Start Menu is gone!

[mime]

Noooo... I installed a couple of software applications from the SACMagazine for a test drive during my holiday. Did not like all of them and uninstalled.

Now my "Start" menus is gone, the only link left is "All Programs".
Windows XP. Every time I want to open an application I have to click "All Programs" and find the link that way.

When I do find the program I want and right click the "Pin to Start menu" is missing as well.

I have Googled, pulled my hair and used fantastically descriptive words to no avail!!

Can someone help please to restore the shortcuts and links to my "Start" button.

 

[TiredOfWaiting]

Right-click on the "Start" button and click on "Properties".

The setting for the amount of items in the recent list and a bunch of others can be found there...

 

[mime]

Start menu is gone

Done that already, it is set display the last 10

 

[TiredOfWaiting]

Okay then, that program wrote something in the registry resembling the following:

Remove Frequent Programs List from the Start Menu
Start/Run/Regedit
You may need to create the key if it does not already exist. Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'NoStartMenuMFUprogramsList' and edit the value according to the settings below.

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion PoliciesExplorer HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion PoliciesExplorer Value Name: NoStartMenuMFUprogramsList Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value) Value Data: (0 = default, 1 = enable restriction).

Note: This setting only applies to the Windows XP Start Menu, not the Classic Start Menu. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.


Remove Pinned Programs List from the Start Menu
Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion PoliciesExplorer Value Name: NoStartMenuPinnedList Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value) Value Data: (0 = default, 1= enable restriction) Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'NoStartMenuPinnedList' and edit the value according to the settings below.

Note: This setting only applies to the Windows XP Start Menu, not the Classic Start Menu. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

Check the registry to see if this is the case. If it is, change the 1 to a 0 or delete those entries.

Do you know how to edit the registry?

 

[medicnick83]

REGISTRY = DANGEROUS If you don't know what you doing!

Be careful, be wery wery careful!

 

[mime]

Start menu missing

Thank you TiredOfWaiting, I can follow you till I get to:

Okay then, that program wrote something in the registry resembling the following:

then I lose the plot completely as I am not clever enough to be tech savvy.
Will teach me not to be so fascinated by different kinds of software.

Ill probably land up having to pay someone to fix it for me!

 

[TiredOfWaiting]

Mmm, if you don't know what the registry is, you better not go scratching around in it.

It's basically just a database in text format that contains most of the settings for Windows.

You add/remove entries to/from it to set things like this.

 

[medicnick83]

mime, do what I did, just fiddle - if you f it up, start again... nothing nicer than doing something, fixing it, and knowing you did it yourself.

That's how you 'teach yourself' and of cause, help from google never hurts