Two things come to mind right away. One is that it could be a corruption problem with Explorer. The other is that the programs on your Start menu may bad shortcuts. I’m leaning toward a corruption issue with Explorer.
The Windows Start Menu and Explorer
The explorer.exe file, also known as Explorer, is responsible for the graphical user interface of your computer. When it is running properly, your Windows Desktop has its icons displayed, the Start menu works, the Taskbar functions, and so on. When it is not working properly, symptoms such as malfunctioning shortcuts, frozen Taskbars, and missing icons arise. Many users have found that they can work around a malfunctioning explorer.exe file by using Control + Alt + Delete and then opening Task Manager. From there, they use the File> New Task (Run) command to manually launch their favorite programs.
While that process will load the programs that you want, it’s not ideal. However, we can use that process to restart Explorer. Sometimes, a simple restart of Explorer.exe is all that’s needed and your computer will cooperate; so, let’s give it a try.
First, click Control + Alt + Delete and choose Start Task Manager. Now, go to File > New Task (Run) and type in: explorer.exe. This should restart Explorer. Test your Start menu and see if any programs will run. If so, great! If not, let’s try a System Restore.
Using System Restore
If your computer is set to use System Restore, then it creates “restore” points periodically. These are snapshots of your computer’s system files. Restoring the system to an earlier point in time will replace the current configuration with the configuration from an earlier time. This means that currently corrupted system files will be replaced with earlier, hopefully non-corrupted copies. It also means that system settings made since the restore point will be eliminated, so choose your restore point carefully. Try to go back far enough, before the error began, but not so far back that you’ll lose security updates, new software installations, and other configurations made since.
Using System File Checker
Another option is to use the System File Checker tool. This utility is built into your operating system. It will scan your operating system for corrupt or missing system files, such as the explorer.exe file, and then replace any damaged or missing files with clean copies from your original Windows installation CD. You will need the disc in order for this to work. Now, go to Task Manager > File> New Task (Run) and type in: sfc /scannow. Make sure to include the extra space between “sfc” and “/scannow.”
Checking Start Menu Shortcuts
Restarting explorer.exe, restoring the system, and running the System File Checker are all good steps that you can take to troubleshoot the Start menu. If you are having trouble with just one or two programs, I’d suspect a problem with the actual shortcuts. Did you know that you can right-click the individual items in the Start menu? Try it and you’ll see a popup menu with several choices including Properties. Choose Properties and click on the Shortcut tab. Here, you can check the path of the shortcut and make sure that it’s accurate.
Celeste Stewart | March 23rd, 2009
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