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AKCallahan

AKCallahan

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When I hover my mouse of the All Programs, it doesn't show up.
I have to click the All Programs, as though it is a button, for the list to show up.

Can I have it back to where it'll show up normally?
 
Try right-clicking the start button and going to its properties. Next to the words start menu there should be a "customize" button, and the option is in there somewhere along with a lot of other useful things.

It'll be called "Open submenus when I hover over them with the mouse pointer."

I'm on Vista, it may be a little different if you aren't.
 
It's almost the same on XP. Once you get to the customize start menu window you have to click the advanced tab, it's right at the top there.
 
What is seen in the advanced tab is more like a folder while still aloowing access. The menu should simply drop down when bringing the cursor over that however unless you have a glitch in Windows. The one thought here is to run the system file checker with the "sfc /scannow" command at the Run prompt. Just have the Windows installation disk in the drive to watch it verify system files and usually correct any small problems found.
 
In most cases that would seem the reason. I have run into some odd ones on occasions where effects were checked off in the display settings and a problem with a video driver not loading fully. One thought would be any recent updates or software changes made.
 
It certainly won't hurt anything giving the sfc /scannow command a run anyways since I've where something small would hide itself when a regular program or driver was seeing a problem. If an update went on partially and you suddenly started seeing this that might just be the thing.

When you press the left click button while on the Programs link you are requesting cpu time over the automatic popup of the menu you should be seeing. If you given the advices given here about the customize options and still are seeing this it's probably something with an update or probably a video driver. I've seen where only the taskbar shows up when Windows loads due to this since I disable the hide option for that.
 
I've done sfc /scannow and restarted computer.
I was hopeful but nothing came of this.

Any other suggestions?

Video card next?...if so, why?
This was a sudden thing. Once all programs is expanded, the other drop menus expand without me clicking on them, just by hovering my curser over it.
 
Something is causing this like a video or something you have running interferring with the display process. Once you have clicked on the Programs Windows has directed it's attention there over whatever is causing the problem there. This is the main reason the other menus like accessories will simply popup on their own.

If you remove all video drivers(not those included in Windows) what happens when you go to move any desktop item? It will stagger and shutter since no device drivers for the video card are loaded. The problem there sounds like something is having a similar effect on one or more display drivers as the likely reason. By running the file verification process you ruled out any MS files being involved since all were original and intact. That doesn't eliminate an MS update from going sideways however since those were the only recent items installed.

The question now is: is this the only problem being seen or are you seeing other things come up out of nowhere? If this is the only thing an update of the video drivers might correct the problem if one of those got knocked out somehow since they have a direct effect on what is displayed. You would see something like this more in game then simply on the desktop while still the most likely. Just one simple glitch will do it.
 
The one reoccuring thought is a glitch in the system registry itself surrounding the file that controls the Start menu popup function. You saw this appear after downloading updates suggesting some possible crosslink or goof of the registry value needed. If this just started occuring in the last few days you could try a system restore by bringing the system registry back before this was first seen.

This is the thing I'm picking up on for you there. Check to see if you can bring the system back if good restore points are still available. The system files were found intact when running the scf /scannow command suggesting something hit the registry a little.
 
That's the thing there. If you have already tried the customize option as originally suggested and are still seeing the same problem then you would continue trying to find the bug that seems to be there somewhere. It will probably turn out to be something small once you know what it is. A system restore if not using the last known configuration that worked option in the Windows F8 menu would be one thought there if this had just started.
 
Alright, as far as the box being checked for opening submenus when pausing over them with the mouse, I've unchecked it, restarted my computer, and had no success, and then tried checking it again, and restarting with no results as well.

The registry values for the start menu I've check side-by-side with my desktop registry, and seem to be identical.

I have a small sized HDD in this laptop, so I had disabled system restore a while back.
 
That doesn't help any there. Like I mentioned earlier your only recent software was the updates you went after that might have seen one go on bad(sideways) if you soon started seeing this afterwards. One thing I didn't mention before was using the msconfig utility to disable some startups there in case some starting along with Windows is seeing a problem resulting in this type of problem. You can always go back in there later to re-enable anything you disable if there's no progress seen.
 
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