Windows 7 - Possessed by Media Center!

I looked at my laptop recently and found that many of my icons (desktop and otherwise) had been replaced by the Windows Media Center icon. Now, when I click on those programs, the Media Center comes up instead of the intended program. I can't even bring up System Restore because guess what comes up when I click on it? You guessed it. I can't find it in Add/Remove Programs and I can't disable it because every time I click that particular link in the Control Panel, the Media Center comes up.

Also, when it does come up, it will usually do so twice; it will come up initially, then I'll close it, then I'll get another one.

Help? Please?

Windows Media Centre is a fine piece of engineering, not...

Did you alter/check file associations?

I checked the file associations, and all I could see was that WMC is configured to open up different media files and whatnot. It doesn't have anything listed about these other programs. I can't open half of the things on my computer because WMC comes up instead. I'm stupid about this kind of thing.

This has likely occured due to the installation of third party add-ons, codecs packs, and so called quick fixes. See, it hasn't happened to us all, in fact only to people of a certain group, that group now noted.

So any suggestions as to how I go about fixing it?

You should take a look at what Media Centre is set to open. I'm using mine right now so I can't take a detailed look, but if you enter the settings area you may find you can disable any erroneous file format associations...

Launch system restore from your DVD

As stated above, all of the file associations for WMC are displaying as the correct media (audio, video, etc). My system did not come with a restore disc and WMC comes up when I try to launch it from the hard drive. I just got this thing and hadn't yet gotten the opportunnity to make a backup disc on my own.

Then you have a factory restore partition, use it.

If file associations are not incorrect then there's some other corruption in play, which is not easy to diagnose based on the limited information which is known - most likely caused by the installation of some third party software or even media centre plugin modules.

Nobody can tell you what's to blame without knowing far more details.