The WAV files on my computer refuse to open and play. All the WAV file icons have changed to a picture of the flying windows logo even though they still have the .EXE extension. Double left-clicking on any WAV file has no effect and right-clicking on the file (which brings up a menu) doesn’t have the ‘Open’ or ‘Play’ commands. Would you have any ideas on how I can bring these files back to life, apart from reinstalling Windows? I am running Windows 98.

The problem seems to be related to file associations. The file association for WAV files on your computer has become corrupted. Even so, your WAV files should still have a .WAV extension rather than the .EXE extension. The following procedure assumes that the files you are having problems with have a .WAV extension. If they do not have this extension, do not proceed with the following procedure as it could cause even greater problems, should you change the file association for another file type! Instead, please contact me again with more information on the problem. However, assuming that the troubled WAV files do have a .WAV extension but they won’t open, then you need to file a .WAV file, and right-click on the file while holding down the SHIFT key. In the menu that appears, click ‘Open with…’. A box will appear with a list of programs. Select the application with which you would like to open the file (in this case it would probably be Sound Recorder, however it may be displayed under a different name in this list) and tick the box saying ‘Always use this program to open this type of file’. Click the OK button. Now all your .WAV files should open in Sound Recorder, or your chosen application.