File associations / permissions problem

[Pete Hunt]

Hi,

This could be a long one.

Background: Hoary (Gnome) on a Thinkpad.

I have a strange problem - file associations for _normal users_ have 
become unset on my laptop - caused by a permissions problem I think, but 
I can't track down what's causing it.

Normally I can open most files by doubleclicking on them in Nautilus, 
but file associations have been lost and I can't reset them in some cases.

If I issue:

pete at tpad:~/images$ eog wallpaper81.jpg

Eye of Gnome opens, but I get:

I/O error : Permission denied
I/O error : Permission denied
I/O error : Permission denied
etc

in the xterm and the file won't open.  I can use Open in EOG to preview 
the image in the file browser, but can't actually open the file.

(yes, I have full rwx to the files in question).

##  Things I've already tried:

1) Created a new user to see if it's just my account.  My test user has 
the same problem - default file associations are broken and permissions 
are strange.

2) Reinstalled gnome-mime-data - still broken.

3) Running Nautilus / eog / etc through sudo - works fine - icons are 
representative of content and open with the correct program.

So the mime data is there, but something is denying me (and test user) 
access.

4) Reinstalled kernel + headers (because of below)

## Possible culprit

I _think_ (since it's the last thing I did before noticing the problem) 
that the problem was caused by the vmwareplayer installer adding things 
to my machine (specifically, faffing with kernel headers) but I could be 
wrong.

Anyone care to give me a clue?

Thanks

Pete