There has to be a simple solution, but I can't find it

[Walterius]

Every time I rebuild W2K Pro, all goes wonderfully until I make a certain
number of changes to my task bar. After that, W2K will no longer keep the
icons in order. (From then on, previous icons remain in order, but added
icons go at the end of the taskbar.)

I typically have 50-70 icons on my taskbar.

I also install and uninstall a lot of software. (My hobby is tweaking
Windows, blush.) Typically, I have hundreds of programs installed, and many
that have been installed and then uninstalled.

Isn't there some magic one-key registry change I can make to put things
right?

There are no other users on my computer.

The fastest way I presently have to correct it is to restore the registry
(which I back up at every reboot) with a version that doesn't have the
problem. But isn't there a better way?

And hasn't anyone else in the whole wide W2K world ever had this problem?

Any help will be gratefully appreciated.

 

[Crouchie1998]

I had the same problems with the icons on the Taskbar many months ago & I
asked in the forums/newsgroups & no one gave me an answer. Since then, I
gave up finding a solution because they are now alphabetical order & I
remember where they are.

If you find a solution to this then let me be the first to know please. I
will flag this message just in case.

Good luck

Crouchie1998
BA (HONS) MCP MCSE

 

[Walterius]

I never got any replies either, and I have repeatedly posted on this in the
past. However, the good news is that I found two solutions myself, one of
which is by far the simpler.

The more difficult is to delete the Administrator profile (or whatever user
you run under) in the registry. This forces Windows to create a new, largely
empty profile. I can give you more details on this if you wish. After you
read the rest of this post, you may conclude that you need to delete the
profile first, then reconstruct your software, and thereafter use ERUNT (see
below).

The easier is to automatically back up your registry at every reboot (and/or
manually at any other desired time), using a freeware program called ERUNT.
(Google it. You will be pleasantly surprised.)

*** NOTE: ERUNT and friends can only be used on XP and 2000. ***

Then, when the taskbar gets flaky, just restore the registry from one of the
backups that wasn't flaky. (ERUNT includes a registry restore program called
ERDNT that it includes in every registry backup folder. ERUNT even includes
a registry compacting program called NTREGOPT.)

I did this restore yesterday, going back one or two days in my registry
backups, and it worked. Of course, since I had made a few changes to my
programs in that day or two, there were a few gotchas. But, in the main, it
was painless.

As soon as I got everything back together, I made a manual registry backup
of the newly repaired system (which was now completely up to date)just in
case. Cool.

When I used to delete the Administrator profile, that wiped out too much
information, and many programs either had to be reinstalled or set up all
over again. Tedious, but better than a system rebuild.

I have found ERUNT/ERDNT to be by far the simplest, most elegant, and safest
of all ways to backup/restore the registry. I even use it as a form of
protection against software that I install, don't like, and wish I hadn't
installed:

1. ERUNT.
2. Install crappy software.
3. Uninstall crappy software.
4. ERDNT.

Easy game.

Good luck. Let me know if I can help you further.

 

[Crouchie1998]

Great! Thanks for the info on this.

I always backup my registry because I am a programmer & do a lot of registry
programming & get rid of spyware for people...

Thanks again for the information. At least I will have some Idea, but what I
am really looking for is a solution like changing a registry key.

There is also another program from Norton out that backups & restores the
registry, but I cannot think of the name off hand.

What you said about the tedius reconstruction of the operating system
doesn't bother me, as I have a disc image & I have written all my other
backup software myself, therefore, I am well covered for any iventuality.

Crouchie1998
BA (HONS) MCP MCSE

 

[Walterius]

what I am really looking for is a solution like changing a registry key.

So am I, but I never could find it.