How to Fix all desktop shortcut Icons changed to the same icon in windows

This process applies to all Windows Operating System (WOS), be it Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 etc.

On starting the computer one of the things to be noticed after the welcome screen is to be greeted by the shortcut icons. They are there for quick access or shorter route to find more information about files the icons represent. These are the things found on the surface of the computer screen. They range from the desktop to the internet explorer icons. Their usefulness can not be over-emphasized when looking for quick alternative ways to carry out some activities. Rather than taking lengthy processes of locating particular applications on the computer the shortcut icons come easily handy to reach to achieve them - as they are right at the front of the desktop for quick accessibility.

When these icons turned into something else, most especially, changing into single favicon it becomes obvious something is wrong somewhere. Not only that, when they are clicked on they respond differently behaving in an unusual-like manners, doing the wrong things they are not meant to do. Most times all the icons turned into Notepad, PDF, or something else. Whatever particular icon they all changed into it is clear they need some attention to function properly.

Issue
All my shortcut icons have been changed to same icon u can't open any software

SOLUTION

Click on Start > Run > type regedit and press the Enter key
Navigate to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.lnk\
Delete user choice folder, close registry editor and restart your machine.