Exes stop executing after a while

FreeBooter said:

What do you thing applies to OP problem, i have supplied registry fix for .exe file extension association.

I don't pretend to understand the registry changes you suggest, but I think they would be appropriate if there is something wrong with the file association. That might be the case for Ajey but I doubt it. He mentioned that things like reboot don't take effect. He didn't say how he invoked them but I assume from the Stat menu.

I don't know if Ajey's problem is like mine, but for me invoking things from the Start menu or trying to bring up Task Manager using Ctrl-Alt-Delqueue up a request that eventually takes effect ... after a delay of 15-30 minutes. If this is a broken file association then something eventually fixes the association and re-invokes the request. Not very likely in my opinion.

pokeefe0001 said:

I don't pretend to understand the registry changes you suggest, but I think they would be appropriate if there is something wrong with the file association. That might be the case for Ajey but I doubt it. He mentioned that things like reboot don't take effect. He didn't say how he invoked them but I assume from the Stat menu.

I don't know if Ajey's problem is like mine, but for me invoking things from the Start menu or trying to bring up Task Manager using Ctrl-Alt-Delqueue up a request that eventually takes effect ... after a delay of 15-30 minutes. If this is a broken file association then something eventually fixes the association and re-invokes the request. Not very likely in my opinion.

Because we don't know what is causing the issue we have to start with file extension association then if problem not resolved i will ask OP to uninstall antivirus software to see if its causing the problem. One step a time when it comes to troubleshooting PC problems.

FreeBooter said:

Because we don't know what is causing the issue we have to start with file extension association then if problem not resolved i will ask OP to uninstall antivirus software to see if its causing the problem. One step a time when it comes to troubleshooting PC problems.

Hi,

thanks everyone for so many great ideas and discussion, I feel more confident now that I may be able to solve the problem. Unfortunately busy till the weekend, so try all your suggestions and let you know how it goes.

In the meanwhile here are the specs of my laptop:

Computer Type: PC/Desktop
OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit, Version 1607 (OS build 14393.1770)
CPU: Intel Core i5 6600
Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Z170M-D3H-CF (U3E1)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB 2666MHz DDR4
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon R9 380 Series

ajeysp said:

Hi,
I have a Lenovo Ideapad 11S, and my OS is Windows 10. After using it for some time, suddenly all the executables (exes) stop working. Even the windows commands like reboot, task manager etc. don't start at all. The Windows menu continues to function, but on clicking the buttons nothing happens. The only thing I can do is a hard reboot. After the reboot, the problems go away for some time, and then reappear again.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Ajey

See if this tutorial will help :

Restore Default File Type Associations in Windows 10

Use Option Two.
On step #1, use the table and scroll to exe > click it.
Follow the rest of the steps #2 to #7.

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for my delayed response.

After I read through all the posts, I tried to recollect what has changed since when this problem started. I then remembered that I had installed a paid version of the application https://www.enigmasoftware.com/products/spyhunter/ that is used to remove malware. I shut it down from the task manager. Since then the problem seems to have gone :). However I am still observing for some more time.

If the problem doesn't reoccur, I will start that app again, and see if the problem reoccurs.

I will keep you guys posted on this.

x509 said:

I have this problem intermittently, and I'm not sure if it exactly the problem the OP has, but I'm willing to try this reg.fix. But first I have to know exactly what this fix does.

x509

When you double-click an .EXE file, the program may not launch, instead it may open in Notepad (displaying the .exe contents), or may launch in any other application.

The registry file (fix.reg) will restore default .exe file association in Windows after incorrectly associating it with another application.

FreeBooter said:

When you double-click an .EXE file, the program may not launch, instead it may open in Notepad (displaying the .exe contents), or may launch in any other application. The registry file (fix.reg) will restore default .exe file association in Windows after incorrectly associating it with another application.

But I don't see the OP saying anything about the wrong program being invoked - just that nothing was invoked. I know that my problem (which may be nothing like the OP's problem) doesn't involve a wrong program; just that the correct program does not start until after a very long delay (20-30 minutes). And I usually do a forced reboot rather than wait. (A shutdown request is also delayed.)