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.

If this solves your issue, click the 'Propose as Answer' link below, and vote as helpful by clicking the green triangle to the lelft. Thanks!

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-02-21T19:50:38+00:00

    You all were not listening to him. The Accessories folder is in the start up menu, but it doesn't show up. I have the same problem.

    As stated above, the problem is "i have the same issue but the accessories folder IS in the location C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs but it is NOT showing up when I click the start button and click the all programs button.  I have already run sfc /scannow, disk check, windows memory diagnostic and still no luck (all check out normal).  Basically it's there, but not appearing when accessed through the start menu."

    This is challenging, and I also need the solution.

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-06-02T08:50:45+00:00

    You all were not listening to him. The Accessories folder is in the start up menu, but it doesn't show up. I have the same problem.

    This is exactly right. I have exactly the same problem. I have shortcuts in the c:\programdata... folder, but they don't appear on the start menu.

    A work-around is to copy/move them into the folder below:-

    %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

    But this is useless if you have more than one user using the computer. You'd have to do this with each user!

    This is either a bug that needs fixing, or there is a registry setting or something that needs changing to enable you to see start menu entries in the "all users" section as well as your own!

    Anyone who can help would make us all very happy!

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-06-02T09:05:28+00:00

    I HAVE THE ANSWER!!!!

    While looking at another post that didn't actually answer the problem, I decided to check the registry keys pointing to the Start Menu common folders. It turns out that Windows had updated them to point to my %userprofile% folder. This is probably because I moved some folders from there to my area and it was trying to be helpful.

    To get your start menu working as normal again, press and hold the Windows button on the keyboard and press "R". This will load the Run dialog. Type in "regedit" and press enter (careful with this program).

    Navigate to the folder below:-

    • HKey_Local_Machine\
    • SOFTWARE\
    • Microsoft\
    • Windows\
    • CurrentVersion\
    • Explorer\
    • Shell Folders\

    Double-click on the keys below to change them and change them to be the same as below:-

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

    Common Start Menu - C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

    Common Startup - C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

    Then, go into the "User Shell Folders" key folder that is shown a few spaces below "Shell Folders" and do the same again.

    Then, either restart your computer or kill all instances of "explorer.exe" and reload it.

    SORTED! :)

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  4. Anonymous
    2011-06-04T04:35:37+00:00

    Excellent information, Sanger, thanks for the post.

    Scooter, can you see if this helps?

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