Just spent a while fixing a Vista laptop with no start menu icons. Wierdly, the recently used ones were still shown, but nothing (Apart frm Default Programs and an empty Accessories folder) shown under All Programs.
No files shown in explorer under All Users\Start Menu or [[user]]\Start Menu.
I also had to use cacls to gain access to those folders, as I originally got Access Denied messages.

I fixed the issue by copying the shortcuts from an XP pc and deleting the ones that didn't work. I showed the laptop's owner how to recreate the one's for the rest of their programs, but I came across this on the net in a couple of places, with no sign of a better fix.

Just wondering if anyone knows better?


Diolch,