all my desktop icons are the same

all of a sudden all my icons on my desk top are the same..they are one of my photo programs. When i click on any of them the photo program opens...how can i get all my icons to go back to the program that they really are??

Hello and Welcome. : )

Have you tried:

- System restore

- Change which programs Windows uses by default

- Try a new windows account, Control Panel -> User accounts

It may have been set as your default program to open files, so you might want to change it to another program.
A default program is the program that Windows uses when you open a particular type of file, such as a music file, an image, or a webpage. For example, if you have more than one web browser installed on your computer, you can choose one of them to be the default browser.

Use this option to choose which programs you want Windows to use, by default.


If a program does not show up in the list, you can make the program a default by using Set Associations.

1. Open Default Programs by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Default Programs .
2. Click Associate a file type or protocol with a program .
3. Click the file type or protocol that you want the program to act as the default for.
4. Click Change program .
5. Click the program that you want to use as the default for the file type you selected, or click the arrow next to Other Programs to show additional programs. (If you don't see Other Programs , or your program is not listed, click Browse to find the program you want to use, and then click Open . If no other programs are installed that are able to open the file type or protocol, your choices will be limited.)
   If you don't see the program you want to use as the default, click the arrow next to Other Programs to see a list of programs available on your computer
   
6. Click OK .

Refer the link below

Change which programs Windows uses by default

If the above suggestions do not help try System Restore.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/What-is-System-Restore

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/System-Restore-frequently-asked-questions

It may have been set as your default program to open files, so you might want to change it to another program.
A default program is the program that Windows uses when you open a particular type of file, such as a music file, an image, or a webpage. For example, if you have more than one web browser installed on your computer, you can choose one of them to be the default browser.

Use this option to choose which programs you want Windows to use, by default.


If a program does not show up in the list, you can make the program a default by using Set Associations.

1. Open Default Programs by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Default Programs .
2. Click Associate a file type or protocol with a program .
3. Click the file type or protocol that you want the program to act as the default for.
4. Click Change program .
5. Click the program that you want to use as the default for the file type you selected, or click the arrow next to Other Programs to show additional programs. (If you don't see Other Programs , or your program is not listed, click Browse to find the program you want to use, and then click Open . If no other programs are installed that are able to open the file type or protocol, your choices will be limited.)
   If you don't see the program you want to use as the default, click the arrow next to Other Programs to see a list of programs available on your computer
   
6. Click OK .

Refer the link below

Change which programs Windows uses by default

If the above suggestions do not help try System Restore.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/What-is-System-Restore

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/System-Restore-frequently-asked-questions


I hope this helps!

Brett M,
Windows Outreach Team

It may be the case, that somehow you've changed the file association for the .lnk file extension to that of your photo program, if that's the case there is a discussion thread over on the Microsoft TechNet Forum addressing this issue. About the forth post down you'll see a post from Error_Counter, who has a link to a reg file fix for that particular problem, which seems to have fix it for several people both in Vista and Windows 7, so I thought I would provide a link to that discussion and leave the final decision up to you, read through all the posts and decide
Desktop and Start Program icon .LNK File Associations

I have the same problem and it drives me crazy, whenever I want to open something, it's only that fkking program that opens it. I don't want it to be like that and I HATE it.

HELP!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Confusedd

I have the same problem and it drives me crazy, whenever I want to open something, it's only that fkking program that opens it. I don't want it to be like that and I HATE it.

HELP!!!!!!!

I have the same problem, and using the
Start>Default>associate a file type or protocol with a program
Did not work.
I have to Right Click>properties>open file location> than click on the original icon
to make any program work. please help!

How To Fix All Desktop Icons Are The Same - YouTube
This will fix all problems without a system restore.