Cannot open "Downloads" Folder - gives me error

That message is not related to "I can't open folder Downloads".  That message says that you have downloaded a file that has an extension that is not in your Windows association table.

When you double-click a file, Windows looks at the extension (the characters after the .).  Then it looks for a program that associates with that extension.  If it can not find one, it gives exactly the message you show above.  If it finds one in the table, it will use that program to open the file.

Find out which file is causing this.  Then search the web to find out what program associates to that file.  You may need that program.

Often, the file has had its extension changed to an incorrect one.

Thanks for your reply and feedback.

Not a while long I used to click on "Downloads" and open it. Now for some unexplained reason I can't even open that folder. It would be hard for me to ascertain which file is missing something when I can't even open the folder. Is there another way that I can open that folder? The error message seems to be talking about that folder, Downloads and missing an app to be able to open it.

Thanks.

That is odd that it is complaining about explorer since if that was not running or unable to run you would not even have a desktop...

Are you able to open other folders or is the problem confined to the Downloads folder?

It could be that your file associations have come undone.  File associations tells Windows what program to use based on the extension of the file name (like explorer.exe)

See if some other .exe file will run/open...

Click the Start button orb and in the box enter:

mspaint.exe

Theb click mspaint.exe...  does the Paint program or if you get an error what does the error say?

If Paint opens, repeat the process except in the box enter:

explorer.exe

Describe or post screen shots with results.

Try this,

Probably a link file association :/

Thanks for replying.

I can use all folders and files, only the "Downloads" folder gives me the already mentioned error.

This is a curious problem and poking around on the Internet I can see others like it but the symptoms do not make sense...  if you were able to open and run mspaint.exe

Anywho, it appears ThrashZone has been absorbed by the MS Answers police for some reason.

First make yourself a manual System Restore point just in case.

He thinks that the file association that tells Windows what to do with files that have a ,exe extension is afflicted.

He wants you to go to that WWW site and download the fix for .exe files and save it to someplace you can find it...  like your desktop (not the afflicted Downloads folder):

Then you will have a file on your desktop called:

Default_EXE.reg

Then follow all the instructions at the top of that WWW page to import/merge that file into your system registry.

That will set the file associations for .EXE files back to the Windows default.

It appears ThrashZone is back...