Solved Start Menu Messed Up

jtwellner

jtwellner

New Member
Ok, so this has happened on me now on 2 different vista computers. I accidentally dragged one of the start menu shortcuts from "All Applications" to the desktop while attempting something else. When this happens inside the "All Applications" a new folder appears called "Programs" but when you click on it nothing expands. If i go to its location it says it is in the folder where all the other shortcuts for applications are. But it is not there. If i right click it and delet it, all hell breaks loose. It is still there but only some of the other shortcuts in the Start Menu are there now. If you click on a folder where it is gone it is just an empty folder but on some the shortcuts are still there. I have been able to round up the shortcuts from the "Start Menu" folder and Recycling Bin. So now I have 2 folders and a big mess. my question is, is what folder should the shortcuts be in? And is there a way to simply reset them all from there original Applications saving me great fustration? Any feedback would be good, like i said this has happened twice now and it is really driving me up the wall!
 

My Computer

System One

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hi jtwellner,

After using Brink's advice to restore thing to how they should be, you may want to consider un-checking the "Allow drag & drop and context menus" option in the start menu properties,

Should stop the accidental moves and can always be re-enabled if you need to use the functionality.:geek:

Also if you see the "extra" programs menu I have found that it will reset if you open start menu properties select customise and the click OK without actually changing anything - a reboot also appears to reset the menu, most of the time. :D
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro x64 Latest Release Preview
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer G276HL 27", (DVi) + Samsung 39" HDTV (HDMI)
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 1920x1080 @50Hz
  • Manufacturer/Model
    Real World Computers (Custom by Me)
    CPU
    AMD FX8350 Vishera 8 Core @4GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus M5A78L-M USB3
    Memory
    32GB [4x8GB] DDR3 1600 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Asus nVidia GTX750TI-OC-2GD5 (2GB DDR5)
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xoner DG + SPDIF to 5.1 System + HDMI
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32" TV
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Internal
    Crucial CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SSD,
    Seagate ST2000DM001-1CH1 2TB,

    External (USB3)
    Seagate Backup+ Hub BK SCSI Disk 8TB
    2.5/3.5 Hot Swap Cradle, USB3 + eSata (client HDDs)
    NAS 4TB
    PSU
    Aerocool Templarius Imperator 750W 80+ Silver
    Case
    AeroCool X-Warrior Red Devil Tower
    Cooling
    Hyper103 CPU, Rear 120mm, Front 2x120mm, Side 2x120mm
    Internet Speed
    68 MB Down 18.5 MB Up
    Other Info
    Six Sensor Auto / Manual Digital cooling (Fan) control with Touch control Panel
Thank you very much you barman58 & Brink....I can see I came to the right place for help with Vista, I will give these a try and see if they work.
 

My Computer

System One

You're welcome JTwellner. Please post back your results.

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
I was able to put back all my shortcuts back into the folder they should be in. I had made a folder with all them on my desktop when I started messing around with them. So when I put them all back and restarted it worked and I right away went into the Properties and made sure I could not drag and drop them anymore because that's how this all started. I never noticed that option in the Task Bar properties and it being pointed out now should save me any headaches. :)
 

My Computer

System One

I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted out. :)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
I read through this post as I've had the same kind of problem, and it was able to help me some, but unfortunately I apparently managed to get my computer messed up a little more than the other users. I tried pasting the programs back into the C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs as one of the links suggested, but that didn't fix my problem. I then decided to try to see if I could guess my way to a solution.

I have actually been living with this problem for a couple years, but I finally got fed up enough with it to try to fix it for good. In the process of living with the issue, I realized that Windows seemed to have redirected things to the folder where I had moved my programs list to. So I realized I might need to go into the registry and re-direct Windows back to the appropriate location.

Fortunately I had given the location I put the "Programs" folder in a very unique name. I called the folder "NeverDelete" because I had tried deleting it before and then lost all my programs. So, I opened up the registry editor and searched for any reference to "NeverDelete". Like I suspected, there were several registry keys that referenced the "NeverDelete" folder that I had created. I went about redirecting them all to "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" or to "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" according to what seemed appropriate for the entry.

I then restarted my computer, and once it booted up again I had my programs list back.

Note: I would advice some caution if you try to apply this fix as it's pretty easy to mess up your registry. You might want to back up your registry or create a system restore point so that you can reverse what you did if it doesn't work out.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ 2.41GHz
    Memory
    2GB DDR2 800
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" LED Asus
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