Windows 7: Administrative Tools Location in Control Panel

What is the default location for the Administrative Tools shortcut that resides in the Control Panel?

The reason I ask is because if I click on "Administrative Tools" in the Control Panel, I get an error message that states that the "Location is Not Available".

The "location" that is spelled out in the error message specifies a subfolder that does not exist on my system, as follows:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\STUFF\Administrative Tools.

I reviewed the tutorials on this forum and ran the "Restore Admin Tools Shortcut" fix, but it clearly didn't address this problem.

How do I change the Administrative Tools shortcut in the Control Panel so that it points to the proper location?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Ed

Administrative tools should not be in "stuff"

They should be in control panel>all control panels>administrative tools

Hello Ed, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Administrative Tools is located at the hidden system folder below.

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

Does your Administrative Tools work from the Start Menu location?

Did you look at the tutorial below to make sure that it is there with all of the shortcuts in it?

Administrative Tools - Restore Shortcuts

Precisely! You are correct. Administrative Tools should not be (and in fact aren't) in STUFF. In fact, there is actually no STUFF folder residing on my system.

However, when I click on the Administrative Tools shortcut in the Control Panel (aka Control Panel>All Control Panels> Administrative Tools), STUFF is the folder location where the shortcut is (unsuccessfully) directed to, as indicated by the accompanying error message.

To add to the confusion . . .

I can see what appears to be an intact "Administative Tools" folder at the following location:

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

So how do I link the Administrative Tools shortcut (aka Control Panel>All Control Panels> Administrative Tools) to this location -- if that is indeed what needs to be done?

Hello Brink, sorry for the overlap.

To answer your questions:

1. My Administrative Tools folder resides at:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools

2. My Administrative Tools doesn't work from the Start Menu location

3. I ran the fix at:
Administrative Tools - Restore Shortcuts
All the shortcuts appear to be there -- and accessible -- via "All Programs", but not through the Start
Menu or through the Administrative Tools icon on the Control Panel.

Strange that it would work at one location and not the other. Do you have any issues with any other icon(s) in the Control Panel not working?

Have you already restarted the computer to see if it may have just been some glitch?

If it hasn't been to long since this started not working, then you might consider doing a system restore using a restore point dated to when it did work properly.

It might be in the Users Startmenu.
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

If so, perhaps you can manually alter the path.
Alternatively, copy and paste this path over to that in Program data?

Deeper, you can have a look in the registry, and alter the path thre if you can spot it, at the locations:
HKCU - Software - Microsoft - Windows - Current Version - Explorer - Shell Folders
or
HKLM - Software - Microsoft - Windows - Current Version - Explorer - Shell Folders
or
HKLM - Software - WOW6432Node - Microsoft - Windows - Current Version - explorer - Shell Folders
or
HKEY_Users\S-1-5-21-4011586854-35536564729-500\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders.
(The last is the most likely, as it is the Control panel Link)

BACKUP the REG if you are going to alter anything!

Good idea Dave.

Ed,

Here's a REG file attached to the bottom of this post that reset the default regsitry entries at the location below for you automatically in your 32-bit Windows 7. You would just need to download the REG file, save it to your desktop, right click on it and click "Merge", approve, and restart the computer.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Thanks for the suggestions, Dave . . . and for the registry fix, Shawn.
Unfortunately, they didn't work.

"Administrative Tools" are still inaccessible via the Control Panel s/c or the Start Menu (empty) . . . although they can be accessed via "All Programs".

Based upon the info that you guys provided, I've got one last idea. I'll let you know if works (or doesn't).

Ed

Ed,

If all else fails, for now you could use this below if you like to make it easy to use Administrative Tools until a solution is found.

Administrative Tools - Cascading Desktop Context Menu