Classic Shell: Forum

I installed Classic Shell for a friend and all is well except there are no programs showing in the box on the left. I tried all three if the selections and none have the programs listed. In the pic I provided, the programs shown in the red are just totally blank. Is there a setting I am missing? I need help for my friend. I can call him on the phone and advise him how to correct the problem but do not have the laptop with me. (The text in the pic should say 'The program list is vacant', not 'listic'. sorry!)

Do the programs show in the built-in Windows start menu?

what I can do to fix this problem. My friend did run some sort of cleaner program. I will try to get back to my friend and try to talk him how to fix the problem over the phone.

Since windows 8-10 dont actually use that list of shortcuts(except with classic shell), its likely that a cleaner deleted them; you can check the app to see if it has an 'undo' function, or try system restore.
Alternatively, you can re-build the folder manually (which I would recommend over a system restore, but not an 'undo' feature built into a cleaner)

This means that the file shortcuts inside the Start Menu got deleted by some app, malware or some cleanup app or your friend might have deleted them accidentally. The shortcuts are created by installers, Classic Start Menu only shows them in a list format.

To fix this:

1. From an administrator command prompt, type: sfc /scannow
and press Enter. This should restore the built-in OS shortcuts

2. Reinstall third party programs using their original installers so the shortcuts will be re-created.

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Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

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

>reinstall to create shortcuts
Its usually better to just locate the .exe right click>create shortcut(on desktop) then drag them to the shortcuts folder
Not all programs are nice like classic shell, and remember all your settings