Solved Contacts folder lost its special functions

[pjfarr]

My contacts folder is suddenly behaving like a regular folder. All the buttons specific to the contacts folder that used to be there like "New Contact", "Import/Export" are gone, replaced by the general folder buttons. There is no way to add a new contact. Even the File > New menu is missing "Contact".

If I look at the properties for the folder it's missing it's "Customize" tab. From within the folder, no "Customize this folder" option exists, like in other folders. Everything I've found online related to this suggests using these customize options, but they are not there to use.

Anyone know a fix for this?

 

[ThrashZone]

Reset default folder views,
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/15692-folder-view-settings-reset-all-default.html
What Security suite do you have installed ?
What recent changes have you made ?

 

[pjfarr]

Thanks Thrash

I did see that thread, but I don't want to set all my folders back to default. I've got so many folders with custom views setup.

My security/anti-virus is Microsoft Security Essentials (for over a year-and-a-half). The only issue I've been having is one of my programs, CorelDRAW X6, has started to freeze up my system—including mouse and keyboard—requiring a hard shutdown and reboot. While troubleshooting this issue I've had to do a ridiculous amount of hard shutdowns every time I tried something and it didn't work (and thus froze up the system). I'm thinking all those improper shutdowns buggered something else up...?

 

[ThrashZone]

Click the start button and click on your User name listed near the top,
Right click the contacts folder and the Desktop folder and see they both are missing the Customize tab,
This would be true for me as well.
Interesting.

Edit,
I had to Copy the Contacts folder to the Public area before the Customize option appeared, but only in the Public folder ?
I first shared it with Home group with no joy,
The Public Desktop folder does have the Customize option pretty much why I copied the Contacts folder there to test.
Don't know why though ?
Possibly it's a issue running a Administrator account ?

 

[pjfarr]

I was able to hunt down the problem in the registry. The key...

HKCU\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\239\Shell

...was set to "Generic". I changed it to "Contacts". Probably got screwed up as a result of all the hard shutdowns I mentioned earlier I had to do while troubleshooting CorelDraw...?

I used Process Monitor to track down which "Bag" was my contacts folder and then saw the problem right away. I checked the properties of the contact folder on my other Win7 PC and it didn't have a Customize tab either...maybe that's how it was designed?

So it's solved. Thanks so much for your time Thrash. I much appreciate it!
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