Solved Missing "All Programs" Button

[crosby1]

hello all,

i haven't made any changes to my system at all, but upon a reboot yesterday, the "all programs" button (start -> all programs) is missing. there are a few programs listed on the left side of the pop-up screen, and the search bar is available at the bottom. but no "all programs" button.

i tried a system restore, but that didn't work. also tried sfc /scannow , that didn't work either. ran virus and malware scans which are clean.

i have no idea what happened or how to get the "all programs" button back. if i log on as administrator, the button is there; but if i log on to my account it isn't.

any thought on how to get it back?

windows 7 home edition 32 bit.

thanks in advance.

 

[Windows Sniper]

I think Blinks Tutorial would be a good place to start here Crosby1, let us know if this works or not.

Start Menu All Programs List - Enable or Disable - Vista Forums

 

[Orbital Shark]

As a word of warning, being a user of the 'Home' brand of Windows 7 (Home Basic/Home Premium) you will not have access to the Group Policy Editor GPEDIT.MSC. I advise using Option 2, or If you are familiar with the Registry, Option 3.

 

[crosby1]

hey, thanks very much.

i had also tried to use the GPE and then realized it wasn't available in this edition of windows (thanks a lot, MS).

i'll make the direct changes to the registry and see if that helps.

i'll post back with my results...

thanks again.

 

[Windows Sniper]

No Worry's Crosby, Just keep us Informed xD

 

[DeaconFrost]

then realized it wasn't available in this edition of windows (thanks a lot, MS).

You are running the Home Premium edition....where the GPE isn't needed/used by more than a very very very small fraction of the userbase. That's why so many charts and graphs exist to show the differences in versions...and why your version was cheaper than something like Pro or Ultimate.

 

[crosby1]

yup, that was it. deleted the offending registry entry and the button is back!

now why did it happen in the first place???

thanks very much for the help!!

 

[Brink]

Hello Crosby, and welcome to Seven Forums.

It could have been a setting in one of those all-in-one utility programs, or possibly malware did it. It wouldn't hurt to use something like the Eset Online Scanner to run a scan on your system for malware/viruses to help be safe.