Vista Start Menu Issue

I just started using Vista yesterday and I've run into this start menu issue.

After installing a program I accidentally deleted all the folders under "All Programs" in the start menu because the menu looked like this:

FolderX
FolderY
FolderZ
"New Program Folder"
Programs (When Expanded)
->FolderX
->FolderY
->FolderZ
->"New Program Folder"

I figured i would just delete the "Program" folder because it looked like a clone of the items above it. Well doing that deleted all of it...Any reason a program would make the list go all wonky like that and is there any way to restore the folders? 2 of the 3 were all windows default stuff and realistically I really only want the "Accessories" folder back. Can anyone point me to where those programs are located or something?

 

Right click the taskbar.
Properties. Start Menu,check Classic Start Menu, apply.
All programs should be back.
Then to apply Vista menu Right click the taskbar.check Start Menu and apply.

 

Yea that was the first thing I tried but the actual locations are completely empty. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu AND C:\Users\"username"\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu ARE both completely empty...

 

A couple of thoughts on this. Have you tried the Recycle Bin? And if you have emptied that too, you could see whether you have a System Restore point you could use, though I have no idea, even if you have, whether System Restore would actually reverse what you have done. Doubt it actually, but you don't have a lot of options here.

 

Another thought. Download and install ShadowExplorer. This program allows you to retrieve earlier versions of files and folders stored in Volume Shadow Storage. Your deletions may well be there.

http://www.shadowexplorer.com/

 

Sadly I use CCleaner and anything I put in the recycle bin gets deleted pretty quickly. At first I thought I only deleted the dupe "Programs" folder but all of the shortcuts also got deleted leaving only empty folders.

It's also strange that the backup image I made doesn't have the correct shortcuts. "Shadow Explorer" wouldn't go back far enough either.

All I can think of is someone just uploading a copy of their default "Accessories" folder, If all the items inside are just shortcuts they should point to the right place no? The other folders were not of any value to me really since I move all my program folders from the start menu to a custom folder anyway.

 

It's simple enough to reconstruct if you know what the executable for each entry is called and where it's located. I'm a bit busy this morning, but I'll get all that for you sometime today.

 

First, create a new folder on your Desktop called Accessories, and drag it onto the Start > All Programs menu. Also create a new folder called System Tools and drag that onto Accessories. There are two other sub-folders to Accessories - Ease of Access and Tablet PC, which I have assumed you won't need so I haven't covered them.

You need to browse to each file, right click it and send to desktop as shortcut. Then drag it into the Start > All Programs > Accessories folder.

Here are the names and locations of items in Accessories. Items with a question mark are not shortcuts and I can't see how to recreate them. However they are all easily available elsewhere, so not a problem.

Calculator %SystemRoot%\system32\calc.exe
Command Prompt %SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe
Connect to a Network Projector %SystemRoot%\system32\NetProj.exe
Notepad %SystemRoot%\system32\notepad.exe
Paint %SystemRoot%\system32\mspaint.exe
Remote Desktop Connection %systemroot%\system32\mstsc.exe
Run ?
Snipping Tool %SystemRoot%\system32\SnippingTool.exe
Sound Recorder %SystemRoot%\system32\SoundRecorder.exe
Sync Center %SystemRoot%\System32\mobsync.exe
Welcome Center %SystemRoot%\system32\control.exe /name Microsoft.WelcomeCenter
Windows Explorer %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe
Windows Sidebar "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe"
WordPad "%ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Accessories\wordpad.exe"

Items in the System Tools subfolder
Backup Status and Configuration %systemroot%\system32\sdclt.exe
Character Map %SystemRoot%\system32\charmap.exe
Computer ?
Control Panel ?
Disk Cleanup %SystemRoot%\system32\cleanmgr.exe
Disk Defragmenter %SystemRoot%\system32\dfrgui.exe
Internet Explorer (No Add-ons) "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" -extoff
System Information %SystemRoot%\system32\msinfo32.exe
System Restore %systemroot%\system32\rstrui.exe
Task Scheduler %SystemRoot%\system32\taskschd.msc /s
Windows Easy Transfer %SystemRoot%\system32\migwiz\migwiz.exe

 

try this program (its free and works on 32bit and 64bit)
http://www.vistastartmenu.com/index.html
I use it in place of my Original Start Menu and find it way more customizable and faster to navigate then the original one MS gives you
(I have been using this for over a year and haven't looked back)