i want what i had in xp: a. i want recent items to show a list of, well, recent items, eg docs, pics, etc., b. i DON'T want them listed elsewhere (eg, taskbar, start menu, whathaveyou), nor the bloody programs i've used 'recently'. is this possible? tia leslie

You can customize your Start Menu by right-clicking on the Taskbar and select Properties > Start Menu > Customize and place a check next to your desired items.Carey Frisch

but you can't! i simply want my recently open docs to show under recent items. they don't. ticking either / both boxes under privacy don't either. and yes, i have ticked 'recent' thanks leslie

Hi, I would like to know if any item is listed in Recent items. Do you mean only docs do not show in it? To troubleshoot this issue, you can try clear this list: Click the Start Button, right click on Recent items and choose Clear Recent items list. after that, open docs and check if it is listed. If the issue persists, you can try creating a new account: Create a new user account====================1. Click the Start Button, type User Accounts in the start search pane and press Enter.2. Click Manage user accounts. 3. Click Create a new account, and type the name. 4. Choose account type as Computer administrator. 5. Click Create Account. 6. Log off and log on with the new account. Hope it helps.Vivian Xing - MSFT

hi, and thanks for the interest.... nothing shows in recent items. i did as you suggested - to no avail. nothing shows. i also tried enabling / turning it off, etc., and all combinations of things - still nothing showing in it. tried new user account - still the same. are there any reg entires i can 'refresh' or something? again, thanks for your time leslie

Hi, How about resetting the Recent Items folder as below:1. Click the Start Button -> Computer.2. Go to C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows folder.3. Right-click Recent items folder (if exists), and choose Delete. Click Yes when prompted.4. Click the Start Button, type "shell:recent" (without quotation marks) in the Start Search box and press Enter.5. Restart the computer.Hope this helps!Vivian Xing - MSFT

hi vivian, thanks for your time and patience, i went to recent folder, but a. it's not a folder like the others that is, it's a graphic looks like an intray with a clock in the background, and b. there's no delete capability to it? i then went on to your "shell:recent" ran that and two folders have now appeared under 'recent folder' > automatic destinations and custom destinations this has 4 entries one, as an example - 337ed59af273c758.customDestinations-ms. re-booted. still no recent items..... life's like that i suppose....... again, many thanks, leslie

Hi, You said that two folders have now appeared under 'recent folder' > automatic destinations and custom destinations this has 4 entries one, as an example - 337ed59af273c758.customDestinations-ms. Would you capture a screenshot for it? Please upload it to the http://skydrive.live.com/ using your Live ID and I will check it: Screenshot ======== 1. Press the Print Screen key (PrtScn) on your keyboard. 2. Click the "Start" menu, type "mspaint" in the Search Bar and Press Enter. 3. In the Paint program, click the "Edit" menu, click "Paste", click the "File" menu, and click "Save". 4. The "Save As" dialogue box will appear. Type a file name in the "File name:" box, for example: "screenshot". 5. Make sure "JPEG (*.JPG;*.JPEG;*.JPE;*.JFIF)" is selected in the "Save as type" box, click Desktop on the left pane and then click "Save". If any security program (anti-virus, firewall) is installed, please disable them. In addition, please try it in Clean Boot mode. If the issue persists, perform the following steps: 1. Click the Start button, type REGEDIT in the Start Search box and press enter. 2. Navigate to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer If any value such as NoRecentDocsHistory is listed in the right, please delete it. NOTE: Please right click on Explorer key and click Export it before deleting. Hope it helps.Vivian Xing - MSFT

sorry for the delay ingetting back..... went to take screenprint, but today the files are not there? and there is no entry in registry for NoRecent..... boy, is this a pain or what ;-) thanks leslie

How about performing an In-place upgrade to repair the corrupted files? In-Place upgrade (Repair install) =========== 1. Start the computer by using the current Operating System. 2. Insert the Windows 7 DVD in the computer's DVD drive. 3. Use one of the following procedures, as appropriate: If Windows automatically detects the DVD, the Install now screen appears. Click Install now. If Windows does not automatically detect the DVD, follow these steps: a. Click the Start Button, type Drive:\setup.exe in the start search box and then click OK. Note: Drive is the drive letter of the computer's DVD drive. b. Click Install now. 4. When you reach the "Which type of installation do you want?" screen, click Upgrade. Whats the result?Vivian Xing - MSFT

I had the same experience Leslie. It was annoying enough that I poked around for a fix, which wasn't super obvious but very easy once you know. Your post was 2 years ago so I suppose you've fixed it or moved on... but for future searchers, I found I could get the Recent Files list operational with the click of two checkboxes: go to Taskbar (right click) > Properties > Start Menu tab > Customize... > and check the "Recent items" box Go to Taskbar (right click) > Properties > Start Menu tab > and check the "Store and display recently opened items in the Start menu" box There's another box right next to the one I described in (2) that will address your other wish, because you can uncheck it to keep the Taskbar from showing recent items on its icons. Hope that helps (someone). Ta, Erik the Erik

This is the famed "Google Redirect Virus" leaving the "bait files" customdestinations and automaticdestination plus a bunch of files indicating it has been working on your computer. You can open those extra files by double clicking and having them open in Notepad or other text editor. Nothing of value is in plain text, however, with all sorts of gibberish code. Essentially this virus watches for you to use Google for a search, and then inserts random links pages with InfoMash, star Feeds Mixer and AnswerXX headers. The links are "Google Links" from which they make money should you accidentally (or on purpose) click one of the links. Then Google pays these people for doing so which I interpret as Google being in bed with scammers. While the apparent indicator - to throw the user off - is merely these links pages, really just a cover operation as it explores your computer and ultimately will install a keylogger which will skim passwords and other things you type on your keyboard. This is very pervasive, and my experience with it recently is that most of the virusware doesn't catch it, nor - for some reason I cannot fathom - do the major virusware companies seem too worried about it. Even Google appears quite happy that the virus is out there. I finally turned in a ticket to SpyHunter today, hoping they'll figure out a way to thwart it. HijackThis, a program which allegedly goes after rootkit files with TDSSkiller apparently has no effect on the Google/starFeedsMixer virus. I should also mention that if you find a "solution" on the web suggesting you go into your Windows Registry and start deleting stuff, that you think twice. Later on down the list of things they tell you to delete are a bunch of things that won't exist in your registry, leaving you are, by then, knee deep in s**t without having backed up your registry first...and we all know what that brings on! Jan