Restore start menu shortcuts

I had some nasty malware on my computer. Thanks to programs recommended by the great experts on this site, my computer has a clean bill of health now.

One little bugger managed to hide all of my program files, making all folders appear empty. I resolved that situation with attrib -h /s /d at the command prompt, but I still have one little problem. When clicking on Programs in the Start Menu, all of the programs are listed, BUT there are no shortcuts within those folders. Example: Microsoft Office is listed, but when hovering over it, I only get (Empty). I've looked in Windows Explorer and see that the program files are all where they're supposed to be and are visible. It's like that for every program in the list.

It'd be nice not to have to restore each shortcut individually for every single program, so I'd appreciate it if anyone can help me to restore those with a command, if it's possible. Thank you!!!

FYI: Windows XP Pro

 

hrm, kind of doubt this will work, but worth a try I think: download and merge into registry

source: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/file_assoc.htm

Reboot for changes to occur.

 

I'm sorry to say it didn't work, but thanks for the suggestion. :wave

 

Unfortunately, that didn't work either. Thanks for the suggestion.

I followed the malware removal procedures, but did not create a thread because I lost my Internet access due to storms in my area. Fortunately, I was able to update and run all the programs before that happened. I consulted an expert I know personally to review the logs.

 

Greetings, mbmadiw.

Seems like I remember a similar problem in the past, and we were able to solve it by running a System File Check (SFC) - worth a shot.

Also, when possible, I suggest running those logs by the folks in the Malware Forum - you never know when a different perspective can notice something that others may have missed.