Add/Remove Prog List out of order

[dgriffin]

I am running WinXP Home SP2 on a Dell 4700.

I have no idea at what point this happened. One day I accessed the Add or Remove Programs List to find the alphabetical order had shifted. The list now starts with Power Options and ends with Portable Media Devices. Everything is still there, it's still functional, it's just scewed. The A's are now in the middle of the list.

How can this be straightened out? It drives me nuts every time I try to find something in the list.

 

[stuuked]

the add remove programs has a list has a sort by drop down menu at the top right, but it sounds like describing the control panel.

 

[bcastner]

right click My Computer, Properties, Advanced tab, Performance.

I just want you to double-check that these four are still disabled:

Fade or slide menus into view
Fade out menu items after clicking
Show shadows under menus
Show shadows under mouse pointer

If there has been a fair number of changes (programs added and removed), it would be a good idea to force a rebuilding of the menu sort order. Open notepad and copy/paste the below to be saved as a file SLOW_SORT.reg

Code:

*** start copy/paste below this line
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Favorites]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu]

*** end copy/paste above this line

Reboot. The first time you try the Start menu it will be slower than normal, as the registry keys are going to be repopulated. Subsequently things should move much speedier.

 

[dgriffin]

My bad. Was deep into another problem and got the two confused.

It is indeed the control panel list that I am referring to.

 

[bcastner]

That is a very tough one.
I recommend you live with the fact that it is slow.

 

[dgriffin]

The issue isn't speed. In fact it works perfectly normal. The only issue is the order in which the control panel applets are ordered. They are still alphabetical, it's just that it starts and ends in the P's with the A's in the middle. Insted of starting with the A's and ending with the Z's.

My control panel is set to list just like any other folder off the start button. They aren't listed in a window as icons.

 

[stuuked]

After you configure Control Panel to use the Small Icons View option, the icons are not displayed in the correct order and alignment the next time you open Control Panel. Enabling or disabling the Icon Auto Arrange option does not correct the display.

To work around this issue, reset the Control Panel icon setting:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. On the View menu, click Large Icons.
3. On the View menu, click Small Icons.

Note that this method works only while Control Panel is open. After you close and open Control Panel again, you must perform these steps again to display the icons properly.

 

[linney]

Does the menu View/ "Arrange Icons By....." have any effect, especially if you choose "Name"?

You could also expand Control Panel in the Start Menu Properties and get an alphabetical listing there, by right-clicking on the expanded menu and choosing "Sort By Name". This only lists the expanded menu in name order and will not bear any relation to the Control Panel Folder name order.