Desktop shortcuts not working

[expat]

Please help, I have a friend (94 years old) and has this last year bought his first computer. The problem is, during Christmas his cat knocked the keyboard off the desk, and since then the Desktop shortcuts (he depends on them a lot) will not link to their address.
I tried re-loading the shortcuts, but still they will not link!
Strangely, I link to his sites through Explorer but the desktop icons show up as Firefox icons?

 

[Carbon]

Reboot the computer.

If you are using Windows, consider a system restore back to before the problem started.

Maybe reinstall the OS if you cannot find another solution.

 

[Augustus]

It appears Firefox became the default browser making all the internet shortcuts (shortcuts to a URL) show as Firefox icons.

(URL is Universal Resource Locator or simply a http:// address to a website.)

In Firefox, select "Tools" then "Options" then select the "Advanced" tab. Then select the "General" tab.
Then UNSELECT "Always check to see if Firefox is the default browser on start up."
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/How+...fault%20browser

Then make IE the Default browser.

How to Make Internet Explorer the Default Web Browser
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/284456
http://www.askdavetaylor.com/make_ms_internet_explorer_ie7_default_browser.html - IE7

or google the phrase.

That may restore the shortcuts.
Then try closing then restarting IE. If that doesn't help, reboot the computer.
You don't need to reinstall the OS. When the keyboard fell, it probably just pressed some keys which made firefox become the default browser.

Also try going into an Explorer (directory) window. Press the Window key and while holding it down, press the "E" key. This should open an Explorer window (not the browser). On the menu, select the "Tools" then "Folder Options." Select the "File Types" tab. This is where you can associate file extensions with an application e.g. "DOC" with MS Word. Scroll down to the file extension "URL" and see which program it is associated with. The "URL" is the file extension for Internet Shortcuts. Select it then click on the "Change" button and select the program in this case the Internet Explorer browser.

Try that if the above "default browser" methods don't work.