Search Function Finds NO Programs Or Start Menu Shortcuts / Desktop
Jan 11, 2016
I recently performed a clean upgrade from a clean 8.1 Install of Windows Pro. It's connected to a domain and uses Folder Redirection. The search function finds NO programs or start menu shortcuts, desktop etc. When I click the start and start typing, a few things are found, and at the top of the window it says "these results may be incomplete".
I have rebuilt the search, stopped the services, renamed the data folder, and tried a new user profile, and it does the same thing.
When I Installed Win 10, if I wanted to quickly access one of those 6 Win 10 PC 'Folders' (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos), I would just had to type in the folder in the start menu search box, press Enter and it would access the folder.As soon as I changed the folders' original location, this 'typing shortcut' did not work anymore.is it even possible to make typing shortcuts to folders or files in the search box? (i.e typing "x" for a specific folder named "y")
When you open the start menu, is there a way that when you start typing, it displays only programs installed starting with those letters? Or at least show more than just the top 3 options?
In windows 8.1 you could have just your programs displayed, and typing would only search through those. (maybe there is also an extension to bring that back?)
When clicking on the start menu or using the windows key on my keyboard nothing happens as well as trying to type in the search bar. I have tried running commands in power shell and booting my pc in safe mode using msconfig, but both of these had no effect. I also tried create a new user account but when i click on "create new user" nothing happens no loading or sign of any process taking place nothing happens. And i cant reinstall windows because windows is forcing me to delete about 630 gb worth of files and games which i dont want to re download since it will take a month, and an even longer time to reconfigure them and add all the mods i had within the game files
Some desktop apps are missing from the "All apps" section of the Start menu. Most programs are there, but I'd say 10-15% are missing. Apps that are missing also do not show up when searching the Start menu, and they cannot be pinned to the Start screen as tiles from File Explorer. (The option to "Pin to Start" is there, but selecting it doesn't do anything.)
I have a screenshot here of Outlook 2013 missing from the Start menu even though it is present in the "Start Menu" programs shortcut folder. This is one of many examples.
I've tried resetting the Windows Search index a few times and that hasn't done any good.
Additionally, I've tried adding my own shortcuts and folders to the "Start Menu" programs folder and the changes do not reflect on the Start menu "All apps" section. It's as if it has cached the structure somewhere and it is not updating for changes (or it is ignoring some changes). I tried to figure out some way to kick it into resetting but I have not been successful.
UPDATE: See Edwin's method in Post #4 for IE it is much easier than mine. But for other browsers use this method.
Since you cannot just drag and drop a shortcut to a web site into the app menu the way I do it is to create a short cut on my desktop then copy it into the start menu:
%AppData%MicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms
You'll need admin privileges to do this. Then open the start menu and put the mouse pointer on it, right click and select pin to start. If you want to do this for all users use this path:
%ProgramData%MicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms
You can create a folder just for there shortcuts or just let them stand on their own. Be aware that if you ever delete the folder and or the shortcut then the pinned short(s) will cease to work.
What am I missing here? I can pin exe's with a right click but trying to do this with a desktop shortcut does nothing. If it is not allowed, why does the context menu have 'Pin to start' in it?
Just installed Windows 10 - totally successful BUT: no shortcuts/links work in start menu, desktop or taskbar except for links to modern UI apps. Even weirder - shortcuts work if palced in saem directory as the target file/exe but not if then moved elsewhere, like desktop. And even weirder - right clicking a short cut and selecting open or run as administrator don't work, but selecting 'run with graphics card' does work.
I've tried every conceivable setting and nothing works. going crazy. This is installed on a Dell laptop.
I finally upgraded from Win7 to Win10. The start links (Documents to Videos) all come up as "Missing Shortcut".
After about a minute or so, it changes to the "Problem with Shortcut"
For Videos, I clicked the "Delete it" option and it completely removed it.
I have tied many combinations of turning on/off the links in settings and restarting to no avail. Also, the folder in app data it refers to does not exist under any profile.
I'd rather not fill up the Tiles area with these links when they could be there vice blank space.
Whenever I try to move, delete or rename a shortcut in ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms or its subfolders, appears this window (but the shortcut is moved, deleted or renamed without problems):
Really it is not a problem, but it seems that something is wrong...
Is it possible to have a button on the start menu that will open Wird and load a Word Document rather then having to click on the "Word" Icon and then open up a particular document? When I tried to drag a shortcut to the Word document to the start menu to pin it there, I get a red X icon.
I read many people complain about the Start Menu on Windows 10, specifically about not being able to modify it like they could in Windows 7.
You actually can modify it, pretty easily. Simply open This PC, then click in the address bar and type "start menu". You can then go into Programs and create new folders, shortcuts, etc. And any shortcuts you create can be also pinned as a tile from the All Apps section. And you can have Cortana launch them too.
I did an upgrade from win 7 to 10. Some glitches, but nothing I can handle. But i didn't like when u pin down a short cut on the start menu, it went to right. I want some program to pin down on the leftside, like win7. Is it possible to do that on win10?
Back in 7, my start menu had stuff pinned to it. I could click, say, Visual Studio and a submenu would slide out with recently opened projects on it so I could not only open it, but open a specific project.
I pinned VS to my Start Menu, but it doesn't have that functionality. I thought OK, well, maybe if it's on the left side of the start menu where the recently used stuff was. I can't figure out though how to get a shortcut over there (I believe that area is called "quick links"). I don't even have "recently used" anymore. I saw one can add folders from a list, but I don't need that. Right clicking the pinned VS in the "tiles" area doesn't give me that program specific context so that's not really useful.
Win 10 Enterprise. Worked fine for a couple of days, but now I cannot seem to bring up the start menu and start typing anything. It will not search. I also tried in the search box or spyglass... I just click on it and nothing happens. It is a major inconvenience. I don't want to do a restore and keep my files, because there is a HUGE list of applications I will then need to restore. I also tried to click on Cortana, but clicking the app does nothing, doesn't even bring it up.
I tried re-indexing search items, I tried the search troubleshooter. I have rebooted, I have installed all updates. Someone on another forum said kill the Cortana task... well there isn't one running.
Folders in question --C:ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms --C:UsersRitaAppDataRoamingMicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms
Right so, I have been trying to create application shortcuts in the "all apps" of the start menu. I've had success with some shortcuts. Here is a screenshot, with an example of what I am talking.The following shortcuts are behaving as I want them to,The following shortcut is not behaving as I want it to.. it keeps pinning to start despite all my attempts to unpin it and recopy to the folder,they are all shortcuts to executable files. Why is windows handling some of them differently?
I'm running the RTM on a netbook and have noticed that, unlike in Windows 7/8/8.1, I'm no longer able to hit Start and type in an executable. I have a bunch of portable apps that I typically type in and pull up. Now, the Start menu search pulls up ever OTHER file except the executable. It's very annoying and don't see why this shouldn't work.
What's worse, is if I pin the app to the start menu, it doesn't search it then. Say, I pin "puttyportable.exe" as a shortcut (and rename it to just PuTTY) to the start menu. Typing in "putty" gives me nothing - just the same associated files that were in the puttyportable folder (ini files, etc).
I installed Windows 10 very recently and I like it, but I have a VERY BIG show-stopper: when I try to do search in the start menu, it's terrible; it cannot even find an application that I have manually pinned to start. I didn't have any such problem with Windows 8.1. I have also installed some other desktop applications, for example GitHub for Windows, but when I start to to type "Git...", it only finds "GitHub" and it cannot find "Git Shell" and I have to go to all programs, find "G", then expand the folder for this application and run that application.
How do a get a program that I use quite often to get on the "Most Used Programs List". I realize that I probably have to use it more for it to appear on the list. But I want to know if I can get it there even though the program is not used as often as the others.
Not sure if I've done this in the course of hacking the registry but I can no longer pin anything to Start Menu by right clicking on an .exe in the File Explorer and choosing 'Pin to Start' from the context menu. I don't get an error message but nothing happens.
Also, when I install a program it will create a folder in the Start Menu, as normal, but any shortcuts to an .exe are not shown, only links to the manual, notes, etc. However, the shortcuts to the .exe are actually being created in
C:UsersNusAppDataRoamingMicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms or C:ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms
Turned on 'Most used' and can pin programs that appear on the list. However, not all programs used are appearing on list. It seems like only programs that were installed before this behaviour started are showing up.
