Windows 7 running IE7 was updated to IE9, inadvertently by Microsoft's automatic update the other day. Now icons on all Office files and some others are generic, although the programs and files still work. that is, all files, whether Powerpoint, Word, Excell, or others have the same icon. Also, the same problem with icons on the desktop. For Acrobat (PDF) files, I was able to fix this with a "repair" tool on Acrobat's task bar.
I have not tried a "system restore," for fear that it might not restore IE7 properly, and because someone on a message board with a similar problem tried a restore and it did not work.
Any ideas?