Add programs to All Programs folder in XP

[kmarshak]

I recently had to reinstall Windows XP.

As a result all my old programs are still on the machine however none of them show up in the All Programs section of the Start Menu in XP.

Is there any way to populate that folder with those programs?

Thanks.

When you reinstall Windows, the installed programs are essentially all
gone and also have to be reinstalled.

Most programs have many references within the registry and elsewhere
within the \Windows folder. If Windows is reinstalled, all that is
lost, and the programs have to be reinstalled too.

There is a very occasional, usually small, program for which the above
isn't true, but don't count on having many such programs. If you
reinstall Windows, count on having to reinstall all your programs too.

Unless you did a repair install of XP, the way to repopulate this is to
reinstall the programs. This will add all the necessary registry entries
and put the extra files where they need togo.

The leftover programs are not complete where they are, and likely will not
run.

[kmarshak]

I don't think you are right here.

If I go to C:\Program Files everything is there and can be used. I've opened outlook, world of warcraft and a few others without having to reinstall anything.

When I reinstalled Windows gave me the option to leave the files intact instead of formatting the drive and that is what I chose.

I just need to be able to get the programs found in C:\Windows into the All Programs menu.

I'm not deleting anything. I was using the quick reply box.

I tried using the repair console but was continually thwarted by the ntfs.sys driver. Every time I tried to boot the system would hit that driver, freeze for a moment and then restart.

I tried using the repair console to disable that driver. No good.
I renamed ntfs.sys to ntfs.old and copied over the ntfs.sys file from the installation drive. No good.

I tried all four of the enabled stances. No good.

So my last attempt was a reinstall.

Upon beginning the reinstall I was presented with three options:
Install with a quick format.
Install with a full format.
Install but leave the current files intact.

I chose the later and XP installed but presented me with the problem I now have of all my programs being in the folder C:\Windows\Program Files. I've been able to also locate all the files I had on my old desktop.

One thought I've been having:
When I first installed XP, oh so many years ago, I had an account called Kmar. When I took the steps I detailed above I gave it another name.

Were I to repeat my steps and gave the pc a name of kmar is it at all probable that everything would go back to right and I would be able to then find my programs in the Taskbar>Start>All Programs sections or is the link to the registry irrevocably broken and now can only be fixed by reinstalling everything?

If you did a Repair Install then the shortcuts to the applications should
still be in Start Menu > Programs folder. If they are not there, then you
either didn't do a Repair Install, or you installed the apps using the
option if it was offered to only install it for a particular user or they
were wiped out. Look in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start
Menu\Programs to see if they're present, if not check your username folder
to see if they are present there. Once you find them you can then copy the
shortcuts over to the proper users folder Start Menu\Programs folder which
you access from the desktop > taskbar > start menu.

Are you addressing me? Please quote the message you are replying to,
enough to put your reply into context. If you don't, it is highly
likely that we will misunderstand you. I almost missed this message
entirely.

Most of my programs stopped showing up in Start > All Programs without my having reinstalled anything but TurboTax. Nevertheless, I followed the suggestions of Bryan A and looked in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs as well as my username folder. In both cases, all my programs were there, but most of their folders were hidden.

Since my Folder Options were already set to show hidden files and folders (Tools Menu > Folder Options > View tab), I manually selected all the files and folders in Programs, right clicked on Properties, unchecked Hidden and clicked Apply. Voilà - everything is now back in Start > All Programs!