Solved Start Menu "Programs" folder deleted.

Is there any way to restore the deleted "programs" folder from the vista start menu? I deleted it because it was just a duplicate of everything already in the start menu.

Now most of the shortcuts from my start menu have disappeared and also I can't access "Administrative Tools" in control panel.

I tried system restore to previous day but didn't work, then tried restoring to a point week back but no luck either.

i tried "Repair" of some of the programs from "Programs & Features" in control panel and they do appeared in start menu but then not all the programs have this "Repair" options in "Programs & Features".

Any help in this regard will be highly appreciated because I tried many forums but didn't get any help to resolve this and hope to get solution here.

Thanks in advance.

- Ramesh
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Presario V3700 Notebook PC
    CPU
    Intel Core2 Duo T5550
    Memory
    2 GB
    Screen Resolution
    1280 X 800
re: Start Menu "Programs" folder deleted.

Copy all the files and folders from C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs and paste it to C:\Users\account name\Start Menu\Programs folder.

You will get all back. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Wipro
    Motherboard
    Intel dq35j0
    Memory
    8 Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    inter express chipset
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Wipro
    Screen Resolution
    1024*768
    Hard Drives
    500 gb
    Keyboard
    DELL
    Mouse
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    100 mbps(office lan)
re: Start Menu "Programs" folder deleted.

Thanks for the reply but unfortunately "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" got deleted somehow when I deleted "Programs" folder from the start menu. No idea how that happened.

I tried to recover deleted files using third-party recovery tools but no luck, so I think either I have to manually re-create the short cuts or re-install all the software.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Presario V3700 Notebook PC
    CPU
    Intel Core2 Duo T5550
    Memory
    2 GB
    Screen Resolution
    1280 X 800
re: Start Menu "Programs" folder deleted.

Try to recover the folder with Shadow Explorer ( ShadowExplorer.com - About ) from one of your earlier shadows (restore points). Navigate to the folder, right click on it and "Export".
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Q6600
    Memory
    4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP w2207h
    Hard Drives
    2x250GB HDDs
    1x60GB OCZ SSD
    6 external disks 60 to 640GBs
    Other Info
    Also 1xHP desktop, 1xHP laptop, 1xGateway laptop

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
re: Start Menu "Programs" folder deleted.

Thanks Shawn, I had already tried what you have suggested and with that I could get my "Administrative Tools" shortcuts back, but my problem is all the other shortcuts created when I installed respective software had gone, for example when I installed Oracle, it created shortcuts in Start Menu, which I lost now.

I really don't know how "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" got deleted when I deleted "Programs" folder form Start Menu.

I will try Shadow Explorer as suggested by "whs", that may help.

Another question is, I have DiskRescue software by Uniblue which defragments the file system. I ran that once accidentally in spite it gave me warning not to run it for the disks protected by "Microsoft Volume Shadow Service". So will that create any problem now in recovering using Shadow Explorer? Also is it recommended to use tools like DiskRescue? Also I use occasionally other tools from Uniblue like "RegistryBooster" for cleaning registry and "DriverScanner" to check outdated drivers and update them and "SpeedupMyPC" for deleting junk files. Although I create restore points as suggested by these tools before applying changes, I would like to know how safe is it to use these tools? Do you recommend using these tools?

Thanks again for quick replies and I am really happy to find this forum. I have gone through some of the forum posts and am impressed by the expert advices offered by you guys. I don't have to go to any other forums for my Windows issues now. You are doing a fantastic job, please keep up the good work.

Thanks,
Ramesh

moz-screenshot-3.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Presario V3700 Notebook PC
    CPU
    Intel Core2 Duo T5550
    Memory
    2 GB
    Screen Resolution
    1280 X 800
re: Start Menu "Programs" folder deleted.

Ramesh,

The programs will still be installed, so if you are unable to recover them, you can manually create new shortcuts directly from the program's exe file in the C:\Program Files\(program folder name) folder and move the shortcut to the Start Menu.
 

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
re: Start Menu "Programs" folder deleted.

You can easily check your restore point situation with: VSSADMIN LIST SHADOWS as a command in Command Prompt (Run as admin).
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Q6600
    Memory
    4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP w2207h
    Hard Drives
    2x250GB HDDs
    1x60GB OCZ SSD
    6 external disks 60 to 640GBs
    Other Info
    Also 1xHP desktop, 1xHP laptop, 1xGateway laptop
re: Start Menu "Programs" folder deleted.

The programs will still be installed, so if you are unable to recover them, you can manually create new shortcuts directly from the program's exe file in the C:\Program Files\(program folder name) folder and move the shortcut to the Start Menu.

Yes Shawn I can do that but it's a pain to do that manually and also I may not be able to re-create them like they were originally. I mean, I may miss some of the programs and the way they were organized neatly in sub-menus etc.

I will first try and check if using Shadow Explorer I can recover them.

Also if you could advise me on whether to use or not the third-party maintenance tools like that I had mentioned (Uniblue tools), it will be great. Are they really good? It feels good when they list "n" number of problems and repair them, but not sure if they do the correct things and not mess up with the system.

I wonder why Microsoft don't provide such tools for Windows. Better I wish these operations like cleaning registry, junk files removing etc. were built into OS itself eliminating the need for any such tools. May be in next releases :)

Do you use any such tools and if yes then which one you will recommend? I am sure your suggestions will surely help other members who might go through this thread in choosing and using such tools.

Thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Presario V3700 Notebook PC
    CPU
    Intel Core2 Duo T5550
    Memory
    2 GB
    Screen Resolution
    1280 X 800
re: Start Menu "Programs" folder deleted.

Well, another option is to reinstall the programs to let them setup the shortcuts again if you can't recover them.

I'm not a fan of these all-in-one tweak programs. They tend to do more harm than good. However, the utility program CCleaner is a great one to use to keep junk off your computer.
 

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
re: Start Menu "Programs" folder deleted.

Shadow Explorer worked!!!

I found the "Programs" folder in recyclebin in one of the restore points in Shadow Explorer. I exported it to "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" and got all my shortcuts.

Thank you very much "whs". I liked this utility, very helpful.

Shawn: I have downloaded "ccleaner" and will give it a try. Just gone through what it offers and it looks great to me.

Thanks again for your time and help. This is a great forum, highly recommended.

- Ramesh
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Presario V3700 Notebook PC
    CPU
    Intel Core2 Duo T5550
    Memory
    2 GB
    Screen Resolution
    1280 X 800
re: Start Menu "Programs" folder deleted.

Ramesh, I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted out and recovered your shortcuts. :)
 

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
No problem. Any time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Q6600
    Memory
    4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP w2207h
    Hard Drives
    2x250GB HDDs
    1x60GB OCZ SSD
    6 external disks 60 to 640GBs
    Other Info
    Also 1xHP desktop, 1xHP laptop, 1xGateway laptop
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