Tech: Help! Missing program-URGENT

Subject: Tech: Help! Missing program-URGENT
From: wilbyhillbilly
Date: 22 Feb 11 - 12:25 PM

The urgency is that I have Danny (9yrs) in tears.

I installed a game we bought for him and all went well until it seized, so we came out of it and went to reload and it's not showing on the desktop, (no shortcut).

I am running WinXP Home Edition.

I've noticed with two or three programs I have loaded recently it states "new program installed" under the "Start" button and normally when I hover over "all programs" it shows them on the page that comes up and I can start them from there, BUT, the problem now is that the page seems to be full up and the last several new programs are not showing because I assume, that there is no more room on the page.

Consequently I cannot find the latest program to restart it. I know it's still there because I ran "regedit" and it's showing there. Is there any way that I can start it from there? or some other way.

Subject: RE: Tech: Help! Missing program-URGENT
From: bobad
Date: 22 Feb 11 - 01:18 PM

One way is to go to START / SEARCH / ALL FILES AND FOLDERS and type in the name of the program. When it shows up in the window double click it.

Subject: RE: Tech: Help! Missing program-URGENT
From: Bernard
Date: 22 Feb 11 - 01:35 PM

First of all, change the setting that prevents you seeing all the program folders...

RIGHT click on a blank part of the taskbar at the bottom of the screen.

Select 'Properties', then the 'Start Menu' tab.

In that tab make sure the 'Start Menu' radio button is active and click 'Customise'.

Now click the 'Advanced' tab, and scroll down the list until you see 'Scroll Programs'.

Click okay and come out of the setup windows.

When you click 'Start' and 'All Programs' the list should now be scrollable.

Next, check the packaging for the game, as it's more than likely that the program folder will be listed under the name of the software house, not the name of the game!!

Subject: RE: Tech: Help! Missing program-URGENT
From: Bernard
Date: 22 Feb 11 - 01:37 PM

Sorry - should have said 'scroll down the list until you see 'Scroll Programs' and check the box...!!

Subject: RE: Tech: Help! Missing program-URGENT
From: wilbyhillbilly
Date: 22 Feb 11 - 03:08 PM

Thanks Bernard, this has worked, now I can see the program and start it. Wonderful!

Another thing I've learnt for the future, this is a great place.

Thanks again all, got a happy little boy now who thinks Mudcat is the "coolest" place on earth. :-)

Subject: RE: Tech: Help! Missing program-URGENT
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 22 Feb 11 - 03:28 PM

You do need to find the program before you can do much more, and Bernard gave helpful advice. The suggestion that the program may be under the name of the maker rather than the name of the game should be noted.

In order to show in the Start|Programs list, there needs to be a shortcut to the program in the "Start" folder, and most programs will put one there. If that shortcut gets deleted, the program won't be listed even if it's on the computer. It's perfectly possible for a program to put its icon on the desktop without adding a shortcut in the Start folder to make it visible in the list, although I'd expect that to be rare.

A separate shortcut in the "Quick Start" folder is how programs get shown on the Quick Start bar, usually at the bottom left on the desktop; and one in the "Startup" folder puts an icon on the bar at the bottom right. (Note that putting one in the Startup folder means that the program is loaded into memory each time the computer boots, so too many there can significantly affect performance.)

Note that programs installed while logged onto the computer as a user who doesn't have "full privileges will sometimes show only when you're logged on again as the same user (or as a user with "administrator privileges"). The program "belongs" only to the user who installs it, unless/until it's shared, and other users won't see it unless they have the proper "authority."

Some people like to create a separate username specifically for a youngster, with limited privileges, so that the kid can be "inhibited" from accessing "big people stuff" without the nuisance of a "nanny program."

Each user gets a different Desktop, and logging on under a different name gets a "customized" desktop that may be different than what others see. Logging on under a different username, if you have created more than one, might show different results.

If the program doesn't show in the Start|Programs list, you should still be able to find the program using Windows Explorer, if it's still there. Well-behaved programs should all be at C:\Program Files, but young-people programs sometimes go elsewhere, and you usually can specify a different location during installation. WinXP, unlike Vista, had a reasonably useful "Search" function in Windows Explorer, so it should be able to locate the file if you can find or remember a fragment of the program builder's name and/or the game name.

For a "quick look" you can also open Control Panel|Add-Remove Programs and look for the program there; but programs that require only copying files to the computer with no Registry changes may not be shown, since all you need to do to remove the programs is delete the files. The list of programs may be a lot shorter than poking through all the files on the computer, and iff the program is there, you'll see a "name" that should at least be usable for finding the program file(s) with Explorer.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Help! Missing program-URGENT
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 22 Feb 11 - 03:32 PM

Once again, so slow I cross-posted with the happy victim.

Maybe the comments wiil be useful for someone's "next time."

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Help! Missing program-URGENT
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 22 Feb 11 - 03:45 PM

WidbyHillBilly - Mudcat is a real gem.
What games does your 9 year old play?
Football, B-Ball, Hurling? Tag, Statues, Kickball? Dodgeball, Tree Climbing, or GTA?

Dude stay all year stay a little longer.

Tell all ya friends to come back now...hear?

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

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Subject: RE: Tech: Help! Missing program-URGENT
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 22 Feb 11 - 06:15 PM

In your Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer!), you can navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs and reorganize the contents into folders such as "Games", "Office Programs",... Of course you can click on the reference symbols there as well. Instead of "All Users", also try your particular user names.

Subject: RE: Tech: Help! Missing program-URGENT
From: wilbyhillbilly
Date: 23 Feb 11 - 10:23 AM

Thanks again folks, all this info is sinking in,....slooowly!

John, there's a lot there I didn't know so it's always useful, late or not. He has now got his own username and desktop so we can seperate his stuff, thanks.

And now maybe if I take some of the items off start, it might help to speed it up when I logon.

John (whb)