WinXP Pro SP2 - Can't create new start menu folder, why???

[Tiger-Heli]

Okay, I'm not sure how long this has been happening.

I try to add a new folder to the start menu and I get an error message titled (?) - "Cannot create new folder".  The text is:

Unable to create the folder 'New Folder'
The system cannot find the file specified.

More info:

This happens in both C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu and C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Start Menu.  All subfolders seem to be affected.  I have admin rights on the machine.  I can create new folders in other folders on C:\.  I can copy an existing folder (it doesn't say Copy of ""), but I think that's normal, delete the contents, and rename it, so I can work around it, but that's cumbersome.

I recently reformatted the drive from one C: partition to separate Windows and Programs partitions.  The C:\drive partition was made from a ghost copy of WinXP that was previously installed on a different HD on the same machine.  I also renamed Drive C from "Local Drive" to "Windows".

I also was trying to copy a lot of the system folders (such as Temp, TIF, and Application Data) to separate folders off the main C:\Partition.  I did this by right-clicking and dragging the folders, but I don't think it worked for the Start Menu (it wouldn't work for the Recent folder), so I think they are still on C:\.

Google either showed no entries or too many similar entries for unrelated problems.

Thanks in advance. 

[Tiger-Heli]

Something else that might be helpful:  I thought maybe the folders were "Read-Only" since I had copied them from the other drive, so right-clicked on them and selected properties, and there was a green square on Read-Only (meaning some of them were).  I unchecked this to make them not read-only, but couldn't get them all to change.

I am supposed to have full write and modify access on the folder.

[Havok]

Try taking ownership of the files - I had a similar problem once.

Properties, Advanced, Owner...

Good luck!

[Tiger-Heli]

Try taking ownership of the files - I had a similar problem once.
Properties, Advanced, Owner...
Good luck!

Thanks, I'll give that a shot tonight and let you know!!!

[Tiger-Heli]

Curiouser and Curiouser . . .

Okay, I had full access and ownership of both the doc and settings \all users files and the docs and settings \username files.

I changed some things and for a while I could add new folders to both places, now I can only add it to the all users folders.

Now the weird stuff - what I am also trying to do is put all my start menu items in one folder, so I can back them up and sort them out more easily.  (Basically, the computer always logs into username and everyone that uses it will use the same programs.)

I tried copying everything to All Users - and all the menu items showed up, but my strartup folder items (1st Clock, APC, Epson Status and Multires) loaded twice.  My HKCU and HKLM run files (AutoShutdown, AVG, Wallpaper Master, MBM 5) all loaded fine.  Startup CPL showed the startup folder items in both Startup folders, so I deleted them from the username settings (left them in all users) and re-booted and none of them loaded (and startupcpl showed both startup folders empty.  Then I copied all the start menu folders from Deleted items (in StartupCPL) to Username  and also copied all the start menu items from All Users to Username and re-booted and none of these files loaded, in fact I did not even have a startup folder under Username.  I copied the All Users (empty one) over to it (couldn’t create one), and copied the shortcuts to it from a backup file.  Then I re-booted and none of the items loaded, although if you click start and browse the menus, they are in the startup folder.

Weird . . .

[Howard_Casto]

Dumb question.....  Does the user account in question have administrator rights?

I've found regular user accounts to be totally useless in xp because they screw up like in the way to just described. 

[Tiger-Heli]

Dumb question.....  Does the user account in question have administrator rights?
I've found regular user accounts to be totally useless in xp because they screw up like in the way to just described. 

AFAIK, yes it does.  (Even dumber question - how could I tell )  (I'm pretty sure it does b/c stuff that need admin rights to load loads fine on it, but that's not the best way to verify it).

[Howard_Casto]

Go into the control panel, switch to classic view and go into user accounts.

Click on any user and then click "change account type"..... it'll show you the account type currently selected.  Aything other than Computer Administrator is crap imho. 

[Tiger-Heli]

Assuming it is an admin account:  If the computer is always logged in under Username, does it matter whether I place menu shortcuts and startup items in All Users, Default User, or Username, and memory loading items in HKCU or HKLM Run?

In theory, it should work the same either way, but I didn't know if there were any philosophical advantages to one or the other . . .

[Howard_Casto]

Default user generally isn't used for anything other than settings and even then it's progrma settings, not desktop settings.  All users is where it needs to go for programs that'll be in multiple accounts.

You'll find that the majority of stuff gets installed to the current user's folder.  That is because third party programmers, like myself have realized how useless the different accounts are in xp and just let the os take care of it, in which case it just installs for the user.  The program is genrally still there thogh and accessable to all users, it just isn't put in the start menu. 

So basically it's dumb.

[jcrouse]

Aything other than Computer Administrator is crap imho. 

Gotta agree with this. Even on our network at work, The first thing I do on a new system is to add the "everyone" group to the local Admininstrators group which esentially gives all users complete control of their local desktop. I made a decisin a long time ago that if they mess something up I can reload quicker that the constant battle of fighting the nuances of them not having local admin privileges. The can't even sync time without being in the local admin group or me creating s special security policy.

John

[Howard_Casto]

It gets worse.....

Some anti-virus and data-recovery programs won't run without admin privelages, meaning the user can have the anti-virus scan their pc once a week without it mattering because the program doesn't have the rights to actually fix any problems it finds. 

[Tiger-Heli]

It definitely is an administrator account.

Okay, my system is fixed.  It was one of those obvious things that I should have considered but didn’t.  I found out b/c I tried to do a repair on the OS using the WinXP disk (bad idea) and WinXP tried to restore the OS with default settings (no warning except that the repair looked like it would take 40 minutes and was going through all the standard install screens).  I didn’t want to do this, so I re-cloned the OS and it works fine now.

See this thread for how the problem initially occurred: http://radified.com/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.cgi?board=general;action=display;num=1157642783

Basically, I changed my programs drive from G: to D:, creating a lot of dead links.  Leaving it at G:, the system seems to be happy.  (Actually, I probably could have used Norton’s Drive re mapper and had Programs as D:\, but it’s working now, and I’m fairly happy with it.)

It’s still sortof hit or miss on creating new start menu folders.  2/3rds of the time it works now, but the other times it fails.  I have learned to work around it though.

I do have a problem with system restore, but a google search turned up some promising leads, so I’ll try those before I ask anymore.

(By fixed, I mean it now works the same way it did with the Maxtor drive installed - I got rid of the sluggishness and stuttering - things that were noticeable but not mentioned before.)