Missing Desktop and Start Menu items

[RoWin7]

I haven't used my Gateway, also Win7Ult, in a few weeks, and when I booted tonight, I got the MS message about support expiring. But I had done away with that long ago with a file I had found at these forums. Was it called WSU?

Next, most of the shortcuts on my Desktop were missing
Start menu was almost blank except for the MS programs and Classic Shell.
All the background programs, usually about 10, were missing from my Systray.

I'm re-creating the desktop and Systray, but when I try dropping additional shortcuts into the actual Start Menu, not the copy in Win Explorer, they disappear.

The Gateway isn't backed up because IT IS THE BACKUP for this computer, not an exact copy but all the same programs and data. This one has scheduled images.

 

[TechnoMage2016]

Stuff happens!

And when my desktop gets buggered up, and that does happen occasionally, I just use my System Restore to put things right again.


OH YES, I won't set up any computer, and I have nine of them, without running a little script in the Startup Folder, that forces a new Restore point to be created (every time I boot up my PC).

Then when I need one, I have it.
(thank you Shawn)


TM

 

[torchwood]

hi Rowin7,

Restore point/image available???


Roy

 

[iko22]

If the computer hadn't been used for long time, I'd be tempted to do a CHKDSK, before evoking any system restore.

Interesting that the icons disappeared after disuse. Did the problem persist after a re-boot?

 

[RoWin7]

Yes, persisted after a reboot.
Not unused a long time, maybe a few weeks.

chkdsk found nothing, except that I don't have an event viewer log, which I already knew and hadn't fixed yet.

MSSEC found nothing

This isn't just a "buggered desktop" as Technomage2016 suggested. It's as if parts of my Win profile have disappeared. My browsers can no longer find their profiles, which are intact and still in myusername\AppData\Roaming. My custom color scheme is gone, and there are small subtle changes in some of my programs.

Should I go ahead with the System Restore?

After this, I'll back up that machine to an image, too. It can't be a hardware backup if it gets messed up.

 

[torchwood]

Hi Rowin7,

based on your last post, suspect User profile is not loading, the default will not have the items your missing.

have a look at this tutorial. Event viewer would have been handy.


User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded.

as its your back-up also run sfc /scannow and kb947821
might get your event viewer to work
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=20858

Roy

 

[RoWin7]

Done. Many thanks.

But what about MS's message about Win7's expiration months after I stopped it?