Solved How to locate Start Menu items in the file system...


M

mercury_1967

Well-known member
Local time
3:21 PM
Posts
12
OS
Windows 11
... NOT the StartUP Menu, which is in \AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup - the Start Menu folder? I've been Googling for 1/2 an hour and all of my search results bring me to articles about how to find the Startup folder. I want to manually organize the Apps listed in my Start Menu. Where can I find that?

IIRC, I found a while ago that there are actually several file system locations that affect what shows up in the Start Menu, but I believe that was back in early Win 10 days, so maybe they cleaned that up.

I did find some of the Start Menu items in AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs (part of the above path), but that's not all of them by any means.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Omen
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel i9-12900H 14 Core
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
    Screen Resolution
    4k
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Hero
    Internet Speed
    Fiber 30Mbs Up, 30Mbs Down
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Webroot
There are two Start Menu folders

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\

And

AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build 22631.5039
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    5 x LG 25MS500-B - 1 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech: G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    1000/400Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Antivirus
    Defender / Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
Thanks, @antspants , that helps.

Not sure if you (or someone else) can help me out on this next question. I may need to go to the HP forum.

I'm setting up my new HP Omen laptop and there are a bunch of HP-specific apps listed in the Start Menu that are not in either of the folders that you listed. Any idea where I could find those? I'm willing to keep most of them. I just want to put them in their own folder in the Start Menu to clean it up a bit...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Omen
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel i9-12900H 14 Core
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
    Screen Resolution
    4k
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Hero
    Internet Speed
    Fiber 30Mbs Up, 30Mbs Down
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Webroot
HP has made a pretty hard task of this unless things changed since the last time I looked.

I believe the easiest way to consolidate them would be to create a HP folder in one of the above mentioned locations and add shortcuts to the apps in that folder.

You also should be able to drag them from the Start Menu to the Desktop, cut and past them into said created folder.
Not I deal but someone else may know of a better method?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build 22631.5039
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    5 x LG 25MS500-B - 1 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech: G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    1000/400Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Antivirus
    Defender / Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
I may be remembering that wrong.

As they are “Apps” there is a non conventional method. There are members in here way more versed on “Apps” than me.

For instance:

h30434.www3.hp.com

Re: HP Smart Icon - is on the taskbar -- how do I move it to my desktop

Hi, HP Smart is a modern app, a such cannot be added to the desktop natively. To put it back in the taskbar click the search icon and search for HP Smart, right click its icon from teh results and select Pin to taskbar. To add it to your desktop you may try the following windows tweak, from...
h30434.www3.hp.com h30434.www3.hp.com
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build 22631.5039
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    5 x LG 25MS500-B - 1 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech: G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    1000/400Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Antivirus
    Defender / Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
mercury_1967 said:
... there are a bunch of HP-specific apps listed in the Start Menu that are not in either of the folders that you listed. Any idea where I could find those? I'm willing to keep most of them. I just want to put them in their own folder in the Start Menu to clean it up a bit...
Click to expand...
The HP-specific ones are probably in shell:appsfolder but you won't be able to organize them as they are probably UWP apps..., creating shortcuts for them and putting them in a folder will just double the mess.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
Edwin said:
And...,
they'll probably end up icon-less!

View attachment 96567
Click to expand...
LOL

They are indeed in shell:appsfolder. I guess I'm stuck with them that way if I want to keep them. But as this is a new computer, I still have yet to explore some of them to see if they are useful to me. (As we all know, manufacturer bloatware is usually best discarded - although I did find a number of the Lenovo-included apps on my old laptop quite useful.)

Thanks, @Edwin.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Omen
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel i9-12900H 14 Core
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
    Screen Resolution
    4k
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Hero
    Internet Speed
    Fiber 30Mbs Up, 30Mbs Down
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Webroot
As you can see, the bottom 5 UWP/System apps, I can do nothing about!
The rest, by various naming conventions, can be compressed into one neat group.

gif.gif
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
mercury_1967 said:
They are indeed in shell:appsfolder. I guess I'm stuck with them that way if I want to keep them
Click to expand...

Now that you have found them in shell:appsfolder, you can right-click on them there & create shortcuts that you will be able to organise as you want.
The original Start menu entries will remain in place.


Denis
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.3447
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Solved How to see ALL programs in the start menu "all" section
Replies
10
Views
752
dacrone
dacrone
How to determine the location of an application listed in the start menu?
Replies
3
Views
6K
Brink
Brink
Win 11 File Explorer searches not finding contents of .doc and .docx files (unless search string is in the filename) - Milo
Replies
19
Views
17K
glasskuter
glasskuter
  • Article Article
General Restore Missing Send to Context Menu Items in Windows 11
Replies
5
Views
17K
Brink
Brink

Latest Support Threads

Latest Tutorials

Back
Top Bottom