This question has been asked, but the solutions given were worthless to me because ALL files are trying to open in Notepad. I mistakenly associated all exe files with Notepad and everything is trying to open within Notepad now. That includes regedit, so suggesting I use regedit to doctor files does not work (cmd window will not open from Winkey + R - Run).

It also includes any program I download to fix the issue. I also can not right click and choose Open With because that is not a given option when right clicking on a majority of files, at least none of the exe files I want to start. Yes, I tried it on the program files, not the shortcut. I also can not use System Restore because it, too, tries to open in Notepad. I've been banging my head uselessly on this for hours. Could someone help me out?