Forum Discussion
"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 Or has the whole Windows 10 set of Windows folders been replaced by going through Settings all the time?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?
Check for Hidden Items: Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder where your items are missing. Click on the View menu (three dots in the toolbar), then select Show > Hidden items.
Verify Your User Account: Make sure you’re logged into the correct user account. If you have multiple accounts on your computer, switch to the correct one to see if the folders appear.
P.S. If you have another user account set up, log into that account to see if the missing folders are accessible.
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Check for Hidden Items: Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder where your items are missing. Click on the View menu (three dots in the toolbar), then select Show > Hidden items.
Verify Your User Account: Make sure you’re logged into the correct user account. If you have multiple accounts on your computer, switch to the correct one to see if the folders appear.
P.S. If you have another user account set up, log into that account to see if the missing folders are accessible.