After I unzipped a document file I'd gotten from my email, I tried to open as PDF w/ Adobe just as then I noticed several icons changed and were displaying .rar icon, then as I finished they were suddenly pdf icons. Now I cannot open any .exe files. I can't use System Restore, can't even run my antivirus program. I've tried several things I could think of but so far still a little lost. Can anyone help?

Start by resetting the .exe association, here are a few pointers: 1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to \Windows\System32, right-click on cmd.exe and choose Run as administrator. If that fails because it’s an exe program, use the program command.com, which is in the same folder. Now type assoc .exe=exefile and press Enter. You may have to restart the computer. 2. On another computer, open Notepad, type assoc .exe=exefile and save it on an external device as assoc.bat. Just double-click it to run it on the ‘infected’ machine. 3. Boot to Safe Mode (start tapping F8 when you switch on) and choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt. At the prompt type assoc .exe=exefile and press Enter. There will be no acknowledgement, just type exit and press Enter. 4. Restore the .exe file association after incorrectly associating it with another application http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/file-asso-fixes-for-windows-7/

Start by resetting the .exe association, here are a few pointers: 1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to \Windows\System32, right-click on cmd.exe and choose Run as administrator. If that fails because it’s an exe program, use the program command.com, which is in the same folder. Now type assoc .exe=exefile and press Enter. You may have to restart the computer. 2. On another computer, open Notepad, type assoc .exe=exefile and save it on an external device as assoc.bat. Just double-click it to run it on the ‘infected’ machine. 3. Boot to Safe Mode (start tapping F8 when you switch on) and choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt. At the prompt type assoc .exe=exefile and press Enter. There will be no acknowledgement, just type exit and press Enter. 4. Restore the .exe file association after incorrectly associating it with another application http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/file-asso-fixes-for-windows-7/

THANK YOU SO MUCH BW! option 4 worked wonders for me, while the icons for some reason are still just blank sheets of paper, they are at least working now, and now I can scan for viruses and try to get everything in order.... to think... this happened just from me trying to get my PS3 controller to work on windows...