When doing a tidy-up on my Windows XP computer I removed Outlook Express. In doing so, I lost numerous other Windows features, such as Calculator, Volume Control, Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer, and the Games program group. How can I recover these items, but not Outlook Express? Will I need to reinstall Windows to recover these removed programs?

There are several ways by which you may have removed these items from your computer, and without knowing the particular method used it will be difficult to provide instructions on how to recover the items. Therefore, we will work through the most likely cause to the least likely cause, explaining how to recover the items for each situation.

One way that you may have removed the items is simply by deleting the shortcuts in the Start menu to these particular programs and groups. The entries in the Start menu for programs are just shortcuts – they point to the actual executable program file. Deleting a shortcut does not delete the actual program, just the “pointer” to that program in the Start menu. The reason that we have shortcuts is because programs are usually installed into particular directories on the computer, such as C:\Program Files. If we did not have shortcuts then every time we wanted to use a program we would need to manually go into the program directory and run the actual program executable file. However, with shortcuts we can create a shortcut anywhere we like that points to the executable file – this might be on the desktop or the Start menu. Either way, it is much more convenient as we can put all our shortcuts together, providing us with a one-stop shop to access all our programs. If you just deleted the shortcuts to these programs then the executable program files are still on your computer, so we just need to recreate the shortcuts.

To check whether the programs are still on the computer we will try launching the programs. Go to the “Start” menu > “Run” and type “C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore” (with the quotes) and click OK. Internet Explorer should launch. Once this has occurred, we have confirmed that Internet Explorer is still installed on the computer so you can now close Internet Explorer. Repeat the same procedure, but enter each of the following programs in the Run box:

• explorer
• calc
• sndvol32
• freecell
• mshearts
• “C:\Program Files\MSN Gaming Zone\Windows\bckgzm”
• “C:\Program Files\MSN Gaming Zone\Windows\chkrzm”
• “C:\Program Files\MSN Gaming Zone\Windows\hrtzzm”
• “C:\Program Files\MSN Gaming Zone\Windows\rvsezm”
• “C:\Program Files\MSN Gaming Zone\Windows\shvlzm”
• winmine
• “C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Pinball\Pinball”
• sol
• spider

Assuming that all of these programs launch, it seems that they are still present on the computer but the shortcuts have been removed and need to be re-created. We will create the relevant shortcuts on the desktop and then drag these into the Start menu. To create a shortcut, right-click on an empty space in the Windows desktop and select “New” > “Shortcut”. In the Create Shortcut window that appears, type the first program into the location text box which would be “C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore” (with the quotes) and click the “Next” button. For the name for the shortcut, type “Internet Explorer” and click “Finish”. A shortcut to Internet Explorer will now appear on the desktop. Repeat this procedure for all the programs listed above, so that shortcuts can be created for all these applications. As you have already started each of these programs using the above commands you should know which program each of the commands opens, so you can name the shortcut appropriately.

Once the shortcuts have been created we need to move these shortcuts into the Start menu. Before we complete this procedure, we need to create a group for all the games which can be dragged into the Start menu in one go. Right-click on the desktop and select “New” > “Folder”. Name the folder “Games”. Drag all the games shortcuts into this folder. Now we can commence placing the shortcuts on the Start menu. Hold down the SHIFT key and drag the shortcut you wish to move onto the “Start” button. The start menu will expand, at which time move the shortcut over the “All Programs”. The list of programs on the start menu will appear. You can drop the shortcut where ever you like within the Start menu list of programs. The reason you need to hold down the SHIFT key during this process is so that you move the shortcut from the desktop into the Start menu. If you do not hold down the SHIFT key it will create a shortcut to the shortcut on the desktop, which is not what you want. Repeat this procedure for all the shortcuts you wish to place on the Start menu together with the Games program group.

In the event that you find these programs do not run, then it seems that you have actually removed the programs themselves. This could have been done using several methods, such as a proper uninstallation through Windows or by simply deleting the program files (which is the less desirable, and more problematic, option). To check whether these programs have been properly uninstalled through Windows, go to the “Start” menu > “Control Panel” and open the “Add or Remove Programs” control panel. In the window that appears, click the “Add/Remove Windows Components” button. Go through the listing of Windows Components and check whether any of these programs have been unticked, indicating that they have been uninstalled. You can view further detail on the categories of Windows components by selecting the component and then clicking the “Details” button. If you find that any of the programs are unticked, then re-tick the program and it should be reinstalled and shortcut created.

However, should you find that the programs appear to be ticked as installed but still do not launch then you likely manually deleted the program files. This is not desirable and can cause a lot of problems, so we will need to recover the files for the programs. In the first instance, try running the Windows System File Checker. In theory, this should detect the missing Windows files and then extract new copies of the missing files. Go to the “Start” menu > “Run” and type “sfc /scannow” (without the quotes, but mind the space between the “sfc” and “/scannow” portions of the command). The SFC utility may prompt you for the Windows CD so make sure you have that handy. Once the SFC utility has finished operation it will exit silently with no user feedback. At this time restart the computer and check whether shortcuts have been automatically recreated for the missing programs. If not, go through the previous procedure to check whether the programs now exist (and can be manually launched) and you may need to manually re-create the shortcuts yourself.

At this point if the programs still cannot be found, your final option is to complete a repair installation of Windows. This will replace all Windows system files with known good copies from the original Windows CD, including missing files (such as the missing program files). Be aware, this is a more dangerous procedure and things have been known to go wrong, so you will need to ensure that you backup any important data that you wish to keep before embarking on this procedure, just in case things go wrong. Assuming that you have a backup of all data you wish to keep, before doing anything else read the excellent instructions on performing a repair installation available at michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm . I suggest that you download and print a copy of these instructions so you can reference the guide during the reinstallation process. A printable version of that webpage is available at michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm . Only complete this procedure if you are confident, otherwise I would suggest that you take the computer to a professional technician to have the issue fixed.