Tom C said:
I have just recently installed Windows 7. I love it. However, there is
one small thing that bothers me and I was wondering if there is a way to
"fix" it. I have installed a lot of programs, games and such. All of the
programs I installed show in my All Programs list, but when switching to
another user, even one with administrator privileges, a lot of programs do
not show. In some cases, I have had to go to the programs executable and
drag it to the all programs list. I found the start menu for my login,
but for some reason, I cannot access it. I get the following message
"Start Menu is not accessible, access is denied. I have even attempted
to change the permissions to the folder, but I still get the same message.
Is there a way to access the start menu for each user and copy/paste the
entire contents of MY start menu to the other users?
Once again Microsoft have "moved" something without any obvious reason.
I find it irritates me and no doubt many others when MS make changes, more
to the point 'why' they changed it.
If they have published some document with the changes listed and the
reasons thereto they haven't made a very good fist of publicizing it.
In XP each users data used to be at C:\documents and settings\username.
The new location in Win 7 is C:\users\username.
Something I do find logical in the sense that 'Users' is more self
explanatory than 'documents and settings' as a place to save each users
data.
Be that as it may the 'obvious' place for the Start Menu in Windows 7 would
have been:
C:\users\username\Start Menu, i.e. at the same folder level as with 2000 and
XP.
(C:\documents and settings\username)
But oooooh nooooo Microsoft couldn't be that consistent.
They buried it in an obscure location that is by default 'hidden' jeeeezzzz
First you have to turn off 'all' hidden files and folder attributes.
If Windows Explorer is not displaying the Menu bar then:
Press an 'Alt' key, the Menu bar will appear.
Click Tools, Folder Options, View tab, place a tick in the 'Always show
menus' box.
(so the dam menus stay there, another MS bit of twisted thinking)
On the same View tab click the 'Show hidden files, folders, and drives'
radio button.
Untick 'hide protected operating system files (recomended) and confirm the
pop up box.
Untick 'hide extension for known file types' while you are there (another
default that irritates the crap out of me)
NOTE
I find it a good idea to Retick 'hide protected operating system files
(recomended) and 'show hidden files, folders, and drives' after finishing as
it does work to protect rather vital system files and folders that you don't
need access to with normal work.
Now that you can see all the files and folders you will find a link to start
menu at C:\users\username\ but when you click on it you get told 'access is
denied'
This is the one you have found already.
I don't know the exact explanation but I understand it to be some sort of
symbolic link.
(something to do with program installation if I remember right)
The 'real' location of your start menu is at:
C:\users\username\appdata\roaming\Microsoft\windows\start menu.
You can't see the 'appdata' folder if 'don't show hidden folders, or drives'
is selected in folder options.
Great now we know where 'your' start menu is, but where is the 'all users'
start menu.
In Windows XP if you wanted 'all' users to have programs listed in their
start menu an icon needed to be placed into C:\documents and settings\all
users\start menu'
The same logic applies to Win7 BUT for what ever reason the location of the
all users start menu is different from that of a normal user. i.e.
C:\users\all users\microsoft\windows\start menu.
Why, beats me.
it is also protected as a 'system file' hence the necessity to untick
protected operating system files in folder options.
So that is where they are.
I have not as yet had a need to add anything to all users start menu so
there may be some 'gotchas'
YMMV & all that.
Best
Paul.
