Group compression would be my recommended solution. Second only
to downloads to the Desktop, this is XP's biggest usability issue. Having
to scroll through each individual program group is tedious and inefficient.
Best done carefully and with a backup in place. Right Click Start - Open
All Users. Expand the folder view to a larger screen field. Works best if
you use Explorer option "Open each Folder in it's own Window". Click
Programs, you'll see the entire group of individual Program groups. This
is the folder you want to backup to another location on your drive. Once
safely copied, start Creating/Merging existing groups into broader types
of categories, Like Office ( Adobe Reader, MS Office) and other types
that meet your needs. So instead of ...
Programs - Every individual program group as a stand-alone entry
You have
Programs - Office --------Fan-out to MS Office, Office Tools, Adobe
Games --------Each Game group
Performance --Security, Disk Tools, ....
Multimedia --- Media Players, Sound Applets....
