[Fix] .EXE Files Open in Notepad or Other App when Double-clicked

Summary: Double-clicking an .exe file may open Notepad or any other application, displaying junk characters. On some systems, the Open with dialog may appear when double-clicking .exe files. This article explains how to fix the .exe file association in Windows 10 and 11.

Did you accidentally use the Default Programs or Open With dialog to associate .exe file types with an application like Notepad? This causes every program to open in that chosen application. Unfortunately, Windows does not provide an option to reset the .exe file associations. You need to fix the association settings using a .reg file or script.

After incorrectly associating .exe files using Notepad, Notepad opens whenever a .exe file is double-clicked. Here is an example:

Or, you may see the “Open with” dialog when you run a program (.exe file).

Resolution

To fix the .exe file association issue, delete the UserChoice registry key. This has to be done using a REG file or a script, as trying to launch regedit.exe directly would cause the same problem. Follow these steps:

1) Run exefix_cu.reg

1. Right-click exefix_cu.reg and choose “Save Link as” in your browser, and download the file to Desktop.
2. Right-click on the REG file and choose Merge. The .REG file clears the following key, which shouldn’t exist for .exe files.

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe\UserChoice

When you use the Open With dialog to associate .exe files with another application, it stores the settings in the above registry key under a value named Progid. The Progid data will contain the application’s exe file name (Applications\Notepad.exe, Applications\iexplore.exe, or a Programmatic Identifier such as txtfile, jpegfile, etc).

2) Run exefix.reg

If the above fix doesn’t help, download exefix.reg (right-click and “Save link as” in your browser) and run it. Click Yes to confirm.

(The registry fix restores the .exe file association settings in Windows 10 and 11.)

Ignore the following error:

Cannot import exefix.reg: Not all data was successfully written to the registry. Some keys are open by the system or other processes, or you have insufficient privileges to perform this operation.

See if that fixes the .exe association settings.

Related article: How to Remove a File Association Using the Registry Editor?