View Full Version : Start menu - most recently used now not working?
Retrovertigo
2013-02-03, 08:00
Hi there
I am new here and have done a quick search for this issue and couldn't find anything, so apologies if missed it.
Anyway, after running spybot, my most frequently used programs have stopped showing up on the start menu.
I googled how MRU actually works and noted it has a registry key called noinstrumentation, which should be set to 1. However, that key is now missing, I assume spybot deleted it.
How do I get it back, and what on earth is is listed as in spybot so that I can get it to ignore that on the next scan that I do? Thanks.
Using windows xp, service pack 3 by the way.
spybotsandra
2013-02-04, 11:52
Hello,
Then you probably did delete Cookies and Usage Tracks after the scan.
If you do not want to scan for them anymore you can exclude them from future scans.
Take a look here (http://www.safer-networking.org/faq/how-to-exclude-products-from-the-search-2/).
Please disable 'tracks.sbi' , 'tracks.uti' and 'cookies.sbi'.
If you want to restore previously removed files for whatever reason you can do this via the Quarantine module. Quarantine can be either launched via the Start Center or can also be found in SDTray’s program list.
Just right click on the Spybot – Search & Destroy icon in your traybar beside the Windows clock and navigate to “Basic Tools“ → “Quarantine“. Once “Quarantine“ has been started feel free to select the product you want to restore and hit “Restore selected“.
If you want to get rid of fixed entries permanently just hit the purge selected button.
Best regards
Sandra
Team Spybot
Retrovertigo
2013-03-17, 06:07
Thanks very much - that did the trick :)
daveybuntu
2013-10-07, 11:39
Thanks very much - that did the trick :)
Hi,
What item did you restore to get the frequently used programs back again?
A few days ago I was prompted to install a "new" version of Spybot. After running the new version, I had the same problem as described in this thread by Retrovertigo. That is, my list of recently used programs completely disappeared and is not restarted when programs are subsequently used. However, I don’t understand the response.
How do I “Please disable 'tracks.sbi' , 'tracks.uti' and 'cookies.sbi'”, and what does each of these do? I am also on XP.
Also, after running the new Spybot, the tones I heard when I clicked on my name to start and when the screen opened are now silent. How do I restore them?
Thank you for your help.
This is a general description of usage tracks:
http://www.safer-networking.org/faq/usage-tracks/
To get Spybot to stop scanning for tracks,open the Spybot start center,checkmark advanced mode,click Settings(saying yes to the uac prompt,if applicable.),open the categories tab,and somewhere in the Spybot window,rightclick and select Spyware Scan only.
Adding the tones wasn't carried over to the newer Spybot,so you can't restore them.
Thank you for your clear reply. I did what you suggested, but it didn't seem to change anything. I opened and closed a couple of programs, but none appeared in the frequently used list. I am guessing that nothing will change until the next time I run a full system scan. Is this correct? If not, now what?
The list should repopulate as you use programs,after a while,I think.
To get the list you had back,you should be able to restore it from Quarantine.Unfortunately,I can't remember and cannot find what it would be listed under.
To restore from Quarantine,open Spybot Start Center,then click Quarantine.Look through for anything that looks likely,and restore it.Maybe something with recently used/frequently used in the title.Be careful to not restore anything listed in there that looks like it might have been malware.
The only thing I saw that looked remotely related was "Windows." I restored the oldest version of that, and nothing seemed to change. I don't really care about what was previously in my list of most used programs, but I would like it to start a new list. I am beginning to think I am going to have to do without that feature. It is not a big deal, but it was useful at times. Thanks for your suggestions and I welcome any additional ones you might have.
There are a couple of things to try listed here. :)
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/startmfu.htm
Bullet points 1 and 2 would be good to look at.
The 3rd bullet point shouldn't apply,so no need to look into that one too much.
It might help jog my memory if you post your checks logfile.To do that open Spybot Start Center,checkmark Advanced User Mode,open Report Creator,click Show Logs on the right.There will be Checks logfiles there with the date appended to the end of them.If you can remember the date when you ran the system scan and your frequently used list disappeared,then please click that one to open it.Once notepad opens,click Edit,Select All,then rightclick the page and select Copy and then Paste it here.
Thank you again for your help. Just a few minutes ago the first program again appeared on my list of frequently used programs. Thus, I am hoping I will not have to take any further actions. Tomorrow I run my weekly scan, so we will see what happens then.
Somehow my latest entry seems to have disappeared. It said that before your latest response the frequently used programs had now reappeared. I think it is working correctly. Since that message the tones when you take XP out of sleep mode are also back. I am not sure what fixed what, but thank you for your suggestions. I think I have things back to like they were before I installed the new version of Spybot.
Oh,sorry.I misunderstood,I thought it was the tones that used to be able to be set up in Spybot 1.6.2,I didn't realize it was the tones made when XP comes out of sleep mode. :oops:
Glad everything is working right now. :)
Now I see that the other entry is there. I think I "broke the string" due to my unfamiliarity with the Spybot forum.
The forum was doing that "ghost posting" thing.Hehe,just kidding! :D: