Start Menu Is Open On Startup & Pinned Items Disappear
May 11, 2006
I recently restored my OS (Windows XP, SP2) and now the following happens;I "pin" items to the Start Menu, but when I reboot, they're no longer there (also, those items I removed from the Start Menu reappear) The Start Menu appears "open" everytime I reboot! It's as if I clicked "Start" and the menu gets opened.
In XP, I like to disable including recent items on my start menu, and instead pinning all my most-used programs. But I have alot, and it can get confusing rather quickly, but I found a way to include seperators to organize my data on the start menu.The first thing to do is create a new shortcut on the desktop. Select any file for the target, and under the name of the shortcut, use the trick to add a blank space for the filename (ALT+0160 on the keypad -- making sure NUMLOCK is on). Then click finish.
I want to "sort by name" the PINNED items in the XP start menu. I know I can rearrange by dragging, but this is cumbersome. How can i quickly sort them?
In last 24 hrs I am getting some very strange and vexing behavior from Windows Explorer and the start menu. Hope someone can help. The start menu programs pop up, but disappear before I can click them. Windows screen flickers at the same time when the start menu items vanish, and also flickers at other times. Fonts on the desktop, once just white, are now showing up white on a black rectangular background - didn't do any theme change. Windows Explorer has been crashing from time to time in the last week, no apparent reason. And the monitors are bleeding. Kidding about that last one, but am expecting it soon.
The improvement which I'd like to suggest is to change the behaviour of the recently used programs part of the Start Menu so that it doesn't include any programs which are already pinned. I have several programs pinned because I use them so often - Word, Excel, Outlook Express etc - so it's pointless and irritating to have them appear twice on the menu because they are on the recent programs list under the pinned list too. This is even more irritating when, as occasionally happens, it is a program which has a unique initial letter which I use to quickly start the program. For example on my Start Menu, Notepad is the only pinned item starting with N, and so I can press "Start, N" to run it. Unfortunately sometimes Notepad ends up in the recently used list, and then because there are two programs beginning with N, my shortcut no longer works.
One point worth noting perhaps, seeing as I've just tried this and it didn't seem to happen ... it only happens at bootup, if you do anything to modify the Start Menu - such as pinning a different item - then all duplicates get removed. And they won't reappear if you use the program again. However as soon as you do a restart, they reappear in the menu, and stay until they are forcibly removed, such as by pinning something else.
Seems like every time I open some application it puts a link on the start menu, I realize I can delete this by right clicking it and choosing "remove this item from the list". How do I prevent it from being put there in the first place?
I deleted a few items from Start Menu>Programs that I would like to restore. These items are (1) set program access and defaults (2) windows catalog and (3) windows update. I don't know where the .exe files are for me to copy back into the start menu folder or if there is a easier way to restore them.
Running Windows XP Pro SP3. For the past couple weeks when I click on START/ALL PROGRAMS the programs menu comes up for a few seconds and most of the time before I can select a program the menu disappears from the screen. I know of other ways I can get to the program I want so I am in no big panic. This problem is frustrating.
Does anyone know how to add items to the section of the start menu with all the "MY" folders? I want to add my games and toolbox. I don't want them 'pinned to the start menu' because they will open in a window and I want them in a list, like in the advanced start menu controls. I read somewhere how to do this, but I don't remember where.
I got a client that sent me a hp pavilion 533w, and this thing is screwed up badly. The start menu, & desktop icons don't show up at all. I have to Ctrl+Alt+Del and run everything thru Windows Task Manager. Here's another thing, he has a WINDOWS Folder on his 20gig and another one on his 50gig. Ive tried everything from Windows OS CDs to Run format, WIN CD Repair, and all I get are errors. Give me a hand.
My start menu insists on collapsing itself, hiding all but about 2 or 3 items. It's really annoying; I have to click on the arrow to expand the menu to get to most of my programs. There's plenty of room to display all of the items on the screen, and it doesn't even to seem to choose to keep items I use frequently visible. Does anyone know how to stop this and force it to not hide anything?
I had added a couple of free standing applications and I cannot remove them no matter what I try. I cannot even rename them. I have tried changing the application location and then clicking on the Start Menu item so that I get an error message. The message asks whether I want to remove the item from the Start Menu and I click yes but that too does not work. I am tired of looking through the registry and cannot find anything relevant.
I've got a ton of start menu items. So many that as new programs are added now, they don't even show up. Where are they? Is there some way to make folders and move similar items together to consolidate space and make things easier to find?
You see, my problem is that whenever i try to open a folder, or go to my computer or control panel my entire desktop blanks out leaving only the wallpaper and returns to the desktop with no open folder (by blanked out i mean the tool bar and icons disappear) i have no clue were to put this thread in, so im assuming it could be an operating system problem, the only way i can access folders is by using the run prompt thing, but even then i cant use the Control panel or anything, i tried Control.exe but no luck,
Items place in my user folder are not appearing in the Start/All Programs menu.For example, if I place them here:C:Documents and SettingsusrnamStart MenuAccessories they do not appear in Start/All Programs.But, if I place them here:C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersStart MenuProgramsAccessoriesThey do show up in the program menu.
For some strange reason my Start Menu items/shortcuts have been deleted (in both my Documents & Settings folder and 'All Users'), except for a blank shortcut (no name, no link) with the 'My Computer' icon. The weird thing is the Start Menu folders and their contents are in tact.Initially I thought I accidentally deleted them so I manually created a few shortcuts back to some of programs, but after restarting Windows, they were gone again and only that mysterious blank shortcut appeared again!I did a full system scan with Norton AntiVirus 2007 and AVG Anti-Spyware and they didn't find anything.
I lost the My Music and My Pictures icons on the start menu. I moved My Documents and was prompted to move the current items. I said (stupidly) yes. I noticed I had 2 music and picture folders in My Documents. I deleted the Folders that had been moved when I reloacated. When I went back to the start menu, My Music and My Pictures were gone. I looked in properties, and the two items were selected. I went to the registry and the entries for music and pictures were gone in UserShellFolders and ShellFolders. I recreated the entries. After all of this, there are still no icons for Music and Pictures on the start menu.
this is so weird. whenever i try and click a program on my start menuand/or quick launch they don't load. say i click 'windows mediaplayer'. i click it, nothing happens. to get into it i have to rightmouse click 'open'. it's very, very annoying. i need help, please. theonly application that will open the normal way is internet explorer.
When I get to the welcome screen and put in my password, windows starts to load my settings, then once it reaches the desktop, it logs off. It acts as if there's a log off command pinned to start up. I did have a spyware/adware problem right before this started. I scanned and had the spyware program (Spyware Doctor) clean the disk. Things after were running fine and had even rebooted both hard and soft a couple of times without any problem. I turned off the computer before leaving home for a few hours, came back, turned on the computer and the behavior described above started. I called a tech in town and he suggested to try booting in under the last known configuration used and if that didn't work, to try booting in safe mode. If that didn't work, then he'll need to see the computer. Unfortunately, neither worked and they aren't open again until Monday. I'm using a friend's laptop to find tech support between now and Monday morning, hoping to save a trip.
The computer I have doesn't have a familiar brand name like Compaq or Dell and I cannot remember the name. However, it is a typical IMB compatible like Compaq with Windows XP Home Edition, has a Pentium 4 processor and 1.something gigs of memory.
I accidentally made a duplicate? startup folder? on my desktop from my start menu to the desktop. The copy on my desktop works the other (in the drop menu) does not. If you load a program in the start menu? startup folder? upon re-boot it will not start the selected program. My question is how do I delete the? startup?folder in my start menu? When I try it will not allow me to do so. This whole thing isn?t causing any problem. It?s just starting to grate on me.
Can anyone help? I ran Spybot and deleted all identified problems. Now when I reboot, and anytime I startup, I get to blank wallpaper with nothing else. I can run task manager to get to all apps OK, but this is not very useful.I tried running from a previous known good state, but nothing changed. I also tried starting up in safe mode, but only get a black screen.
When I boot into windows XP, I login correctly but then nothing shows up. No start menu or any desktop icons. When I go to task manager, I don't see explorer .exe as a process running I know this has something to do with desktop
I am running Win XP on a HP laptop. When I boot up a program always tries to load but it is one that I don't have or have tried to load. It always asks for the disk which I do not have. It is not located in the start folder, so I do not know where to go to delete it.
I'd like to delete My Pictures and My Music folders within My Documents. Though whenever I do, the My Pictures and My Music icons on the Start Menu will not open.
It's redundancy not to my liking to have My Pictures and My Music folders within My Documents folder, and to have My Pictures and My Music icons on the Start Menu; which lead to the same folders.
Is there a way to delete My Pictures and My Music folders within My Documents folder, while still retaining their Start Menu functionality?
My startup time went up drastically. I have disabled all but two of the automatic startup items using msconfig. My system used to start in less than two minutes, easily. Now it takes a more than a minute or two longer than that. I know what the problem is; the only three items that show in the system tray after startup are: 1) The AVG Antivirus icon . 2) The Spybot SD Resident icon. 3) Local Area Connection (This is the icon which shows two computer monitors with screens that light up and go dark periodically)
Now, after the problem started, the last item, the Local Area Connection icon is the one that doesn't load, for VERY long. So it may be something to do with that. Also, just before the icon finally shows up(after which point the computer is fine to use) I've notice that a Windows security notification icon appears...it flashes, for just a second, and then is replaced by the Local Area Connection icon. For the record, these are the two icons I'm talking about: http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/sw1sh1/LAC.jpg http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...tification.jpg
I have had my automatic updates disabled for a while now, so you might think that that's the reason the notification is showing up but I've already disabled that notification using Windows Security Center.
Try making my laptop less slow and not freeze all the time when doing the simplest of tasks.
However, my problem happens after trying to disable the Startup Items from the MSconfig dialogue.
-After I have unchecked the boxes I don't want, I click OK or Apply;
-It then tells me I have to restart for the changes to take place, so I do this;
-Then after completing its restart a message says that "The System Configuration Utility is in Diagnostic or Selective Startup mode, causing this message to be displayed and the utility to run every time Windows starts up."
-it then opens the MSconfig dialogue box again.
If I just close the utility or click ok, sure enough it keeps on opening every time I startup. Or else, what it's trying to convince me to do is to start up in Normal Mode. But I won't do this because then all the Startup Items I'd disabled become enabled again and the whole lengthy task was a waist of time!
How do you remove the "Common Startup" items from the startup list in msconfig for Windows XP? I did locate and remove the "Run" items that are located in HKLMSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrent VersionRun.
Had diffs yesterday with computer running at snail speed > did ad-aware/norton scans to clean up > now when I minimize any open window, the tab/s just disappear/s to the left of the lower taskbar so they can't be opened easily again. Must be an easy fix for this but after hours of research in MS Help + Google + your existing threads, haven't been able to source a solution.It happened once before but I can't recall how I got it going properly again - that's what age does to the memory!! Now when I have a PC prob & manage to solve it, I note the solution for the future!Would greatly appreciate any suggestions to solve this irritating prob.
A Dell Dimension 8200, I can start the computer just fine in safe mode, but when I try to log in normally it lets me type in my password and then either just hangs after that saying loading personal settings or it'll get to my desktop background, but no programs will appear and it will just hang there. I've deleted any old programs I could find in safe mode and the only thing I've recently installed is a Java update. I also used system restore to go back before the Java update and I'm having the same problem.