Cant install anything

Please help me. I am stumped. I have an old Compaq pc that i am fixing up for my son to use. Problem is that I cant open any files or folders. Everytime I click on a file or folder, this open with dialog box pops up and asks me what do I want to open this program with. If I click on something then ok, nothing happens.I cant do a system restore, not evfen in safe mode. Any idea what happened to this crazy thing or how to fix it? I can get on the internet and download anything I need, But cant install it cuz it asks me what program I want to use to install the download. The OS is Windows Me. I aint got a clue on this one folks. Help a brother out.

Reply 1 : Cant install anything

While I KNOW this is an association problem, all the fixes I know apply to Windows XP and beyond.

It should take you less time to re-install the OS and drivers but you can try this -> http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/611299.html

AHA, I had forgotten the old TWEAKUI and it's repair association feature. TRY THAT!