Every item on the desktop and every folder in the start menu opens as a word document. I installed norton utilities and when i went to open it, it also was converted to a word document and would not open. It is my sister in law's computer who has just purchased it 2 weeks ago brand new from a department store. Also has a norton internet security installed. Any help would be much appreciated. Nick.

There is obviously some sort of fault with file associations, when you say everything on the desktop ..are these shortcuts to programs? and again in the start menu are these all your programs that are being opened by word? If so then you need to fix association for .exe files. Use the fix for .exe on the webpage here: http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/file-asso-fixes-for-windows-7/Liverbird_UK

Hi, System Restore should be a easy method to fix this issue. Regards,Arthur Li - MSFT