Hi everybody, I have a VM (ESX) running Windows Server 2008 r2 SP1 with WSUS 3.0, MDT 2010 Update1, WDS, and some other applications (F-Secure 9 for Windows Servers), which is experiencing some strange issues. After some updates and restarts I found it this morning with all of its shortcuts missing, as well as Administrative Tools. I scrolled through the system log but can't really see anything related to the issue. I managed to resolve the Deployment Workbench by repairing the MDT installation in the Programs and Features menu, but can't really say that's an acceptable solution. Does anyone have any ideas to might be the cause of this issue? /Pelle

Hello, did you enable all required features for RSAT with add features? If you miss the AD tools like dsa.msc etc. you have ton install the AD DS tools from the add server role. This will NOT install AD.Best regards Meinolf Weber Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights.

Thanks for your reply, I'm not too familiar with RSAT but I don't think that is the issue. I'm not using this server to remotely administer other machines or active directory. I use remote desktop from my client, Win7 Ent, to connect to the MDT server, which is experiencing these issues. And as I mentioned it seems like it's only the shortcuts that are missing - not the actual files. Using the Server Manager I can reach the WSUS console as well as the WDS etc.. MDT 2010 however is installed seprately so that's why using the repair tool enables its shortcuts again. The menu for Administrative Tools is entirely empty.

Hi, According to your description, the issue occurs when you connect to the server via remote desktop. How about log on to the server directly? You can also try another user account. I noticed that you said “all of its shortcuts missing”, do you mean all the shortcuts on the Start Menu? What can you see on Start Menu now? Do you see any errors during logon or when using the system? Have you got all the available updates installed properly? Please find Administrative Tools item under the Control Panel, click to open it. Is this folder empty? If so, please open %Systemroot%\system32, create shortcut of the programs, like dsa.msc, copy the shortcut to Administrative Tools folder under Control Panel. Please also check the following registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders Check if there is a value Common Administrative Tools, if so, it should be C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools. Assume Windows is installed on C: drive. The issue also can be caused due to some third party programs, please check the results in Clean Boot mode as well. Refer to: 1. Click "Start", go to "Run", and type "msconfig" in the open box to start the System Configuration Utility. 2. Click the "Services" tab, check the "Hide All Microsoft Services" box and click Disable All (if it is not gray). 3. Click the "Startup" tab, click "Disable All" and click "OK". 4. Restart your computer. If the "System Configuration Utility" window appears, please check the box and click "OK". What is the result in this mode? Thanks. NinaPlease remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Hi Nina, thanks for your reply. It doesn't matter wether i connect with remote desktop, or the vsphere client console, nor does it matter which user account I'm logging in with. It's actually not ALL shortcuts, but pretty much :).. Windows update is missing from the start menu.. The administrative tools folder is empty.. The MDT Workbench was gone except for it's start menu folder, and the same goes for WAIK. Some shortcuts are still there though - Accessories for example (edit: actually there's even a lot of shortcuts missing from accessories. The ones that are there is: cmd, notepad, run, explorer, ease of access and system tools...). There is a registry key for administrative tools in Shell Folders, but not in User Shell Folders - is that allright, or is something missing here? Looking at the non-microsoft services in msconfig, there's really nothing out of the ordinary. All of those services are running on all my other servers, so I doubt they would be causing any problems here. The server is a pretty recent deployment, installed with the W2K8R2SP1 iso downloaded from MS. At this moment I'm suspecting there's an update that somehow isn't working too well with this specific configuration. I might be reinstalling the server and choose its updates more carefully, but I'd prefer not to, 'cause the server is working correctly otherwise.

Hi, Thanks for your update. It is normal if we cannot find Common Administrative Tools under User Shell Folders, please confirm whether the value is correct under Shell Folders. Can you see the Windows Update shortcut under C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu? Please try another user account, same result? Please also open %Systemroot%\system32, create shortcut of the programs, like dsa.msc, copy the shortcut to Administrative Tools folder under Control Panel, any progress? I see that you have checked non-Microsoft services via msconfig, it is still recommended to disable all these services as suggested. Thanks. NinaPlease remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Once again, thanks for the time and effort you're putting into this matter. I've got most of the administrative tools shortcuts back again by copying them from another server, and it seems like they are staying in place still =). No, the Windows Update shortcut is not to be find under C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu. I did try with different user accounts with same result. What might this indicate? The registry key for common administrative tools under shell folders has a value of "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools", so that seems to be correct. The reason I'm not too willing to disable the services is because most of them are anti-virus related. I did however disable all the non-microsoft and non-anti-virus services with no result.

Hi Have you had any luck with this i have the exact same problem but I have Server 2008 not R2 All shortcuts just have disappeared from all users and all default locations is there a way to fully reset the default windows profile folders This has happened to me twice now on the same server, I run about 60 windows server 2008 and 2008 R2 servers with various applications and only this deployment server has the problem, so i think it is somthing to do with that I have tried looking in the event viewer and also tried everything in this post including removing the non MS servcies and nothing seems to work thanks for any help

Any luck? I am having the same issue. Thanks, Chris

Also having the same problem: Start menu shortcuts are missing, Administrative tools is empty and I'm getting a "Location not available"-error message when trying to open Administrative tools from the Control panel: Error message says: "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools refers to a location that is unavailable. It could be on a hard drive on this computer, or on a network. Check to make sure that the disk is properly inserted, or that you are connected to the internet or your network, and then try again. If it still cannot be located, the information might have been moved to a different location." When looking for the above mentioned folder I noticed that the folder C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows only contains three folders: Caches, DeviceMetadataStore, and WER. No folder named Start Menu! Any idea what's causing this?

I am also having the same problem described here. We use Windows 2008 Server R2 SP1 for WDS and Deployment Workbench. I never really guessed my "Server Manager.Ink" missing was a BIG problem for a week, until I went to try and figure out why this error occurs when I log into the local Admin. We don't have any other users that log into this machine, and I don't really want to try a new user when I already know it won't work based off of everyone else's comments here. As people before me have stated. All our shortcuts are missing from their respected admin tools locations, but they are still in the C:\Windows. I'm guessing a bad patch? I keep our server up-to-date as possible, but without installing features I don't need. Keep in mind... I didn't do anything. Add/remove features/roles... etc..

Anybody???