Why has CCleaner changed a lot of my program file ext.'s to .Ink ??? Actually, scratch the question....I don't really need an answer, as I won't be using this Crap software again. I am _really_ annoyed that this software has changed my file ext.'s. Working from home means that the software I use for work, now doesn't recognise files on the network ! Really not happy...CCleaner is removed. I sure hope that file ext's revert back to normal after re-boot!

huh? ccleaner didnt change all of the .exe to .ink its not possible. But you have probably made your mind up that it was the cause.

Dont come here with attitude and expect a helpfull response. I will tell you that if this happened somethings not right with your pc. And its something that ccleaner could not have caused.

Has your pc been having other problems before running ccleaner?

rridgely, Silkworm didn't write .ink, he/she wrote .Ink but probably meant .lnk. I bet you Silkworm's looking at the shortcuts to the app's.

If he is seeing the extension to a shortcut file, that means that Windows doesn't recognize what the shortcuts are anymore. That is the exact same thing that RegSupreme Pro 1.1 did to my computer before I scraped that piece-of-crap-app off of my hard disk with a razor. Well, not technically a razor, but it was definitely removed promptly.

Anyway, even if you have Windows set to show extensions (Start > Control Panel > Folder Options > View > Hide extensions for known file types), it will still not show the .lnk extension, so obviously your computer is not a healthy pup.

The programs are all fine, but the shortcuts to them (and everything else) are toast. So Silkworm, you can still run all of your apps if you manually find the shortcut's target and run it. Obviously, that is a huge nuisance, so back to solving the problem. All you should have to do is run System Restore; that is what I did when it happened to me, and the problem was completely solved.

I am inclined to believe that this was caused some registry editing application, but I doubt that it was CCleaner. If you have any other registry editing apps, and plan on coming back to this forum, please share them with us. There is a good chance that something other than CCleaner wreaked havoc on your computer.

On my Admin account I uncheck in CCleaner's Issues to check for invalid shortcuts because it does list some that are valid in the 'All Users\Start Menu', however EasyCleaner also finds the exact same shortcuts - but neither program lists the valid shortcuts on my normal users account as strange as that may seem.

It helps to look at the list of files that were found before actually committing to the removal process, it's called common sense.

So two different registry cleaners find the same "faulty" shortcuts, and suggest removal? Perhaps then, Windows is to blame? Or do both cleaners coincidently have the same error?

Not necessarily. Silkworm wrote:
The links may be to inaccesible files. One of my co-workers once copied a bunch of stuff to work on at home. They only copied a desktop shortcut to the network database (they didn't have a connection at home).

But if the files were inaccessible, that wouldn't cause the extension for the shortcut to not be recognized by Windows. Windows would still know what the shortcut was, it just wouldn't know where the shortcut's target was located.

I'm still banking on it being a registry problem. It may be true that files on his network can't be accessed because of a problem in the network, but the extension problem has nothing to do with that.

I do find it amusing that Silkworm came on here ranting and raving about how terrible CCleaner goofed up his computer, and he didn't even try restarting. It may be a really easy fix, but he's just too upset to even try it first!

I don't know if it's the fault of Windows or both cleaners but it's only a small handful of shortcuts.

Just a quick note to apologise for my rant...I was rather upset at the time of writing! I actually don't know if CCleaner caused the problem. It was either that or XP Anti-Spy. I've removed both...and did a system repair via the recovery console. No further problems..all file ext.'s as they should be.

CCleaner may well be worth using, when I have time to read the fine-print ( and know how to use it ) I will have another go.

Regarding re-starting 'puter...*ahem*..yes I did try that ( not entirely computer illiterate..lol ). The software I use to work from home is a proprietary software designed by my employer ( I'm a teleservices contractor - patient support programs ). To receive inbound calls, I need to first log-in to their portal..and also connect to their VPN. When attempting to receive data batches via portal, my installation didn't recognise the data ( thus didn't download it ).

Anyway, problem is fixed. When I decide to have another go with CCleaner, I'll know where to go

Thanks
Sw

Ps. Silkworm is she, not a he !

In your first post, you wrote that you hope that file ext's revert...after re-boot. That would mean that you had not yet rebooted before you made your unhappy post. I wasn't trying to call you computer illiterate, I was just stating what you wrote.

Anyway, I'm glad that you got it fixed up. And sorry about the genderial confusion!

I had a gut feeling