Accessories Folder Missing from Start Menu

Anonymous
2011-01-14T20:16:03+00:00

Hello - I just purchased a new cpu with Windows 7 Home Premium installed.  When I first started using the system I know that the traditional Accessories Folder which usually includes System Tools and other files/folders was on my Start Menu.  After using the maching for a bit of time and installing many new programs I noticed that the folder is missing.  Is there a way to get this back on the Start Menu without a system restore as that will cause me to loose my newly installed programs from what I have read on other threads.  Thanks for your feedback.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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Anonymous
2011-01-14T20:25:34+00:00

You are correct that System Restore may cause you to have to reinstall your recently added programs.  Here's one possible alternative:

Restore Previous Versions of a File or Folder

1 - Click your Start button, then right-click the "All Programs" link at the bottom.  Choose "Open All users".

2 - In the window that opens, right-click the Programs folder and choose "Restore Previous Versions". The Properties window may take a moment to load in all the available old copies of that folder.  Cool Fact: These previous versions come from the same place as System Restore backups, except these let you restore individual files instead of your entire system :)

3 - Click a old version of the file from a date when you know the Accessories folder was still there, then click "open" and look around.  From there you can right-click the backup copy of Accessories, and paste it into your actual Programs folder (that you opened in step 1).

Hope this helps.

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-09-20T23:13:58+00:00

    Just in case someone stumbles onto this old thread, here is another solution:

    Go to C:\Users*username*\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft and then right-click on the Windows folder, then click Properties.  Uncheck the Hidden box and then click Apply and then close.  Your accessories folder will now be visible in the Start menu.

    This solved the problem for me.

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-12-28T14:12:40+00:00

    Copying the Accessories Folder from another source

    If your Accessories folder and/or icons in ProgramData and possibly AppData\Roaming are completely missing, then the only thing you can do is copy them onto your machine from a different system. Using the System File Checker (SFC) won’t restore them and neither will the trick of creating another user a account and copying the icons from there. That will get back some of the icons but those gone from ProgramData, which is most of them, will still be missing.

    For your convenience we have zipped up the default Accessories folders for Windows Vista and 7. Simply download the correct 2 files for your o/s, extract the archive and copy the “Accessories” folder inside, pasting it to the location given.

    Download:

    Accessories folder for Windows 7 ProgramData

    http://www.raymond.cc/blog/download/did/761/

    Accessories folder for Windows Vista ProgramData

    http://www.raymond.cc/blog/download/did/762/

    Extract, copy “Accessories” and paste to:

    C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\

    Download:

    Accessories folder for Windows 7 User

    http://www.raymond.cc/blog/download/did/763/

    Accessories folder for Windows Vista User

    http://www.raymond.cc/blog/download/did/764/

    Extract, copy “Accessories” and paste to (Replace username with the name of your user account):

    C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\

    If everything has gone correctly, the Windows default accessories shortcuts should be back!

    Windows Vista/7 Accessories Shortcuts

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-01-14T21:42:56+00:00

    This may be of help:

    You can restore the Start menu to its original, default settings.

    1. Click to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties.
    2. Click the Start Menu tab, and then click Customize.
    3. In the Customize Start Menu dialog box, click Use Default Settings, clickOK, and then click OK again

    If I brought you Joy, cast your Vote! If I answered your question, click, Propose As Answer! >WT<

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  4. Anonymous
    2011-01-14T21:35:57+00:00

    Either of the following may solve the problem:

    1. The Accessories folder in Win7 can be found after you clock Start->All Programs then scroll down (in case you haven't looked here)
    2. Goto C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs (where C: is the installation folder and 'ProgramData' is hidden). Inside this Program folder , you will find 'Accessories' folder, bring it to desktop or start menu by dragging

    shishir

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