were kicking the ever living **** out of the Devils)
6. Much to my surprise, my computer actually did complete the reboot. But then, the screensaver changed to a scrolling text message that said: "it's not going to work. The Angels lost."
7. I lied about #6.
8. I inserted disc #1 again with the same results as before.
9. Even though it made no sense, I decided to insert disk #2 instead - I was momentarily encouraged when my official mascot (that's what I started to call the window with the error message) did not immediately appear. Instead, I got what sort of looked like what a real setup screen would look like, but of course it was for something I didn't want. Namely, the Business Contact Manager for Outlook 2007.
10. I proceeded cautiously (a.k.a. I had my eyes closed) and it became obvious that disk #2 was not going to help my problem. Just to make sure I'm not missing something, I took a screenshot of the contents of disk #2

You'll have to excuse me now. I'm going to stick my head in a pot of boiling water.
bootstrap.jpg
inside-the-disc.jpg
disc-2.jpg
inside-disk-2.jpg

Hi photoman11
are you manually loading the first disc?
Are you trying to manually load/run setup?
No Auto play?
In your rom drive is a disc  label named Factory Image << is this an ISO?
Please explain that for me as it may make more sense of what your showing in these snapshots above.
Is this version of Office 10? not Office 7?
It's just that there is conflicting tabs and names etc.
Like Office 10.
Disc 16?

with the 2nd snapshot 1033 folder is normally just placed in C drive windows directories
 you don't use that to run setup, windows uses it once office is installed. And normally it is placed there as a backup.
 There a couple fo reasons for it but that is the main one. It depends if you have windows x64 or 32.
If you hadwindows x64 the 1033 woudl contain 32 bit stuff incase you wanted to run any 32 bit in the 64.
Since you have a 32 bit OS please stay away from all 64 bit stuff here.
Let me explain it.

If your just curious what is in there should look like this
http://www.shorterpath.com/products/folderprint/FolderPrintSample.pdf

looking at your next snapshot "Inside the disc" ) File currently on disc 16??
What is Disc 16?
Also down the list >>Office64.en-us<< for windows x64. << dont touch that setup you want 32 bit.
What is in the readme.htm I would be very interested in seeing a copy of that. Can you upload here?

I'm getting the impression that this factory image is offering a version Office you can choose either 32 bit or 64 bit
the area you are looking at is for windows x64 bit

Looking at the screenshot named inside disc 2> below 1033> see System 32? and below that windows system 32 <<~That'd be the one you need to run manually.The setup.exe
what is inside that windows systen 32 folder any setup installer >application? Readme.htm file?
 I would be very interested in seeing a copy of that. Can you upload here as well it will contain the steps and what you need.

inside-disk-2--windows-32.jpg

Factory image has me thinking and concerned?
I have never heard of, and never seen Office on a factory image.
Microsoft Office is frequently pre-installed on new PCs and laptops as a 60 day trial
May explain why you dont have anything.
You need a key to activate it

I also saw in one of your screenshots Office.org this is a good free replacement for  
Microsoft office
http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/try/

photoman11 how old is your PC?  is it a Del?
You used Outlook 2007 was this something you installed? or did it come with your PC?
It may have been a trial?
Expires after 90 days.
Can you fill in these details

I am fairly burnt out right now so I'll give you as much as I can recall without going point by point on your responses.

My PC is an HP e9150t quad core desktop using an Intel i7 CPU (920@2.67 GHz). I have 8 GB of RAM and am running Windows 7 Home Premium-64-Bit. It was purchased new from HP, in July 2009. The Microsoft products I am running include the 2007 versions of Outlook, Word, and Excel. It came loaded with Vista with a free upgrade for Windows 7 when it came out.

When Windows 7 was released, I needed to coordinate through HP so they or Microsoft (I can't remember now which one) would send the upgrade discs. The first disc states: Microsoft office basic 2007 with office professional 2007 trial. There is a product key. Office 2007 is definitely not a trial because when I purchased the PC, I spent an additional amount to purchase the Microsoft software. Vista came preloaded and I don't believe I had a disk for Vista.

I manually put the disc in the DVD/CD drive of the computer and after the drawer closes, after a few seconds, a screen displays asking for options of what I want to do-see screenshot.

The factory image you referred to is relative to my internal drives. I have 2 internal drives (C and F) and a small partition of C is designated by HP as the Factory image. I believe if I wanted to reset the computer to how it originally was delivered from the factory, the Factory image would be what I would choose to load, however I also think it has Vista on it. The rest of the drives you see are external drives and the one DVD read/write drive (E).

I will take a look at the details of your questions tomorrow when I can see straight. Hopefully this will answer some questions.
disk-is-loaded.jpg

How come it says Office12??
forget all that for now..
Okay
everyone move aside go sleep and do whatever you have to Angel is on the job, ( flexes her knuckles)
I have made some incorrect steps based on the snaps provided.
I’ll recap and reduce and compress  digest all this info.
Rereading........
I have a Windows 7 64-bit computer << right!! and in the first sentence  not 32.
In the snapshot, called Change it shows Office 2007 is installed in programs and features.
---------------------------------------------------------
Run5k offered>
I would follow the instructions on this page and utilize the link found on the subsequent list to restore both the default EXE and LNK file type associations:
Windows 7 Default File Type Associations - Restore
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/19449-default-file-type-associations-restore.html<< Failed
-------------------------------------------
The next few fix its  also failed.
--------------------------------------------
then Nobus offered the suggestion to r/click the bad word icon and then restore Icons,
you said>>
 nobus-After right clicking on properties, where is the section on icons? I couldn't find any. >> answer is  just r/click one of your .docx and look down to restore previous versions. << Please do that now.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Then I came along and after a few comments you showed me your office Programs
 couldn't see your office was installed in the snapshot you provided ( MY MISTAKE HERE)  the entire screenshot was not provided
Photoman your office is installed.
Look at the image called Change> it is listed at the top 2007 Microsoft Office because the number is first it is listed about 3rd from the top.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please try the restore as suggested by Nobus. No need to progress with this office setup for now
And the suggestions by BillDL
Windows is different.
To access the display r/click the desktop but go to personalise
on the left change icons and below on the left at the bottom is DISPLAY, but it doesnt provide any settings for changing pixel size.
---------------------------------------------
And in references to the regestry, again it is not the same
For BillDL to look at
these are the Microsoft word. Regestry keys
---------------------------------------------------------
So on that note if the restore previous version doesnt fix these final 3 icons .docx
I would suggest  doing th emalware bytes scan.
and run the  simple system file checker
go to start run > type in exactly as is >>    sfc /scannow

change--shows-office-2007.jpg
restore-previous-versions.jpg
display.jpg
reg-key.jpg

Hi photoman

I have a hunch that will be a quick one to check out.  Could you please run the following command from your Start Menu's RUN field.

Windows key and the "R" key to show the "Run" field in Win7, or you may already have it on the Start Menu (see the bottom of this page for a useful tip:  http://commandwindows.com/runline.htm).  Type the following command:
 

cmd /c reg query HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSIServer > c:\MSIServer.txt

Select allOpen in new window

Locate and attach the exported text file "C:\MSIServer.txt" so we can see it.

I have been reading that there seems to be some anomaly with certain values contained in the following registry key of some Windows 7 systems
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSIServer
(the one relating to the Windows Installer Service),
and given that yours was an upgrade from Vista it might just be the reason that the setup.exe in the root of your first CD (ie. the one whose contents are shown in your screenshot "inside-the-disc.jpg").

Regarding that CD, I see that the (16) apparently in the volume label of that disc has apparently been misinterpreted by Merete.  Your "inside-the-disc.jpg" screenshot of the contents displayed of the DVD shows "Files Currently on the Disc (16)", which simply means that it is showing 16 items and doesn't differentiate between files and folders.  Being in brackets is a bit confusing because it does look a bit like it is the volume label of the disc, but the (16) doesn't mean that the disc label is "Disc 16".

I think you are veering off on a tangent by looking at the contents of your DVD with the label "BCM2007" shown in your "inside-disk-2-windows-32.jpg" screenshot.  This is a SUPPLEMENTARY "Small Business" MS Office disc containing the "Business Contact Manager" IF you wish to install it.  Let's see if we can get the SETUP.EXE on your FIRST DVD working.

The FIRST disc, as this is the MAIN Office 2007 one.  You say that it has the "product key" and is entitled "Microsoft Office Basic 2007 with Office Professional 2007 trial".  I cannot say for certain, but I would imagine that the "trial" would be an optional extra IF you chose the "Custom" option during Setup from the CD.  You say that you had Outlook, Word, and Excel 2007 installed.  That fits with the "Basic" edition's applications:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_2007#Editions

How to determine what version of Microsoft Office 2007 is installed:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928116

Normally the setup.exe of a MS Office CD will detect if the application suite is installed and will run in "Maintenance Mode" if it is. It should also detect whether your operating system is 32 or 64-bit and run the appropriate screens.  Maintenance Mode is the dialog that allows you to choose the following options (shown for Office 2003 on a Windows XP computer):
 
Hopefully my "hunch" MIGHT hold the key to getting this running properly, so if you can attach the "MSIServer.txt" from the root of your C: Drive after running the REG EXPORT command, I'll have a look and see if I can suggest anything.

Bill

When I suggested TYPING the REG QUERY command, I should instead have suggested copying it from the above comment and pasting it into the RUN field.  Much easier and immune from typographic errors.

You know, I don't think this has actually been asked or fully established thus far, so I am as well asking it at the risk of sounding dumb.

Did you try to see whether the separate Office applications still ran despite the screwy icons (either from the shortcuts or by running the actual program EXE files)?

Windows Key + R > and in the RUN field type   WINWORD   > click OK or press Enter.
Same for EXCEL
Same for OUTLOOK

Does the "program group" folder for Microsoft Office 2007 still show in your Start Menu?

Does the folder: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12" exist?
May vary on a Windows 7 computer.  On a 32-bit WinXP system the paths are shown below:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12\WINWORD.EXE
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12\EXCEL.EXE
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12\OUTLOOK.EXE

I believe his office 2007  is installed just fine BillDL
change--shows-office-2007.jpg (269 KB)
Thanks for helping :)

Aha.  Merete is on the case and posted 2 minutes before I did.  You see, she was downstairs on the PC while waiting for our breakfast to cook while I was upstairs still in bed using my laptop - if you believe that ;-)

hahha I luv it

Very interesting. I didn't realize that all the people that contribute to Expert Exchange lived in the same house ... but if it works for you-go for it!

Here's what I have done (after running to 2 different pharmacies for refills on my Valium):

1- Regarding "just r/click one of your .docx and look down to restore previous versions," I did that and it had no effect

2- On the desktop personalize suggestion, in which the desktop icon settings display, I did click the restore default, and apply/okay; but nothing changed on the icon issue on the desktop.

3-From http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/19449-default-file-type-associations-restore.html I got the zip file of registration extensions, but as the next few screenshots indicate, I only had success working with the zip icon.
personalize.jpg
desktop-icons-settings.jpg
values-added-to-the-registry.jpg
Registry-1.jpg
Registry-2.jpg

Hi photoman

I don't know how to say this without making you feel dumb.  It's an easy mistake to make given the long list of *.reg files in the zip file you downloaded, and at first I thought there was an "Excel Fix" registry file in there.  It was only when I read the page where the zip file download link is that I noticed the one that appeared to be an *.XLS one is actually *.XSL and not related to MS Office or Excel.

I hadn't realised that the icon for your ZIP file type was screwed up as well.  That takes it a lot deeper than just issues with Microsoft Office, because the zip/unzip function in Windows is part of the Windows "shell", ie. Windows Explorer.  The icon that displays for *.ZIP files on a Win7 machine is from inside the file:
C:\Windows\system32\zipfldr.dll
the same as for Windows XP and Vista.

It might help you to understand what happened when you Right-Clicked on the *.REG file and chose the "Merge" option.  For any lines that exist in the REG file, the following is done to your Registry:

1. If the key or value does not exist in the registry, then it is created from the data in the Reg file.
2. If the key or value already exists and the data values differ from the Registry and Reg file, then that data in the registry is overwritten by that from the Reg file.
3. Where lines in the Reg file begin with a minus sign eg.
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Some_Key]
then the "Some_Key" key and all its sub-keys and values will be deleted from the registry.
4. Although not relevant to any of the Reg files I see in the downloaded association fix package, if a Value in the Reg file is suffixed with a minus sign, eg.
"SomeValue"=-
then the data value set against "SomeValue" will be deleted.

A Reg file can therefore be dangerous if it contains typographic errors or relates to another operating system, but in this case I'm pretty sure that they were created from a fresh installation of Windows 7 and will not change any keys or values in the registry they are imported to other than restoring them to what they would have originally been on your computer when new.

A "File Association" comprises two parts in the Windows registry.  I'll refer to the "Default_ZIP.reg" you already imported to the registry.

The first part is the key with the dot prefix in the name:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.zip]
In that it defines how a file of that type is perceived by different applications, and it also gives what I refer to as a "friendly name" to that file type.  In this case it is:
@="CompressedFolder"

The 2nd part of a File Association in the registry is cross-referenced to the first holds the actual details that tie that file type to a specific application and therefore open in that when double-clicked, and also any special attributes and additional Right-Click menus you have for such a file.  The registry key takes its name from the @="CompressedFolder" in the first part shown above, so the key is:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CompressedFolder]

Under that key name there is one named "DefaultIcon", in this case it is:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CompressedFolder\DefaultIcon]
The value in this contains the full path to the actual icon that shows for a file of that type on your computer, but in a Windows 7 *.Reg file it is in a format that is not intended to be legible to anything other than geeks and looks like this snippet:
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,etc, etc,\
In Regedit it would show like this:
[ab](Default)       REG_EXPAND_SZ         %SystemRoot%\system32\zipfldr.dll

That familiar zip folder icon inside "zipfldr.dll" contains various sizes and colour depths of the same icon that are used for Details View, Thumbnail View, etc, so there is an icon that looks much the same available for every occasion in Windows.

A DLL file like that is not only the storage tank for icons, it provides the core functionality of the Windows Zip and Unzip activities as well as the screens and messages you see while performing those zip/unzip activities.

With relevance to the *.REG file to restore Zip/Unzip "file associations" to the registry, it should also be noted that "zipfldr.dll" contains ALL the relevant registry settings needed for that functionality.  This registry data is not used every time the zip/unzip function is called for, but was used once when that DLL was "registered" during the Windows Installation and the data was written from there into the registry.

It is for this reason that certain DLL files can be "re-registered" using the Windows system program  "REGSVR32.EXE".  The usage is very simple.  If the DLL is in a "system path" such as C:\Windows or C:\Windows\System32, then you don't need the full path to the DLL file and the command to rewrite the registry data from the file to the registry again would be this simple:
regsvr32 zipfldr.dll

It is ALSO possible to re-register certain *.EXE files using a slightly different form of the command:
"C:\Path_To\ProgramName.exe" /regserver
but the EXE file must contain registry data that is capable of being written to the registry.

A lot of relatively simple programs that you install don't write much to the registry until that program EXE is actually run for the first time, and then a whole bunch of data is written.  They are doing something similar to the /regserver command above.

For Word 2007 there is a command line switch:
winword.exe /r
which does this:
1. Re-registers Word in the Windows registry
2. Starts Word
3. Runs Office Setup
4. Updates the Windows registry
5. Closes Word.

The odd thing is that the /r switch used with excel.exe just tells Excel to open the target file specified in "read-only" mode.  There is only one "read-only" switch for Word 2007, and that is only if the target file is on a Sharepoint Server.  Crazy, isn't it?

There are DOZENS of command line switches for Outlook 2007, but I'm not even going to touch on that because some of them can potentially scrub your contacts, preference settings, and possibly your message store.

So, what I am wondering is whether the /r command switch for Word 2007 MIGHT repair the icons for Word-related file types and program shortcuts.  I think your problem goes deeper than this, but it's worth a try.  Replace the path to the Word EXE in the command if yours differs:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12\WINWORD.EXE" /r

It might be an idea to have your Office 2007 DVD already in the drive just in case it needs to retrieve any files from it.

Let's see what happens.

Bill

lol photoman11 priceless :P
 BillDL is talking cryptically
Downstairs in the kitchen kind of means in my humble opinion> I'm in Australia down under and it wasnt breakfast here it was night so must have been dinner.
He is up stairs in USA or Canada in bed with his lap top morning,
at the same time.
You need good coffee lol Aribaca is the best.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are only concerned with a couple of word icons now right ?
And they are on the desktop? currently..
And they are not shortcuts? to a word docx?
They are full word .docx you wrote something in to and saved the changes.
Just to confirm?

I think BillDL uses voice to text

Take a look at this question,
generic white desktop icons

https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/27431647/generic-white-desktop-icons.html?cid=1572&anchorAnswerId=37122912#a37122912

Bill and Merete,

First of all, Bill, don't ever worry about making me feel dumb when it comes to computers. In fact, I would recommend no hesitation on your part to asking questions like "when you look at your monitor, are you looking at the front of it or the back of it?"

2nd of all, your PhD thesis reminds me of an ancient Buddhist saying: "Never try to teach a pig to fly. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." I know you are trying to be helpful, and for that I am appreciative. However, if I could take creative liberties with the famous line from the movie Jerry Maguire – You Lost Me after "Hi photoman"

In spite of that, I did go through the directory structure to locate where Windword.exe is and discovered that it does not reside in my Program Files folder but rather in my Program Files (x86) folder-see screenshots. I don't quite understand your suggestion about changing the path for my copy of Word to "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12\WINWORD.EXE" /r.

Are you saying to move my WINWORD.EXE from its current Program Files (x86) to Program Files? I also have no idea what the "/r" on the end means.

Merete, unfortunately it is not just Word icons which are not showing up. I gathered up several of the dirty dozen and took a screenshot to show what my situation is. The only thing I omitted was the icon for an HTML document which is also NOT showing up correctly.

As for the link to the other question about generic white desktop icons, I can't say whether that issue is mine or not.

At this point, everyone has spent so much time on this that I'm wondering if it's worth it to continue because as far as I could tell the only impact is on my icons; which, yes-it's a pain, however it's not worth another 10 hours of investigation. The other thing that keeps looming in my head is that in attempting to correct the situation, we make it worse, necessitating a full restore which will take me many many hours.

What do you think?


directory-path.jpg
icons.jpg

Morning photoman11, ok lets look at your snapshot called icons,
the two your relating to are not word but rather images, jpeg, they are good to go.
as you say they are small images of a word. Not a word  .docx per say.
So it is rich text and .docx have a problem there
 these on your desktop  are not shortcuts but actual files.
Why are you using RTF?
 I believe what has happened here your word cannot find a default asociation and may have been take over by the Rich Text file which also requires special care.
Unlike most word processing formats, concise RTF code can be made human-readable when an RTF file is opened in a text editor
Try renaimg your RTF  shuvo>extension to .txt shuvo.txt
with your word .docx
R/click it and open with word.exe as per your screenshot in Directory Path.
--------------------------------------------------
That being said
what I think is that you have windows x64 and it may have TWO Programfiles folders,
one called programfilesx86 and one Prografiles.
Your Office like mine has had updates and patches.
So has a few folders of newer office for that reason.
So has mine
take a look at my Office folder includes 2003 and updates of 2011 2012 etc




 
programfiles-Office-folder.jpg
office11.jpg

RTF
http://filext.com/file-extension/RTF
Does this happen with any documents, and any image, when saved to RTF?
Try playing around with the extension.
These may assist you
An Introduction to the .rtf File Extension
http://www.filetypehelp.com/introduction-rtf-file-extension/
This document explains how to save your Word document in two alternate formats. http://www.uwec.edu/help/Word07/rtf.htm

Save a text document in Rich Text format - OpenOffice.org Writer
http://plan-b-for-openoffice.org/writer/topic/save-text-document-as-rich-text-format-rtf

Hi photoman.

I'm sorry that my explanation lost you.  I was trying to break down a few issues and explain them in a little more detail so you were fully aware what the downloaded *.REG files were designed to do.

When I mentioned
WINWORD.EXE /r
I was suggesting that you actually RUN Winword.exe (Microsoft Word) using that command.  I should have been more careful when I said to "replace the path".  What I meant was that if the path to the folder where winword.exe exists on your computer is different from the path I gave, then use the correct path in that command.  So, with you having explained that Winword.exe is under the "Program Files (x86)" folder, the command to run will instead be:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12\WINWORD.EXE" /r

Normally you would just open the Start Menu's "Run" field and paste in the command to run, but probably an easiest way to run a command is by creating a new shortcut.
Copy the command abovein its entirety.
RIGHT-Click on your Desktop > New > Shortcut.
Paste the command in the first window of the new shortcut wizard.
Click the Next button.
Type a suitable name for the shortcut, like "Word With R Switch".
Click Finish.

As I mentioned in my previous comment, it might be an idea to have your Office 2007 DVD (the 1st one) already in the drive just in case it needs to retrieve any files from it.

Double-Click on your new shortcut and Word should launch, hopefully do some repairing stuff without intervention, then close again.  If you see any dialogs that say "configuring" or "preparing to install" Microsoft Office 2007, then let them continue.

The /r switch is supposed to do this when Word is run with that:
1. Re-register Word in the Windows registry
2. Start Word
3. Run Office Setup
4. Update the Windows registry
5. Close Word.

The significance of the "C:\Program Files" and "C:\Program Files (x86)" folders is that Windows 7 can run 32-bit (referred to as x86) software as well as 64-bit software (where the computer is of 64-bit architecture).  32-bit software is installed in the "C:\Program Files (x86)" folder to keep it separate and run it differently from the 64-bit software.

Anyway, it's up to you whether to run that winword command.  My hope was that it MIGHT fix the icon issue for MS Office related icons.


Regarding the files shown on your desktop in the screenshot.  Windows Explorer extracts and displays tiny "preview thumbnails" from certain types of files and displays them as though they were icons when Windows Explorer is in "Thumbnail View".

JPG images always have a tiny thumbnail image in them alongside the main image data, and that's what you are seeing for the JPG on your desktop.  If the file was in another folder and you reverted to another view like Details, or Tiles, then it would (or should in your case) show the icon for the program that is set to open JPG images.

Adobe Acrobat Reader installs a little "shell extension" so that Windows Explorer can create a little thumbnail image from the first page of a PDF document and display that as the icon for PDF files when Explorer is in Thumbnail View.

When you save a Microsoft Office document the default setting is to embed a "preview" image within the file.  It's almost like it has taken a screenshot of the first page of the Office file and reduced it in size.  Windows Explorer will display this preview image as though it is an icon when in Thumbnail View.

The RTF (Rich Text Format) file type does not support embedding of preview thumbnail images as far as I know.

The Desktop is not really the best folder place to test whether icons display or not.  It would be better placing your test files in a new folder somewhere where you can change the "View" settings easily so as not to be confused by the thumbnail preview image.  When changed to another "View", it will be apparent which ones are still missing the associated icons.

I just want to give a quick comment to Merete's response on the rtf format.

When I started this thread and everything prior to November 12, I never used RTF files. The only reason I did this time was because in Dragon NaturallySpeaking, their "notepad" equivalent is "DragonPad" which results in a RTF.

So basically, I think we can remove that from the equation since I rarely create RTF documents and this one was created well after I started experiencing problems.

When I come back I will go through the rest of the responses and get back to you. Thanks.

Short response-spent 6 hrs with 2 failed attempts at system restore, so I'm wayyyyyyyyyyy behind. Dragon stopped working so I had to get radical. Spoke to local tech because PC wouldn't even read off MS disk so he thinks bios set not to. Tomorrow, he will come over and try fix. Wish me luck. First restore, I got this error message, for 2nd restore point attempt, it didn't work either.
sys-restore-fail.jpg

I finally was able to do a system restore to a point that actually worked, which resolved most of my issues. I don't think there's much point to keep this post open at this time. Thanks to everybody for your suggestions.

Fantastic to hear photoman11
Regards Merete

Well done photoman.  I'm really glad you persevered and finally managed to get something that worked, and hopefully your sanity too.  Coincidentally I just got my hands on a Windows 7 laptop for a few days so that I could "translate" suggestions I often make without having to ask people to find the "equivalent" XP setting.  This question was to be my first task ;-)

Let me apologize to anyone who might have gotten shortchanged on points. There were so many people involved that it would take me a calculator and 30 min. to figure out.

Thank you photoman11
I think everyone would agree with you, it was a very lengthy question.
How would one distribute points with so many, it's not even possible lol
often times I have been happy to just participate and help where I can,
I hope everyone is just happy that there is a final solution
You have a nice day
Merete

Photoman11, I would definitely agree with Merete.  The points are really a secondary consideration, and after more than 80 comments it's simply nice to know that you found a satisfactory solution!  Congratulations on getting your machine back to normal again, and I'm sure that I speak for everyone in this discussion when I say that we really appreciate your prompt, thorough feedback.  It has been a pleasure working with you!

Thank you photoman.  As Run5k mentioned, your feedback is always splendid and full, and gives us experts the opportunity to eliminate some aspects and pursue new angles.  There's nothing less satisfactory than members who make it feel we are cumulatively pissing into the wind, and thankfully you are not one of them ;-)