"Missing" Windows folders?

This is apparently going to be my day for finding (or getting annoyed by existing) oddities...
Windows 11 Pro - should be current.

In the Start Menu, All Apps, I have no Windows folders except Windows Ease of Access. All the "normal" windows folders we've always had in the past aren't there. I'm using a 3rd party desktop (so I RARELY have to go into the Start Menu) and the folders are in THERE, but they aren't in the Windows Start Menu. I thought I'd messed something up on the desktop, but they're not there on the laptop either.

I found a couple things online that talked about getting missing folders to show up in the All Apps thing, and it appears that some people have created their own folders, but I couldn't find anything to tell me how to get folders like Windows System, Windows Tools and so on to show up in the All Apps start menu. I found one discussion that they're missing from Windows 11 Pro, and, of course, that it's because Windows 11s start menu is for dummies, and so on, but NOBODY explained HOW to get the "missing" Windows folders BACK...

Are they actually missing or are both my systems messed up? And if they ARE missing, are people putting them back somehow? The idea of having to type in "Windows Tools" or "Windows System" or whatever seems really unproductive. Or has the whole Windows 10 set of Windows folders been replaced by going through Settings all the time? Which seems equally unproductive. So, what are people doing?

I think the terminology has changed and some of the things that used to be under Windows Access etc are under Windows tools. And yes more is in settings, or use the search box or control panel (I have control panel pinned to the taskbar). I don't know if you have something missing but suspect not. However if you're using a third party desktop then that will change things as well and there may be the odd incompatibility or changed thing IMO. I still detest the Windows 11 Start menu. It is better with a touchscreen laptop, but I just resorted to having most things I want to access pinned to the taskbar or desktop. Which makes it actually look like XP lol. Whereas with 10 I hardly had anything on the desktop or task bar as the menu could have more easily accessed shortcuts.

I would really like to add a "turn off" button somewhere convenient personally. When using a mouse rather than touchscreen the off button is in a stupid place.

I don't think the desktop does anything to the Start Menu. It just sits on top with a different button. I can turn it on or off, and I can get to the Windows Start Menu. The ONLY difference I know of is that my groupings of tools ("Imaging" for example has Lightroom, Photoshop, Topaz whatever, and all those tools in it) DOES show on the All Apps. But all the Windows Folders that were there in Windows 10, are still there in the desktop. They just aren't in the Windows Startup All Apps.

As far as stupid, and yes, the reboot process is a good example - there are a TON of things in Windows 11 that are in unproductive places. That's why I'm using a different desktop and have the Taskbar set up so at LEAST 90% of what I need is there and 99% is ON the desktop. 'Cause going into Windows Start is ridiculously slow. Someone elsewhere commented that it now takes for mouse clicks and moving around to do something that used to take 1, but I don't recall which of the many unproductive things it was.

And yes, I also put the Control Panel right on the front of the replacement desktop menu 'cause the alternative to do a lot of the Control Panel things is ugly or often can't even be found in the Settings (or, I just have trouble finding things like the Device Manager in there)...

But back to Windows things... So MS is doing more forcing of us to go into the Windows Settings, fumble around trying to figure out where in the labyrinth the right setting is, find it, open it and mess with it to do things we used to be able to easily do by opening Windows X folder and clicking.

Blech!

So, IS there a simple way to PUT the Windows folders IN the MS Start Menu. I don't NEED THEM since they DO exist in the desktop I'm using, but it would be nice to know they're there if I ever need them.

@GracieAllen

I believe there should be TWO Windows folders on the Windows 11 Start Menu.
I know they moved a LOT of stuff to the Windows Tools folder, as @Hazel123 mentioned.

At the moment, I'm on Windows 10, and I can't remember what the other one is.
But I run no Desktop, Explorer, or Shell 3rd party software, so I should be seeing what's actually there.


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The other one is Windows Security.
And this is what is under Windows Tools...







I "did" remove almost all the Windows Apps, with REVO Uninistaller.
I don't think there were any that began with the word Windows, but I'm not 100% sure.

New set up here. I only have two folders in the menu. Accessibility and File explorer. Windows tools isn't even a folder, it's a shortcut to settings. I think there is a new way of making a folder after a recent update, but that's for the start menu itself rather than the long menu list possibly. I am also mainly using Windows 10.

Ghot said:

I "did" remove almost all the Windows Apps, with REVO Uninistaller.
I don't think there were any that began with the word Windows, but I'm not 100% sure.

Click to expand...

I did the same and I agree about the name. @GracieAllen. All the 'tools' you speak of are now seen by right clicking the NATIVE start button.

I got curious, so I looked at the stuff in the Windows folders. Overall, it LOOKS to me like Windows 11 getting rid of them was ANOTHER solution in search of a problem.

I presume a lot of the stuff that WAS in these folders is buried somewhere DEEP in the Windows settings now, and some may just have gone away:
In Windows Accessories I've never used the Character Map, Steps Recorder, Windows Fax and Scan. Occasionally used Wordpad, have used Quick Assist, which now appears to be in the All Apps.

Windows Ease of Access is still there.

Windows PowerShell - I presume there's some simple, alternative way to invoke the Windows Powershell and/or Windows PowerShell ISE? On those occasions when I've needed it, I just started it from a Command Window.

Windows System - is there some equally-easy-to-find method of doing all the things that WERE in here?
computer - not real sure what the purpose is since it just looks like File Explorer
Control Panel - I have this embedded on the front page of the start, but is it ALWAYS there (I don't remember any more)
Run - Don't recall ever using this, and I presume they want users to use some other method of running things?

Windows Tools - This stuff I don't see anywhere... There's no "Windows Tools" item in All Apps. Did all this stuff get buried somewhere in the bowels of Windows 11 setup? Some of it these I haven't needed but is getting rid of a single place for all these tools just another Windows 11 change for the sake of change thing? Or do other people still have these in some consolidated location?
Component Services - rarely used
Computer Management - regularly used, opened from "This PC" on desktop
Defragment and Optimize Drives - periodically used and/or adjusted
Disk Cleanup - used a lot
Event Viewer - used periodically but usually from "This PC"
iSCSI Initiator - never used
Local Security Policy - very rarely needed
ODBC Data Sources (32-bit) - never used
ODBC Data Sources (64-bit) - never used
Performance Monitor - generally use the one in Task Manager
Print Management - rarely used
Recovery Drive - very rarely used
Registry Editor - periodically used
Resource Monitor - pretty regularly used
Services - used but generally accessed from "This PC"
System Configuration
Task Scheduler - used regularly but usually from "This PC"
Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security - haven't needed this yet
Windows Memory Diagnostic - haven't needed this

The are multiple ways to find & access all these these tools, the most obvious being through search. Many of them have keyboard shortcuts as well. As I stated earlier,the most used ones are found by right clicking the NATIVE start button (or by pressing win key+X).