Some items only work in Classic Start Menu

In the XP Start Menu, the last thee items on the right -- Help and Support, Search, and Run -- do nothing when I click on them, but they work OK when I switch to the Classic Start Menu.

What happened, and how can I fix it?

 

If you have used any registry cleaners, try reversing any changes with a backup created by the cleaner.

Try this fix for Run... If it works, we may have a clue on the others.

http://users.adelphia.net/~abraxas/dl/RunFix.zip

 

Abraxas -- I haven't used any registry cleaners. I don't trust them. I installed an HP scanner a few days ago.... The Runfix didn't help. Any other ideas?

 

marty - do you have this key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID\{2559a1f3-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}

If you do, delete it, after backing it up of course.
This may fix the Run shortcut.

 

Lee: no, I don't have that key.

I have five keys under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre
ntVersion\Explorer\CLSID, four with DefaultIcon subkeys, and one with a ShellFolder subkey.

I deleted that one, and saw no effect, so I restored it.

 

Are you having any other system problems? It appears you've sustained some registry damage, but do a complete scan for viruses and spyware, just in case.

A repair installation may fix your problem, but there is no guarantee.

 

Abraxas: How do I run a "repair installation "? The XP Home CD only offers "new" and "upgrade" installations.

My system was running slow at times, but otherwise the only system problem I recall is that after running System File Checker (which didn't help) I tried System Restore and there were NO restore points. That was yesterday, and now there is one restore point that was created about 3am this morning.

My virus checker reported nothing found. I ran a freeware spyware finder that removed over a hundred programs and registry keys. Another freeware spyware finder found only two remaining: it confused my PowerStrip video tweaker with the spyware of the same name (so I kept it), and it told me that the clock synchronizer I was using was a Gator product (so I removed it).

 

It sounds like you autoran the CD while XP was running to get the options that you did.

If you prefer to do it from within Windows, choose the upgrade option (the repair is also known as an inplace upgrade).

The best idea is to put in the CD, exit, and reboot the computer. If your machine comes up with a message asking you to press a key to boot from CD, do so.

You then will be presented with an option to press "R" to repair. This is not the option you want. This will only get you into the Recovery Console.

Instead, you want to just continue with the installation. After pressing F8 to agree to the license, you should see a screen that shows you the Windows installations that setup found.

Read and follow the directions. You won't lose anything from your present installation except any Windows Updates you have installed (This is the usual case. But, as always, you should back up anything important before you even begin this process. It rarely goes bad, but it can, of course.)

 

Problem is still there.

I ran the repair installation from a CD boot (not the Recovery Console; Setup called it a repair installation -- "press R" -- after I chose to Install). "Won't lose anything ... except ... Windows Updates "? Yes and no. I lost my screen resolution, which was easily restored. I didn't lose the problem I was trying to solve: Help and Support, Search, and Run still don't work in the XP Start Menu, and do work in the Classic Start Menu.

Correction: You asked whether I was having any other system problems. I did (and probably still do) have another little problem. I have "remember each folder's view settings" checked, and set "all" folders to detail view, but set Printers and Control Panel individually to icon view. For a while, these two folders continue to come up in icon view, but after a while (I'm not sure whether it's only after a reboot) they come up again in detail view. This problem came up many months after my original installation.

 

Jumping In

Marty39,
I see you haven't posted much here, but perhaps you are a regular reader. If you are not, you just did something dumb. You downloaded and ran a file from a source you knew nothing about. Now of course, I would run anything Abraxas told me to try without reservation, (Hell, he could sit in my chair and play with my computer if he wanted to!) but the point is you didn't know that!! Only allow things to run on your computer from sources you trust. No exceptions.

Your XP is broken. It's going to get even more broken. Your registry is a mess. Back up any data files only and then do a clean install. Before you go online again, and I mean physically disconnect the modem while you do your clean install, put one of the good Internet Security programs on your computer, then go online and update it until you can't update it anymore. Do a search on the Board, there are quite a few choices in different price ranges. Then go get Spybot and set it to auto update and run every week (or day, if you are a heavy surfer!) Also, select the "Immunize" function.

Good luck, and post back with any questions.

Johanna

 

Johanna -- Thank you for telling it like it is. Something is a mess, and I would believe it's the registry (because everything but the kitchen sink is in the registry).

Question: what's the most likely reason for my system to get messed up? Installing (and uninstalling) lots of downloaded freeware, using DOS tools, installing 16-bit applications, using too many Windows options ...?

Responding to your other comments: I'm not a regular reader, but I did enough reading here to know that Abraxas contributes frequently and always seems to know what he's about.

The freeware spyware finder that I chose to use was the one you just recommended: SpyBot. The other one (which I used only to remove the Gator product) was X-Cleaner. I also use AntiVir Personal Edition (from H+BEDV Datentechnik GmbH). My system is connected through a hardware firewall/router (D-Link DI-704), I download from trusted or reliable-looking websites, and I never open email letter-bombs.

I usually find that I have to do a complete reinstall about every year or so, regardless of which version of Windows I've been using. I do a parallel installation so I can use the old system while I'm reinstalling my applications on the new system. I guess it's time to do it again. But I wish I could keep my systems from falling apart so often.

 

Well, marty39, I guess you have been read the Riot Act . The final solution is, of course, to format and reinstall. If your problems are annoying enough to you, that is all that is left to do at this point.

And the others have valid points, too (Thanks for the votes of confidence ). It is not a good idea to download and run anything that others just happen to suggest to you. Scripts and reg files can be opened in Notepad to see what they contain, depending on your individual ability to interpret these things.

That is one reason that I am always pleased when someone else jumps into a thread to assist or corroborate any suggestion I make. I make mistakes, too, and others have been kind enough to point those out.

In the absence of corroboration, it may be necessary to just trust someone. But that trust need not be blind. Your looking at past posts and generally checking that the person giving advice is not malicious or has a history of crackpot advice is sometimes a method of verification.

Generally speaking, the people giving advice in this BBS adhere to a sort of Hippocratic ideal of "First, do no harm... ". When someone says, "Try this," thay mean that if it doesn't work, it at least should not make things worse or introduce yet another problem.

And, of course, we have the moderators of the group. They watch and help all of us, being sure that no one makes egregious errors or repeatedly gives bad or damaging advice. If they do, they are out of here. So the sheer number of posts someone has is another indicator of whether you should pay attention to what they have to say.

This is a great BBS with a very nice, polite, helpful, and honest bunch of people. I hope your future experiences here are good and that not all your problems require a format and reinstall .

 

marty39 - once a year seems to be way too often for manditory reinstalls. Not to say you don't have to do them and not to say that a PC can't get torn up beyond the point where a repair is worth the effort because they can and do.

But the list of precautions you take is good and I've been trying to figure out what additional clean-up/fix-up measures might allow you to run longer. Here are some thoughts. You probably do some of these but maybe not all. And others may have routine preventative measures they like that I've missed.

Frequency not less than monthly and more often if you are doing lots of system changes:
- file system NTFS if possible. Seems more stable to me.
- from a cmd prompt, chkdsk /r
- defrag
- registry maint. I like the free RegScrubXP

Not routine cleanup but Norton GoBack (not free and will run you between $35 & $40) is great disaster recovery and to me, worth every penny.