Start Menu problems and Quick Launch Bar Keeps Disappearing

[Guest]

This is driving me nuts. Running XP Pro with SP2 and all updates. My start
menu does two things, firstly the 'All Programs' button suddenly starts doing
nothing, I can only right click and explore, it wont open in the start menu,
secondly, the left hand side of the menu will go black, i.e. nothing visible,
and the quick launch toolbar is gone. I have to shutdown and then reboot and
things seem to be ok. But the quick launch toolbar is missing from the
taskbar. I have to go back and add a check mark back to the show quick launch
in the taskbar and start menu properties. There seems to be nothing
particular connected with this issue and everything else seems to be ok.

The computer is completely clean of ad/malware and virus infection, and this
happens randomly, sometimes going for days before occurring.

I did a system file scannow (sfc) no corrupted or changed windows files found.

Thanks very much for your help.

 

[Guest]

Do a complete cleanup\defrag and then error check your system. After running
the disk cleanup and then the defrag go>start>run and type in chkdsk /r and
click ok. You will have to accept the on screen prompt to run it at the next
boot. Then reboot. The check may take quite some time to run all five checks
and recover\repair any bad sectors. This should then become a regular part of
your system maintenance. I also highly recommend CCleaner for keeping the
garbage off your system. I don't use the "clean prefetch" option though as
cleaning out the prefetch to improve performance is a myth. TTFN.

 

[jmatt]

This is driving me nuts. Running XP Pro with SP2 and all updates.

Reinstall WindowsXP and keep all your current installed applications
and settings:
Put your XP cd in the drive.
Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt or, Start > click
Run, type cmd and click OK.
Copy & paste > D:\I386\winnt32 /unattend
Press Enter.
If you have i386 on your drive, you can replace D: with the location of
it.
If you have SP2 installed, you will need to upgrade the XP CD, this is
done by slipstreaming.
Universal Windows Slipstreaming and Bootable CD Guide
http://www.msfn.org/articles.php?action=show&showarticle=49
http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=284&p=2
A service pack is a product-specific collection of updates that fix
security, program compatibility and system reliability issues. It also
provides enhancements, administration tools, drivers and additional
components that have been developed since the product's release. In
short, a service pack helps to keep your product current and extends
its functionality.
This guide will describe the easiest way possible to slipstream (also
known as 'Integrate') a Service Pack into Windows 2000, XP or 2003. The
days of typing out command switches, and fiddling with boot sectors and
ISO settings in Nero are long gone, so none of that will be described
here!
To do this, we will only need one program - MSFN's very own popular
nLite created by one of our members nuhi. While nLite is primarily
aimed to remove components to slim down a Windows CD, it has the
required tools to do just an automated Service Pack slipstream as well
as create a CD image.
http://www.nliteos.com/
Prerequisites:
A Windows 2000, XP, or 2003 CD
The latest "Network Install" Service Pack for one of the above
Operating Systems
Suitable CD Burning software capable of burning .ISO files (Nero,
Alcohol, Easy CD Creator, etc.)
nLite
Before we start, make sure you are doing this on an NT Operating System
(those are Windows 2000, XP or 2003) otherwise the slipstream will not
work. nLite also requires the .NET Framework to function.

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE]

This is driving me nuts. Running XP Pro with SP2 and all updates. My start
menu does two things, firstly the 'All Programs' button suddenly starts
doing
nothing, I can only right click and explore, it wont open in the start
menu,
secondly, the left hand side of the menu will go black, i.e. nothing
visible,
and the quick launch toolbar is gone. I have to shutdown and then reboot
and
things seem to be ok. But the quick launch toolbar is missing from the
taskbar. I have to go back and add a check mark back to the show quick
launch
in the taskbar and start menu properties. There seems to be nothing
particular connected with this issue and everything else seems to be ok.

The computer is completely clean of ad/malware and virus infection, and
this
happens randomly, sometimes going for days before occurring.

I did a system file scannow (sfc) no corrupted or changed windows files
found.

Thanks very much for your help.

Try this tool
Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm