Can't start powerpoint from start menu shortcut in c#

Question

I'm attempting to start a program based on a start menu shortcut. In particular, I'm trying to launch powerpoint based on its start menu shortcut. To accomplish this, I am using the IWshRuntimeLibrary.

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    string searchTerm = "powerpoint";

    string startMenu = Environment
        .GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.CommonStartMenu);

    string shortcutPath = Directory
        .GetFiles(startMenu, "*.lnk", SearchOption.AllDirectories)
        .OrderBy(p => p.Length)
        .First(p => p.ToLower().Contains(searchTerm));

    WshShell shell = new WshShell();

    IWshShortcut shortcut = (IWshShortcut)shell.CreateShortcut(shortcutPath);

    Console.WriteLine(shortcut.TargetPath); //prints: C:\Windows\Installer\{90140000-0011-0000-0000-0000000FF1CE}\pptico.exe

    Process.Start(shortcut.TargetPath, shortcut.Arguments);
}

I am able to successfully find the shortcut as well as create an IWshShortcut object. However, once I attempt to run the shortcut's backing application (via Process.Start(shortcut.TargetPath, shortcut.Arguments)), a Win32Exception occurs:

System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception was unhandled
  Message=The specified executable is not a valid application for this OS platform.
  Source=System
  ErrorCode=-2147467259
  NativeErrorCode=193
  StackTrace:
       at System.Diagnostics.Process.StartWithShellExecuteEx(ProcessStartInfo startInfo)
       at System.Diagnostics.Process.Start()
       at System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(ProcessStartInfo startInfo)
       at System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(String fileName, String arguments)
       at Scratch.Program.Main(String[] args) in C:\Users\jhampton\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects\Scratch\Scratch\Program.cs:line 26
       at System.AppDomain._nExecuteAssembly(RuntimeAssembly assembly, String[] args)
       at System.AppDomain.ExecuteAssembly(String assemblyFile, Evidence assemblySecurity, String[] args)
       at Microsoft.VisualStudio.HostingProcess.HostProc.RunUsersAssembly()
       at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)
       at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean ignoreSyncCtx)
       at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
       at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()
  InnerException:

The only related answer I could find was in this discussion. My project was already building as an x86 application

Since it seems relevant, here's some background on my system. I am running Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit, and have Microsoft Office 2010 installed. This is part of a console application written in Visual Studio 2010, targeting .NET Framework 4 Client Profile.

I'm in the process of investigating the following alternative solutions:

The Windows API Code Pack: http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/WindowsAPICodePack
Shortcuts without IWshRuntimeLibrary: How to resolve a .lnk in c#

Sorry about the lack of sensible links. It's my first post and apparently I can't insert more than one using a tags.

Answer 1

This should simply work:

Process.Start(shortcutPath);

You don't need to open the lnk, just ask windows to execute it. Behind the scene, Process.Start will do a ShellExecute that knows how to process a .lnk.