Classic Shell: Forum

In Win7sp1, on a Dell Latitude E6500 laptop with Classic Start Menu (et. al.) version 3.6.7 installed, the current Administrator account's Classic Start Menu is seriously incomplete. In contrast, the Standard User account has a full Classic Start Menu, tailored for the laptop, at C:\Users\StdUser\Start Menu. And I have a backup copy of it on an external disk. My plan was to copy it from the external disk to a C:\Users\Administrator\Start Menu folder.

But I cannot find a C:\Users\Administrator\Start Menu folder. So I tried to create a Start Menu folder at that location. Windows gave me the following message:
"This destination already contains a folder named 'Start Menu'. If any files have the same names, you will be asked to replace those files. Do you still want to move or copy the folder?"
I answered no, because I would be happy to copy my backup Start Menu contents into that "destination" Start Menu folder, except that I have no idea where that "destination" is. A Windows search of C:\Users\Administrator\ does not discover a "Start Menu" folder.

I would very much appreciate any comments, suggestions, or help, to enable my Administrator account to have a full Classic Start Menu.

R.N. (Roger) Folsom

This is not the default location of the Start Menu folder. It usually goes to C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

Thank you! (That location deserves mention in Classic Shell Readme.) Although now the Start Menu folder's location in a MS Windows Folder makes perfect sense, I don't think I would ever have occurred to look there, on the general principle that mucking about in Windows folders can create a real mess.

So I now have my complete customized Start Menus on my Win7 Administrator account as well as on my User account.

The only remaining issue was that in my Administrator account's Classic Start Menu (but not in my User account's Classic Start Menu), the Search field at the bottom of the Menu was the default location for the keyboard. By that I mean that when I typed a number to open a numbered item or typed a first letter of an unnumbered item (in the Start Menu's first, most leftward, column), the number or letter went into the Search field.

I found a fix for that: In Classic Start Menu Settings, Search Box tab, instead of "Access normally" I selected "Access with tab." I don't know what tab that option activates, but the result is that I can use the Search Box simply by clicking in it. (And, of course, if I open the Win7 start menu by clicking on the Start button with a Shift key pressed, there is another search field.)

Thank you again.

Classic Shell is an enormous convenience, and I would hate to have missed it, even on a rarely used Administrator account.

R.N. (Roger) Folsom

P.S. As I noted when I could not find a C:\Users\Administrator\Start Menu folder, and tried to create one, Windows gave me the following message:
"This destination already contains a folder named 'Start Menu'. If any files have the same names, you will be asked to replace those files. Do you still want to move or copy the folder?"

The reason I couldn't see the Start Menu folder was that Folder Option settings were set to hide subfolders. I had forgotten to change that setting, since I had long ago undone those "hide stuff" settings on other computers.

'Access with tab' means the Tab key on your keyboard.

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Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and did Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

Thanks!

R.N. (Roger) Folsom