XP menus - what am I missing?

[rikbean]

I'm still (I keep getting interrupted!) setting up my new desktop machine, XP Pro.

I use Classic Windows look and start menu. On my other machines, I can drag menu items around within their sub-folders from the start button, to have them in the order I want. On the new machine, they will re-arrange themselves periodically into alphabetical order and cannot be moved by drag'n'dop. In order to reset the menus, I have to go into Taskbar > Properties > Start Menu >Customise. That frees up the drag and drop (no changes need to be made) and, once re-arranged, the menus will stay in order for a while, but then something triggers the re-arrangement and locking.

I've not been able to isolate the cause, it could be installation of new software (with a restore point being manually set before), but I'm not certain.

Have I missed a setting somewhere?

Thanks

 

[Dav0s]

so when they rearrange alphabetically, does that also disable drag and drop?

 

[rikbean]

Yes it does. I then need to visit Taskbar > Properties > Start menu > Customise, where I do nothing, but it will unlock the menus again.

I thought I had narrowed the cause to backing up the Documents and Settings folder, but it doesn't always do it, so I'm no nearer to establishing the cause of the problem.

 

[rikbean]

The machine has now been returned to Evesham under the Sale and Supply of Goods Act - unfit for purpose.