start menu problem

G

Guest

All of a sudden my start menu All Programs list no longer shows the programs
loaded on my computer. I'm assuming I deleted some file while uninstalling
McAfee manually due to problems there but don't know what or how to fix this.
A start menu folder can be found for each user name on My Computer but only
contains a few files such as Dell and Accessories. All others previously
listed still show up on Add/Remove programs they just are not displayed on
the All programs menu. Can someone help me remedy this?
 
P

Paul Smith

flutemom said:
All of a sudden my start menu All Programs list no longer shows the
programs
loaded on my computer. I'm assuming I deleted some file while
uninstalling
McAfee manually due to problems there but don't know what or how to fix
this.
A start menu folder can be found for each user name on My Computer but
only
contains a few files such as Dell and Accessories. All others previously
listed still show up on Add/Remove programs they just are not displayed on
the All programs menu. Can someone help me remedy this?
Click to expand...

Have you tried looking in the recycle bin?

If they're in there just right-click on them and click restore.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
http://www.windowsresource.net/
http://www.xbox360degrees.com/

*Remove 'nospam.' to reply by e-mail*
 
P

Paul Smith

Oh dear. :-(

Couple of options spring to my mind, neither of which are that great.

1) Reinstall all the applications again.

Or 2) go and manually make new shortcuts for all your programs.

Hopefully somebody knows of some magic feature in Windows that could do
this?

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
http://www.windowsresource.net/
http://www.xbox360degrees.com/

*Remove 'nospam.' to reply by e-mail*
 
N

Nepatsfan

In (e-mail address removed) flutemom
wrote:
All of a sudden my start menu All Programs list no longer
shows the programs loaded on my computer. I'm assuming I
deleted some file while uninstalling McAfee manually due to
problems there but don't know what or how to fix this. A
start menu folder can be found for each user name on My
Computer but only contains a few files such as Dell and
Accessories. All others previously listed still show up on
Add/Remove programs they just are not displayed on the All
programs menu. Can someone help me remedy this?
Click to expand...

It sounds as if you somehow deleted some of the contents of the
C:\Documents and
Settings\All Users\Start Menu folder. You might want to run
System Restore and try and return your computer to the state it
was in before you made these changes to your system. Keep in
mind that running System Restore will probably restore the
McAfee files as well.

To run System Restore you'd normally go to the Start Menu and
navigate to Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore. If
you can't access the program through your crippled Start Menu
you'll have to go directly to its location on your hard drive.
Go to Start and click on Run. Click on the Browse button and
navigate to C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore and click on
rstrui.exe. Hit the Open button. Back in Run, click OK. This
should launch System Restore. In System Restore, make sure that
"Restore my computer to an earlier time" is selected and hit
the Next button. In the calendar, select a restore point that
was created before these problems developed. Hit the Next
button. Follow the instructions to restore you computer to an
earlier state.

If you're looking for more information about System Restore,
visit this web site:

All About System Restore in Windows XP
http://bertk.mvps.org/index.html

Good luck

Nepatsfan
 
G

Guest

Nepatsfan said:
In (e-mail address removed) flutemom
wrote:

It sounds as if you somehow deleted some of the contents of the
C:\Documents and
Settings\All Users\Start Menu folder. You might want to run
System Restore and try and return your computer to the state it
was in before you made these changes to your system. Keep in
mind that running System Restore will probably restore the
McAfee files as well.

To run System Restore you'd normally go to the Start Menu and
navigate to Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore. If
you can't access the program through your crippled Start Menu
you'll have to go directly to its location on your hard drive.
Go to Start and click on Run. Click on the Browse button and
navigate to C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore and click on
rstrui.exe. Hit the Open button. Back in Run, click OK. This
should launch System Restore. In System Restore, make sure that
"Restore my computer to an earlier time" is selected and hit
the Next button. In the calendar, select a restore point that
was created before these problems developed. Hit the Next
button. Follow the instructions to restore you computer to an
earlier state.

If you're looking for more information about System Restore,
visit this web site:

All About System Restore in Windows XP
http://bertk.mvps.org/index.html

Good luck

Nepatsfan
Click to expand...
thanks for your ideas. I thought about system restore 2 but it was such a
long cumbersome process to get all the Mcafee files off my computer I
couldn't stomach it. i think the reinstall of programs would be easier.
Maybe there is a way to create shortcuts to the programs we use most?
 
G

Guest

Paul Smith said:
Oh dear. :-(

Couple of options spring to my mind, neither of which are that great.

1) Reinstall all the applications again.

Or 2) go and manually make new shortcuts for all your programs.

Hopefully somebody knows of some magic feature in Windows that could do
this?

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
http://www.windowsresource.net/
http://www.xbox360degrees.com/

*Remove 'nospam.' to reply by e-mail*
Click to expand...
good ideas. What would be the easiest way to make new shortcuts?
 
N

Nepatsfan

In (e-mail address removed) flutemom
wrote:
thanks for your ideas. I thought about system restore 2 but
it was such a long cumbersome process to get all the Mcafee
files off my computer I couldn't stomach it. i think the
reinstall of programs would be easier. Maybe there is a way
to create shortcuts to the programs we use most?
Click to expand...

OK. I can understand your reluctance to use System Restore. If
you had problems removing McAfee once, you may encounter the
same issues the second time around.

Why not go through the folders contained within C:\Program
Files and identify programs that you want to have listed in the
Start Menu? Whenever you find such a program, right click on
the icon and select Send to -> Desktop (create shortcut) from
the menu. You could then drag and drop these new shortcuts to
the C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs
folder. You can also create subfolders within the Programs
folder to further organize your new shortcuts.

You may find that this approach won't work for all your
programs. Your only option may be to reinstall those
applications.

Good luck

Nepatsfan
 
G

Guest

In the end I did use system restore and went the through the manual uninstall
of Mcafee again and we're back in business. Now I just need to decide what
do use to manage my kids internet time and sites. I reinstalled Mcafee Virus
protection but am hesitant to put the privacy service back on. It worked
well for a time but I'm not sure it's worth the risk of developing the same
problem again.
 
N

Nepatsfan

Many ISP's (e.g. Comcast and Earthlink) provide parental
control software that can be used to restrict internet access.
You might want to check with yours. There are also a number of
commercial products available. Here are a couple of them:

Net Nanny
http://www.netnanny.com/

Cyberpatrol
http://www.cyberpatrol.com/

I cannot vouch for the effectiveness of any of these programs.
I only know they are frequently recommended in response to a
question such as yours.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

In (e-mail address removed) flutemom
wrote:
 

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