Solved Windows 11 File Explorer not showing executable file extension (exe).

Victor II Jr · Feb 7, 2025

Windows 11 Pro 23H2 build 22631.3880

My File Explorer isn't showing executable file extensions; it lists a program's name minus the "exe" suffix, while the extensions of every other file type are displayed.
I already have 'View->File name extensions' checked, and have confirmed that hide extensions for known file types is unchecked in Explorer Properties for all folders.
I've run "sfc /SCANNOW" and Windows Defender without issue. Booting into Safe Mode made no difference, either.

glasskuter · Feb 7, 2025

Victor II Jr said:
My File Explorer isn't showing executable file extensions; it lists a program's name minus the "exe" suffix, while the extensions of every other file type are displayed.

Screenshots would be helpful as well as for you to completely fill out the system specs section of your forum profile

garlin · Feb 7, 2025

Out of curiosity, do you get the same results when running this command?

Code:

C:\Users\GARLIN>assoc | findstr exe
.exe=exefile

Victor II Jr · Feb 7, 2025

garlin said:
Out of curiosity, do you get the same results when running this command?

Code:

C:\Users\GARLIN>assoc | findstr exe .exe=exefile

Yes. Here's my full ouput:

.diag=Assoc_TSPDesigner.exe_all_amd64_enu
.exe=exefile

Berton · Feb 7, 2025

Shortcuts to files may have the same name but don't always show any extension, check the file size. Shortcuts usually are small, 1, 2 or 3KB.

dacrone · Feb 7, 2025

With extensions set to show, check
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe
Make sure the key reflects

then
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile
Make sure it reflects

Then restart Explorer or sign out and in again

How to Show or Hide File Extensions in Windows 10

Here is how to show or hide extensions for files in Windows 10. By default, file extensions are not visible in File Explorer.

winaero.com

Victor II Jr · Feb 7, 2025

Windows 11 Pro x86_64
23H2 build 22631.3880

A screenshot of Windows Explorer, in case my original post needs clarification:

Notice every file type has its extension displayed, with the sole exception of executable applications (i.e. .exe files).
This happens in every directory, even new ones I created.

Berton · Feb 7, 2025

Victor II Jr said:
Windows 11 Pro x86_64

My machines don't have the x86 part you show. There is no x86 [32-bit] version of Win11 although x86/32-bit programs can be run, show in the C:\Program Files (x86) folder.

Victor II Jr · Feb 7, 2025

Berton said:
Shortcuts to files may have the same name but don't always show any extension, check the file size. Shortcuts usually are small, 1, 2 or 3KB.

I checked again. Confirming these aren't shortcuts.

Victor II Jr · Feb 7, 2025

dacrone said:
With extensions set to show, check
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe
Make sure the key reflects
View attachment 124682
then
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile
Make sure it reflects
View attachment 124683
Then restart Explorer or sign out and in again

How to Show or Hide File Extensions in Windows 10

Here is how to show or hide extensions for files in Windows 10. By default, file extensions are not visible in File Explorer.

winaero.com

Both entries are similar to yours. My full HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\FriendlyTypeName is as follows:
@%SystemRoot%\System32\shell.dll,-10156
which is the default value, if I understand correctly.

dacrone · Feb 7, 2025

go here and scroll down to comment #2960656. see if that correlates to what you see in your registry.

.https://www.techrepublic.com/forums/discussions/unable-to-show-exe-file-extension/

Victor II Jr · Feb 8, 2025

dacrone said:
go here and scroll down to comment #2960656. see if that correlates to what you see in your registry.

.https://www.techrepublic.com/forums/discussions/unable-to-show-exe-file-extension/

That situation is almost exactly my experience. So I tried this:

Go to [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile] and delete “NeverShowExt”.

It worked. Now I can see the exe file extension in Windows Explorer in both my regular and my Administrator accounts. Thanks, dacrone, for narrowing it down. (Note: Simply deleting NeverShowExt just worked for me, but I can also get the same result by deleting it and adding an empty entry of the same type, named AlwaysShowExt. Either way seems fine.)
Now, I've freshly installed Windows 11 23H2 (Retail) onto another machine to discover this problem doesn't exist there (.exe always shows up without modification to the registry). Any idea what might've caused that particular registry entry to differ between installations? The 'problematic' setup is an OEM version of Windows 11 23H2 which came pre-installed, if that makes a difference. Should I be concerned about malware, even though a Windows Defender scan reported nothing on either machine?

Victor II Jr · Feb 8, 2025

Berton said:
My machines don't have the x86 part you show. There is no x86 [32-bit] version of Win11 although x86/32-bit programs can be run, show in the C:\Program Files (x86) folder.

The "x86_64" is just my way of saying AMD64, or any native 64-bits CPU based on the x86 architecture (e.g. an AMD Ryzen or an Intel N-Processor). I'm not sure of the official designation.
Since I have two Windows 11 computers with different brands of CPU, I didn't want to get too specific about my hardware in case I post about the other. But, for sure, it's all 64-bits.

LesFerch · Feb 8, 2025

dacrone said:
go here and scroll down to comment #2960656. see if that correlates to what you see in your registry.

.https://www.techrepublic.com/forums/discussions/unable-to-show-exe-file-extension/

The strange thing about that exchange is that there were two HideFileExt entries in HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced which should not be possible. Maybe one of the entries had a trailing space in its name. But the OP said that removing the "duplicate" made no difference and the problem was ultimately fixed by changing the default value in HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\HideFileExt which is normally 1 (extensions hidden) and should only apply on first login when the profile is created. So, it doesn't quite add up for me, but it would be interesting to see if there are "duplicate" HideFileExt entries in @Victor II Jr 's HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced key.

P.S. @Victor II Jr 's Your screenshot is almost unreadable. It does the job in this case, but for the future, just press the prt sc (or similarly labelled) button on your keyboard to get a clear screenshot.

Victor II Jr · Feb 8, 2025

LesFerch said:
The strange thing about that exchange is that there were two HideFileExt entries in HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced which should not be possible. Maybe one of the entries had a trailing space in its name. But the OP said that removing the "duplicate" made no difference and the problem was ultimately fixed by changing the default value in HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\HideFileExt which is normally 1 (extensions hidden) and should only apply on first login when the profile is created. So, it doesn't quite add up for me, but it would be interesting to see if there are "duplicate" HideFileExt entries in @Victor II Jr 's HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced key.

P.S. @Victor II Jr 's Your screenshot is almost unreadable. It does the job in this case, but for the future, just press the prt sc (or similarly labelled) button on your keyboard to get a clear screenshot.

That is one awful screenshot! I'll be sure to make 'em clearer in the future.

It seems the only action relevant to my case, and which resolved my hidden exe extension, was to simply delete the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\NeverShowExt entry. Some research has shown that Internet Explorer (IE) might add this entry, and I did get IE 9.0 setup run on that machine as required by an older program. The other registry values appeared to have no effect and they are all set to standard values—no problems there.

Berton · Feb 8, 2025

Victor II Jr said:
The "x86_64" is just my way of saying AMD64, or any native 64-bits CPU based on the x86 architecture (e.g. an AMD Ryzen or an Intel N-Processor). I'm not sure of the official designation.

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