Start menu items don't work

[jayjay]

I've looked at many many threads trying to figure this one out. When
clicking on Control Panel, Search, My Documents, My Computer in the Start
Menu they won't open. My desktop icons go off for about 2 seconds, the
hourglass comes up and the program doesn't start. Some of the programs on my
desktop won't open when I click on the desktop shortcut. Also, when I put a
cd or hook up my mp3 player the window comes up asking what I want to do. If
I click Open a Window to show files, nothing happens.

If I log out of my identity and log into a guest identity, the items under
the Start Menu open up just fine. Any ideas why this is happening?

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Hi jayjay,

It appears that the shell is crashing everytime you click an item in the Start menu. Have you checked the event logs?

How to view and manage event logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows Shell/User]
The Winhelponline Blog: http://www.winhelponline.com/blog
Windows® Troubleshooting: http://www.winhelponline.com

I've looked at many many threads trying to figure this one out. When
clicking on Control Panel, Search, My Documents, My Computer in the Start
Menu they won't open. My desktop icons go off for about 2 seconds, the
hourglass comes up and the program doesn't start. Some of the programs on my
desktop won't open when I click on the desktop shortcut. Also, when I put a
cd or hook up my mp3 player the window comes up asking what I want to do. If
I click Open a Window to show files, nothing happens.

If I log out of my identity and log into a guest identity, the items under
the Start Menu open up just fine. Any ideas why this is happening?

 

[jayjay]

Thank you. I looked at the event log, but I don't know what I'm looking for.
Pretty much an amateur here. --
jayjay

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

You want to check the Application log and match the time/date when the problem occurred. Check here for detailed info with screenshots.

http://www.winxptutor.com/eventlog.htm

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows Shell/User]
The Winhelponline Blog: http://www.winhelponline.com/blog
Windows® Troubleshooting: http://www.winhelponline.com

Thank you. I looked at the event log, but I don't know what I'm looking for.
Pretty much an amateur here. --
jayjay