XP MFU Programs List Inoperative

[rjemery]

For my XP Pro SP3 system, I tried the latest Spybot S&D (4.2 Free Edition) and found it unsatisfactory. Even after reversing the Quarantined entities, my system would no longer display the most frequently used program files in the Start Menu. I also tried a system restore from a point before S&D was installed, to no avail.

What did S&D change in my registry file or elsewhere such that MFUprogramsList is no longer operative?

FWIW, I went through the steps (to no avail) outlined in:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/w...3-c9a83b808c1e

S&D 4.2 created other problems but I able to mostly recover from them on my own.

[Zenobia]

To keep Spybot from removing MFU from now on,you can open Spybot start center,checkmark Advanced User Mode,click Settings,click the Categories tab,and somewhere within the Categories window,rightclick and select Spyware Scan Only,then click Apply and OK.That should prevent Spybot from scanning for tracks,including MFU programs:
http://www.safer-networking.org/faq/usage-tracks/

I'm not sure why mfu programs weren't recovered from Quarantine,but the list should repopulate as you use your programs over time.

[rjemery]

To keep Spybot from removing MFU from now on,you can open Spybot start center,checkmark Advanced User Mode,click Settings,click the Categories tab,and somewhere within the Categories window,rightclick and select Spyware Scan Only,then click Apply and OK.That should prevent Spybot from scanning for tracks,including MFU programs:
http://www.safer-networking.org/faq/usage-tracks/

I'm not sure why mfu programs weren't recovered from Quarantine,but the list should repopulate as you use your programs over time.

I need to recover the MFU capability (Classic View) some other way.

I no longer have SpyBot S&D 4.2 on my system, nor do I intend using it in the future. The D in S&D worked very well -- it destroyed my Quick Launch area in the taskbar, destroyed an associated toolbar, and caused MFU to stop working. I managed to manually restore the QL but not its original layout and recover the missing toolbar, but the MFU is now permanently inoperative, thanks to S&D.

[Zenobia]

How long has the mfu list been empty?It's normal for that to be cleared,but it usually repopulates over time,unless something went wrong.If your quicklaunch and toolbar were removed,perhaps something did go wrong with that as well.
Your checks.logfile should still be on your computer,even with Spybot removed.There's no guarantees,it might not show anything,but it's worth a look,if you would like to post it.The location is at C:\Windows\All Users\Application Data\Spybot - Search & Destroy\Logs in Windows XP.