So I rebooted my computer after a crash, and after logging in the screens were completely black and my mouse & keyboard was unresponsive. I did Crtl + Alt + Del which brought up the correct menu, and after I exited it I was put onto the start menu, which was blank. Just like the login screen and lock screen, the colour and design had been reset (to purple, if it matters). Leaving the start menu presents me with the black desktop again, but the start bar at the bottom is present and after a while the clock, wifi, volume etc. loads in the bottom right as well as a User Profile Service notification telling me I've been "signed in with the default profile for the system". There are no pinned apps either, although FileZilla Server loads up after a minute and that is on the start bar now. Also, immediately after leaving the start menu, a "Location is not available" dialogue box comes up with the error message:
C:Windowssystem32configsystemprofileDesktop refers to a location that is unavailable. It could be on a hard drive on this computer or on a network. Check to make sure that the disk is properly inserted, or that you are connected to the Internet or your network, then try again. If it still cannot be located, the information might have been moved to a different location.
When I click OK on that, the Recycle Bin appears on my desktop. Opening the recycle bin displays the same message as before, and it does have all of the recycled files and folders inside. From here I can navigate through my folders, although the libraries option on the left side is empty (it normally has my documents, videos, user folder etc.). If I navigate to D:UsersAdministrator, my desktop folder is there with everything inside. I can also type Google (or presumably anything after http://) into the explorer bar which opens up Google Chrome, as well as open cmd and Control Panel by typing each one in. Navigating to C:Windowssystem32configsystemprofile shows that Desktop isn't actually present any more.
I've tried using both elevated cmd (net user /add Username) and control panel to create a new user, but the control panel button "Add or remove user accounts" button is unresponsive, and although cmd gives me a successful operation message (and tells me the account already exists if I do the same command again), it doesn't show up on the logon screen. I've tried making the user through cmd while logged in to administrator, using the Advanced Startup Options command prompt (the one that uses X:) and using safe mode with command prompt. The right-corner-menu > Settings > Change PC Settings button is unresponsive. I can't use the built-in administrator account because after I similar occurrence before, I've been using the built-in admin, which is the one that is now broken. None of my older accounts show up, either.
Also, after a few restarts and many attempted fixes (mainly automatic repair etc.), it now plays the whole patronising "We're getting your PC ready" video whenever I try to log in, and then it displays the start menu and bar (so I don't need to do the Crtl + Alt + Del step).
It happened after my computer froze and I had to press the restart button manually. To be honest my desktop is loading up slower too. My desktop doesn't have a black wallpaper, it's original and blue hence why I am confused.
Is there a way to change this so the computer starts with desktop showing instead of the tile menu? I know it's easy enough to click the desktop tile and go there, but I rarely use the tiles and would rather have the desktop come up automatically.
My parents borrowed my laptop, and somehow deleted the desktop app that brings up your desktop from the new Windows 8 start menu.
I've tried to get it back but it looks like they deleted it right from the computer, is there any way to get it back?
There is usually a big rectangle that says desktop, and when you click it your desktop comes up, but we can't seem to figure out how to find it and put it back!
My desktop picture button has disappeared from my start menu. Is there a way to put the desktop picture button back in the start menu ? I noticed that i can bring up a desktop button by hovering the mouse pointer on the lower left corner but that is lame. I just want my desktop picture button back . also is there any way to have windows 8 open on the desktop ? I do not want to deal with the endless stupid steps required just to open the computer . first i have to raise the unnecessary full screen picture . then i have to type in my password . ( i do not want to type in my password because i am the only person who ever uses my computer and if someone else did i wouldn't care anyhow ) . then i get to the start menu which is filled with buggy programs that never work and now my desktop button has mysteriously disappeared .
I would like for windows 8 to have the option to simply open on my desktop without me doing anything . no password . no start menu . no full screen picture that i have to raise ( what is that thing for ? ) . I realize that the windows 8 start menu and password stuff is mainly due to the people who will use windows 8 with tablets and smart phones etc . but i only use my regular ( rather old ) desktop pc . the password screen and buggy start menu are totally unnecessary and a pita . Give windows 8 desktop users the option of booting the computer up to the desktop screen and bypassing all the other wasted steps . i do not want to use the apps on the start menu . i do not need to enter a password because i do not care if anyone uses the pc. And why did my desktop button disappear from the start menu which i do not even need?
is it possible to change the start menu's font size and/or tile size without impacting the desktop's icon and text size? from what i can tell the "make text and other items larger/smaller" is global, i.e. it can't be used independently in terms of the start menu and desktop...
I am using windows 8 on an HP desktop computer. I created 2 users (same computer). What I would like to do is have both users have the same desktop files and start menu between the two. For example the first one I created has a bunch of folders I put on the desktop recovered from my old computer, but when I log on with the other account they are not there. I also installed ms office on my computer with the first user- but it is not available to the other one.
Is there a way to link these 2 so I can still have different logins but access the same files?
When I right click the Recycle Bin and click Empty Recycle Bin, the desktop freezes: the desktop become unclickable; if I click anywhere on the desktop, it just gives me a "ding" sound.
Everything else works fine, like icons on the dock is clickable, I can go to start and open an app etc.
The way I can empty the recycle bin is open the recycle bin and empty it within the folder.
I've recently purchased a new laptop with Windows 8.1 pre-installed. First question is how do i enable a confirm window to pop up when deleting something? I don't like how i can just hit delete and it moves it (Only to the recycle bin, but i'd rather it didn't).
Secondly how do i stop the start menu from switching to that Windows 8 menu view? I did originally change it so that when you click the start menu (Bottom left in) it would actually bring up the start menu, but it seems to have reverted. On top of this how do i change it so that pressing the Windows button brings up the start menu rather than the Windows 8 menu view thing?
Thirdly how do i enable file details when in Windows Explorer. So in Windows 7 when you select a file it would give the size, name, author, date last edited etc in the details pane. How do i get that now?
Finally, how do i change my task bars transparency?
When you launch skype from the startmenu it is a huge square, when i launch task manager from the startmenu it is launched to the desktop.
Could there be a way to make the task menu launch from the startmenu to be a big square like skype is "phone eddition"
This would be useful because when im in games and the game freezes, i can bring up the start menu like SUPER FAST and it is visible but when i launch the task manager it is behind the game no matter what, so im always pressing the key stroke of the first letter of the game and pressing delete to see if i closed the game or not.
I actually have no problem with the Win 8.1 Start menu, but the colors of the regular desktop environment are killing me. Namely, the weird, off-off white of the menus. The High-Contrast White option under Personalization gives me the right color for the menu backgrounds but everything else about the theme screams windows 3.1, so I'd rather not resort to using that.
Is there maybe a registry tweak that I can use to change this one little color? I've tried a few things but nothing so far has worked.
One week old installation. This morning when first booted This is how my native Windows app tiles looked like, third party tiles OK. Also the Quick Launch toolbar on desktop Taskbar was missing.
SFC / SCANNOW finds nothing.
I have restore points and system image, no problems there, but before restoring ...
How To create a start button shortcut to get to start menu in the taskbar. So that we don't need to click the invisible place in the taskbar And there would be a button on which we will click to go to the metro ui start menu.
If we will click on the start button Then We can get The Start Screen. Is there any way to create it??
I see there is a Classic Start 8 Menu that once installed will give you back the Windows 7 style menu. If you install it, can you still go back to the default Windows 8 Start page if you like?
3 days before my Windows 8.1 pc wasn't working during log in it showed up with "The System Event Notification Service service failed the sign in."
I posted this thread but no one replied then back yesterday I ran it into Safe Mode and used the CMD and put these "sfc/scannow" then the PC booted into Safe Mode.
But in my Start Menu many apps won't open accept Facebook, Twitter, Photos and the Store opens, and when I goto install apps it shows "This app wasn't installed"
And my Start menu is like this:
And the "sfc/scannow" command shows that there are Corrupted or Missing Files Then I also did these:
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /ScanhealthDISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth But then also no luck .what to do I updated my PC from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 4 days before And this happened 3 days before And the PC started to boot from yesterday.
I've installed some software that runs on the Desktop. On Windows earlier than 8, it installs some shortcuts in its part of the start menu that run various configuration programs. When you want to reconfigure the software you click the start menu, find the entry/folder for the software then click the shortcut for the required configuration program.
But these shortcuts do not actually run an exe file. Looking at their properties, their targets are actually of the form (for example):
My Start Menu or whatever it's now called on the bottom left corner of the desktop disappeared. I'm not sure if it was accidentally unpinned but I've tried and can't seem to find a way to add it back to my taskbar.
My problem is that I can't add programs to Start Menu teh way I used to do it, with right click, context menu and Add to Start Menu. It is still there in the context menu, but it doesn't work.
Apart from that, in 8.1 when I install a new program, it won't put a tile in the Start Menu by default. I need to do it manually by looking for the program in the list and righ-click-add-to-start-menu, but again, it not always works.
Within 24-hours I come a long way from Windows 7 to Windows 8 which I'm not too impress with right now -- I found a way to get the Start Menu Button back onto my computer, but I don't know how to load programs on it?
I've got Windows 8 64 bit and I'm running it on a Gigabyte U2242 ultrabook on the max resolution 1 Yesterday, after booting up, I saw that the desktop is black, the icons are black/ invisible too, I can, however, see the taskbar.
On the other hand, the tile menu works just as intended.
The laptop has two video cards: Intel HD 4000 and a Geforce 650M, I've uninstalled the drivers for both under safe mode and reinstalled the latest ones.
I've read somewhere on the nvidia forums that the geforce driver can't be removed because v.304 comes with Windows 8. Is this true?
How do I add a programs shortcut to the start menu search? For an example: On Windows 7 when I installed Steam on my second hard drive, the Steam exe popped up when I searched "Steam" in the start menu search. When I went to Windows 8, it doesn't do this anymore because I didn't reinstall Steam because it's already on my second hard drive. How do I get it to pop back up in the search?
When I right-click on something on the Start Screen, the customize menu doesn't appear. One day it just stopped appearing, and I don't know why. It's the same if I want to pin something to it from the page with All Apps. I've uploaded a screenshot where I right-clicked on the "Food & Drink" app.
I am trying to arrange the tiles in the Start Menu in the order I want but it is impossible. If I move one to, let's say, the left, the other tiles around will also move in any direction.
It is difficult to arrange them in the order you want.
I just want to have my programs in the order I want in the Start Menu.
I just bought a new Dell with Windows 8, and after installing Office 2010, I inadvertently deleted the Office program shortcuts from the Start Menu as I was placing them on the Desktop. They're also gone from the All apps menu. how to put them back?
Just had this new 8.1 and a bit confused on the start menu, On the windows 7 when I clicked on the start bottom left I had a range of programs there that I could select.
i:e my documents,my pictures,my music,my video control panel,devices and printers,default programs.
How do I get that option to show like that on this 8.1 ....
I have 2 monitors and am wondering if there is some way to make it so that when I bring up the new metro start menu on my 2nd monitor that I can make it stick there?
As it is now, if I open the new menu on my 2nd monitor and then go back to what ever program that I have open on my first monitor (like chrome or I.E. etc) then the start menu will close from my 2nd monitor.
I'd like to make it where it stays open on my 2nd monitor. Is this somehow possible?
