Move Start Menu Shortcuts Into Folders

[Distorted Vision]

Greeting ChatGPT, old friend!

I have installed StarDock Start11 using Windows 10 Style.
This gives me a start menu that I am happy with.

I have two issues:

How I make the pinned program icons bigger?

Also I am trying to move Adobe Fresco and Adobe XD into folder Adobe.
Like I'm trying to move Dropbox into folder Dropbox.

 

[ChatGPT]

Hey — good to see you again! Nice Start11 setup. Two quick answers with step‑by‑step actions.
1) Make the pinned program icons bigger

• Open Start11 Settings: right‑click the Start button → Configure Start11 (or open Start11 from the system tray).
• Pick the Windows 10 style (the one you’re using), then look for the tiles/advanced options area. Find the setting named "Shortcut icons should be sized" (or similar).
• Choose a larger size from the dropdown (Tiny / Small / Medium / Large / Extra Large / Huge / Absurd). Apply. That immediately enlarges the tile/pinned icon size.
• Optional: enable “Force icons to use more of the tile area when not a custom tile image” if you want icons to fill the tile more.
  (These size/tile controls are built into Start11’s Windows10/11 style options.

2) Move apps into an Adobe folder (create or add to a folder)

• In Start11’s Windows 10/Windows 11 style you create folders by dragging one icon onto another while holding Shift. That combines them into a folder. To add more icons, Shift‑drag them into the folder.
• If you don’t have a keyboard (or want an easier way), right‑click the Start menu and use the option that “pretends Shift is down” (or use the right‑click → create new group option) — then drag icons into the group/folder.
• You can also right‑click an icon for extra options (rename, change tile image, etc..

If the Adobe apps won’t move into the folder

• Some Store/modern apps behave differently. Try: Shift‑drag the app directly onto the Adobe folder (hold Shift while dragging). If that pins the app instead of moving it, toggle Start11’s sync option ("Synchronize pinned items from the OS menu with Start11") and try again.
• Refresh Start11 icons or restart Explorer (Start11 Settings → Advanced → Refresh icons or just sign out/in) — this fixes stale listings.
• As a last resort, create/move a shortcut into the system Start Menu folder (C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Adobe) and then Refresh / restart Explorer. Note: Windows’ All Apps list sometimes ignores manual folder moves for certain app types (so Start11 behavior can differ).

Quick troubleshooting checklist

• After changing sizes or folder contents, click Apply in Start11 and close/reopen the Start menu.
• If dragging behaves oddly (pins instead of moves), try holding Shift longer, or enable the “pretend Shift” right‑click option then drag.
• If a specific app refuses to move, tell me whether it’s a Microsoft Store app or a classic Win32 .exe — I’ll give the exact workaround for that type.

Want me to walk you through the exact clicks in your Start11 settings (I can list exact menu names in order), or show how to make the Adobe folder and move those two apps step‑by‑step while you try it?

 

[Distorted Vision]

I accidentally clicked Delete->Delete this page on the pinned area.

Now I see no pinned shortcuts. If I unpin or pin makes no difference. Please help!

 

[ChatGPT]

Oh — that’s stressful but usually recoverable. Don’t panic. Below are quick-to-try fixes (from least-destructive to more-wide), plus what to check so we can restore your pinned shortcuts or rebuild the Start11 “Pinned” page.
Quick checklist (try these in order)
1) Restart Explorer / Start11

• Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc → Processes → find Windows Explorer → right‑click → Restart.
• Open Start11 Config (right‑click Start → Configure Start11) and click Apply / OK once, then open the Start menu again.
  Reason: sometimes the deleted page is only a UI change and a restart will let Start11 re-evaluate the OS pins.

2) Check whether Windows still has the pinned shortcuts

• Open File Explorer and paste this path into the address bar:
  %AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu
• Do you see .lnk files for the apps you had pinned (Dropbox, Adobe, etc.? If yes, those are the OS pinned shortcuts — Start11 can import/sync those. (Windows stores pinned Start shortcuts there.

3) Turn on Start11’s sync/import of OS pins (if present)

• Open Start11 Configure → go to the Windows 10 style settings (since you’re using Win10 style).
• Look for an option like “Sync pinned items from the OS menu with Start11” or any setting that mentions importing OS pins, and enable it. This will re-import the OS pinned shortcuts into Start11. The Start11 config supports syncing pins and importing settings.
• After turning it on, restart Explorer (step 1) and check Start11.

If the OS pinned .lnk files are missing
4) Recreate the OS pinned shortcuts (quickest)

• For each app: open All Apps (or C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs), right‑click the app → “Pin to Start” (this creates the .lnk in the User Pinned folder). Then enable the Start11 sync (step 3) or just pin them inside Start11 after they appear. Windows stores those Start pinned links in the User Pinned folder.

If Start11’s pinned page itself was deleted (so pin/unpin has no visible effect)
5) Recreate the Pinned page / add a page in Start11

• Open Configure Start11 → Windows 10 Style → look for Pages / Layout / Columns (Start11 versions differ slightly). There should be a way to add a page or “Add a tab/group” (the Win10/Win11 styles support folder/paged layouts). Use Add → choose the Pinned or Shortcuts style page (or add a blank page) and then pin items to it. Start11’s Win10/11 styles support pages/folders and can have a pinned area you recreate. If you don’t see an Add Pages UI, skip to step 6.

6) Reset Start11’s menu layout to defaults (if you can’t recover)

• Open Configure Start11 → Advanced (or look for a Reset/Restore option). Use “Restore defaults” or “Reset layout” to bring back the default Pinned page. Warning: this will remove other Start11 customizations. Start11 supports importing settings and resetting to defaults if needed. If you have a settings export/backup, import that instead.

7) Manual shortcut recovery (if you have a backup or a copy of the .lnk files)

• If you have old .lnk files or a backup, copy them into:
  %AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu
  then restart Explorer. That will recreate the OS pinned list which Start11 can pick up.

If none of the above works — two safe fallbacks

• Option A (least destructive): Re-pin the apps manually inside Start11 — open All Apps, right‑click each app → Pin to Start (or drag to pinned area while holding Shift if your Start11 build uses that). If pin still does nothing, that indicates Start11’s pinned page is missing/unregistered and you should do step 5 or 6.
• Option B (reset + rebuild): Reset Start11 to defaults and then re-pin things. I know it’s annoying, but it will return the pinned page and you can rebuild the few pins quickly.

A few follow-up questions so I can give exact clicks

• Which Start11 version are you running? (Open Configure Start11 → About and tell me the version.
• After you deleted the page, do the apps still show in the Windows Start (the built‑in Start menu) as pinned, or are they gone everywhere?
• Do you have a Start11 settings backup (you mentioned customising before)? If yes, I can give exact import steps.

If you tell me the Start11 version and whether the .lnk files exist in the User Pinned folder, I’ll give the exact menu path / precise clicks to restore the page or rebuild the pins step‑by‑step.

 

[Distorted Vision]

I see this:

then when I open Windows Menu. I see this:

 

[ChatGPT]

Good — your screenshots show the problem clearly.
What happened (short)

• The only file left in your OS pinned folder is one shortcut named "Windows Menu" (%AppData%\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu). That means the actual Start pinned .lnk files were removed (the “Delete → Delete this page” you clicked removed the page and the shortcuts it displayed), so Start11 has nothing to show in its pinned page. The Start menu you now see is the Windows/OS pinned area (empty of your old pins) instead of your previous Start11 custom pinned page.

Two ways to fix it (recommended order)
1) Quick restore by re-creating the pinned shortcuts (fastest, least risk)
2) Restore Start11 layout or reset Start11 to bring back its pinned page (if you prefer to rebuild automatically)
Step-by-step — try these in order
1 — Check Start11 is still active and the style selected

• Right‑click Start → Configure Start11 (or open Start11 from the system tray).
• Make sure Start11 is enabled and you have the Windows 10 style selected. If Start11 is disabled, enable it and Apply. (If Start11 is active but showing the empty Windows list, proceed to step 2.

2 — Look for the deleted shortcuts in the Recycle Bin

• Open Recycle Bin and search for shortcuts (.lnk) with names of apps you lost (Dropbox, Photoshop, Chrome, etc.. If you find them, Restore — they will go back into the User Pinned folder automatically. Then restart Explorer (step 4) and you should be back to normal.

3 — If Recycle Bin is empty: re-create the pinned shortcuts quickly

• The OS Start pins are stored here:
  %AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu
• You can manually recreate shortcuts by right‑clicking apps → Pin to Start (Windows will place the .lnk in the folder above). If right‑click → Pin to Start doesn’t work or you want to add many at once, use this PowerShell snippet to create .lnk files (example for Chrome and Photoshop — change paths to match your installed apps):
  1) Open PowerShell (Run as Administrator or normal user — use the account that needs the Start pins).
  2) Run:
  $pinned = "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu"
  $w = New-Object -ComObject WScript.Shell
  

  Example: Google Chrome​

  $sc = $w.CreateShortcut("$pinned\Google Chrome.lnk")
  $sc.TargetPath = "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"
  $sc.IconLocation = "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe,0"
  $sc.Save
  

  Example: Photoshop​

  $sc = $w.CreateShortcut("$pinned\Adobe Photoshop 2024.lnk")
  $sc.TargetPath = "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2024\Photoshop.exe"
  $sc.IconLocation = "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2024\Photoshop.exe,0"
  $sc.Save
• After creating the .lnk files, restart Explorer (next step) and they will appear in Start/Start11 pinned area.

4 — Restart Explorer (required to refresh Start / Start11)

• Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc → Processes → right‑click Windows Explorer → Restart.
• Or run: taskkill /f /im explorer.exe & start explorer.exe

5 — Re-import or Sync with Start11

• In Start11 Configure → Windows 10 Style, look for an option like “Synchronize pinned items from the OS menu with Start11” or “Import Windows pins.” Enable that so Start11 picks the .lnk files from the folder and rebuilds the grid automatically. Click Apply and re-open the Start menu.

6 — If you want the Start11 page back exactly as before (restore/reset)

• In Start11 Configure → Advanced (or the Settings screen) look for Reset / Restore options:
  • If you have a Start11 settings backup, use Import to restore it.
  • Otherwise use “Reset to defaults” to recreate the Start11 pages and pinned area, then re-pin a few apps (or use the PowerShell method to pre-populate the User Pinned folder first).
• Warning: Reset will lose other Start11 customizations; only use if rebuilding manually is OK.

What to check / send me if this doesn’t fix it

• Open File Explorer to this folder and tell me what files it contains:
  %AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu
  (You already showed “Windows Menu” — let me know if you see other .lnk files after trying the above.
• In Start11 Configure → About: tell me the Start11 version.
• If you want, right‑click the “Windows Menu” shortcut in that folder → Properties → paste the Target line here so I can see what it points to.

If you want I can:

• Provide a one‑shot PowerShell script that recreates a batch of common pinned shortcuts (Chrome, Edge, Photoshop, FileZilla, Dropbox, etc. tailored to the locations on your PC.
• Give exact menu‑by‑menu clicks inside Start11 for “Import/sync OS pins” or “Reset defaults” (copy exact wording if you tell me your Start11 version).

Which would you prefer — I’ll either give the full script to recreate a batch of shortcuts, or walk you through the Start11 Reset/Import UI.

 

[Distorted Vision]

I have a complete backup with Acronis True Image.

But there is no StartMenu folder in : %AppData%\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned in the Acronis Image from 2nd November. I tried one from 3rd November and its not there either which is strange. Wondering if this is an excluded folder.

 

[ChatGPT]

Thanks — the screenshots are very helpful. Short answer: your OS “pinned” .lnk files were removed when the Start11 page was deleted, and they’re normally stored in the per‑user “User Pinned\StartMenu” folder. You can recover them from your Acronis image if the image actually contains those .lnk files (or the user registry hive). Below I’ve put a safe, ordered recovery plan you can follow plus checks to confirm whether Acronis excluded that folder.
Key facts (so you know what I’m referring to)

• The per‑user pinned shortcuts live at:
  %AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu. Start/Taskbar pin information is also referenced in Explorer registry keys.
• Acronis images can be mounted and individual files/folders recovered without running a full system restore — that’s the easiest way to pull the missing .lnk files back out of a backup.
• If you can recreate the .lnk files in the User Pinned folder the Start/Start11 UI will pick them up after you restart Explorer (or enable Start11’s OS‑pin sync). I suggested an example PowerShell method to recreate .lnk files in the earlier steps.

Recovery plan — try in this order
1) Mount the Acronis image and search it (NO changes yet)

• Open Acronis True Image → locate the backup → Mount (or “Browse backup”) so it appears as a drive letter in Explorer. Use the Acronis file-level browse feature so you don’t overwrite anything.
• In the mounted image, enable View → Show hidden items and search for these paths:
  • Users\<your‑user>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu
  • C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
    If you find .lnk files for your apps, great — note their full paths.

2) If you find the .lnk files in the mounted image — copy them back

• Copy the .lnk files from the mounted image path above into the exact same path on the live system:
  %AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu
• After copying, restart Explorer (Ctrl+Shift+Esc → right‑click Windows Explorer → Restart) or reboot. Start11 (when using the Windows10 style) should pick them up; you can also enable Start11’s “Sync pinned items from the OS menu with Start11” to import them.
• Important: if Windows blocks copying because of permissions, copy the files to a safe temp folder (C:\Temp) and then move them while logged into the same account.

3) If the User Pinned folder in the backup is empty (as your screenshot shows)

• Search the entire mounted image for “*.lnk” (or for folder name “StartMenu”) — some installers put shortcuts in other Start menu locations (per‑user Start Menu or All Users). If you find .lnk files elsewhere (ProgramData Start Menu, older StartMenu folders), copy those into the User Pinned\StartMenu location on the live PC and restart Explorer.

4) If you don’t find .lnk files, check for the user registry hive (advanced)

• The per‑user Start/taskbar/pin mapping can be stored/ referenced in the user registry hive (NTUSER.DAT) — if you have NTUSER.DAT in the image you can extract it for offline inspection (don’t overwrite your live NTUSER.DAT). If you want to try recovering registry pin info I can give the exact safe steps to mount and export the relevant HKCU keys from the backed‑up NTUSER.DAT (advanced; do this only if you’re comfortable).

5) If you can’t find any pinned shortcuts in any backup

• Two practical options:
  A) Recreate the pins quickly — either right‑click apps → Pin to Start, or use the small PowerShell snippet I gave earlier to create .lnk files in the User Pinned folder automatically (fast if you have many apps). After creating them, restart Explorer.
  B) Reset / restore Start11 layout: if you have a Start11 settings backup or Start11 export, import it; otherwise Reset Start11 to defaults and then re‑pin. (Start11 can re-create a pinned area if the OS pins exist or you re‑create them.

Check whether Acronis excluded the folder

• Acronis normally images the whole drive for a full image; however if you used a file‑level backup profile or custom exclusion rules it’s possible AppData (or roaming profile folders) was excluded. In Acronis UI check the backup details → Backup options → Exclusions/Advanced to see whether Roaming/AppData was excluded when the image was taken. If you used Acronis’ “user files only” modes some hidden profile data can be excluded. If you want I can give the exact menu path in the Acronis UI for your version to check exclusions.

Safety notes before you copy or restore

• Always copy files out of the mounted image to a temporary folder first (e.g., C:\Temp\RecoveredPins), inspect them, then move to the live profile folder. That avoids accidental overwrites.
• If you plan any registry hive restores, make a full backup of your live NTUSER.DAT before changing anything.

If you want, I can:

• Give you the exact Acronis steps to mount the image and the exact Explorer search filter to find .lnk files, or
• Produce the PowerShell script that will recreate common pinned shortcuts (list the apps you want and I’ll craft the script), or
• Walk you through extracting the NTUSER.DAT from the image and safely exporting the HKCU Start/pin keys (advanced).

Which do you want to try first — mount + search the Acronis image (I can give the exact clicks), or I should prepare the PowerShell script to recreate your pins?

 

[Distorted Vision]

Reset to defaults in Start11 actually restored all the pinned shortcuts.

 

[ChatGPT]

Great — glad Reset to defaults brought everything back. Nice and simple fix.
A couple of short recommendations now that you’re back to normal:
1) Back up the Start pins (quick, copy of the .lnk files)

• Copy the per‑user pinned shortcuts folder to a safe place (external drive or D:\Backups). Example (run in an elevated PowerShell or CMD):
  • robocopy "%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu" "D:\Backups\StartMenuPins" /E
• That folder is where Windows stores the Start pinned .lnk files.

2) Export Start11 settings (so you can restore the exact Start11 layout)

• Open Configure Start11 → Advanced / Settings and look for Export / Import or Backup / Restore (Start11 provides a settings export to save your layout). Export and keep the file with your backups so you can restore Start11 exactly next time.

3) If you keep using Acronis images, confirm AppData wasn’t excluded

• When you browse/mount your Acronis image, confirm the Roaming AppData paths are present (the mounted image lets you copy individual files without full restore). If AppData/roaming was excluded by a backup profile, enable that folder in your backup selections. (You mentioned checking the images already — good idea.

4) Optional extra safety (registry pins)

• Windows also stores some pin mappings in the user registry (Explorer Taskband keys). If you want a deeper restore point, you can export this HKCU key before making big changes:
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband
  • Export it from regedit to a .reg file (advanced; keep a copy).

If you’d like, I can:

• Provide the exact Export steps for Start11 (I can list exact menu clicks if you tell me your Start11 version), or
• Create a small PowerShell script that recreates a list of your usual pins automatically and place the .lnk files into the User Pinned folder so you can restore them in one go.

Anything you want me to prepare now (export steps or a restore script)?

 

[Distorted Vision]

I got the Start Menu exactly how I want it. I dealt with Adobe Fresco and Adobe XD by hiding apps in the Start 11 menu.
I don't use these two programs and it seemed the quickest and simplest solution.

The Powershell command from step 1 in #10 didn't work:

 

[ChatGPT]

Thanks — good info. Reason the robocopy line failed: you ran robocopy inside PowerShell using the CMD/%VAR% syntax (%AppData%) so the %AppData% literal wasn’t expanded; robocopy treated the path as relative to C:\Windows\System32 and therefore the source path didn’t exist. Use PowerShell’s $env:APPDATA or the explicit user path instead.
Fixed commands and checks (pick one)
A — PowerShell (recommended; run as the normal user whose Start pins you want to save)

1. Open PowerShell as that user (no need to Run-as-Administrator unless you get permission errors).
2. Run these (one block):

$src = "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu"
$dst = "D:\Backups\StartMenuPins"
Test-Path $src # shows True if the folder exists
New-Item -Path $dst -ItemType Directory -Force
robocopy $src $dst /E
If you prefer native PowerShell copy:
Copy-Item -Path "$src*" -Destination $dst -Recurse -Force
B — CMD / batch (works if you want %AppData% expansion)

1. Open Command Prompt (not PowerShell) as the user.
2. Run:

robocopy "%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu" "D:\Backups\StartMenuPins" /E
Quick troubleshooting

• If Test-Path $src returns False, the per‑user pinned folder really isn’t there; check the explicit path for your user:
  C:\Users\<your-user>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu
• If you launched PowerShell as Administrator and then used $env:APPDATA, it will point to the Administrator profile — run PowerShell as the regular user (or use the explicit C:\Users\yourname... path).
• If files exist in the folder, robocopy / copy will copy them and they’ll be safe on D:\Backups\StartMenuPins. After you’ve backed them up, you can restore by copying them back to the same folder and restarting Explorer.

Why this matches what I suggested earlier

• The Start pinned .lnk files live in that User Pinned\StartMenu folder and copying them out is the simplest backup.

Extra (optional)

• Export your Start11 settings from the Start11 Configure → Advanced / Export so you can restore the layout exactly if needed later.
• If you’d like, paste the output of Test-Path $src here (True/False) and I’ll give the exact Restore command to copy them back. Want me to prepare a one‑shot script that both backs up and exports Start11 settings?

 

[Distorted Vision]

Robocopy command worked:

 

[ChatGPT]

Nice — glad the copy succeeded. A few safe next steps and handy scripts so you can restore or keep this backed up easily.
1) How to restore the pinned shortcuts (one command)

• Run this as the same user whose Start pins you backed up (not as Administrator under a different account), then restart Explorer:

Command Prompt (run as that user)
robocopy "D:\Backups\StartMenuPins" "%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu" /E
Then refresh the shell:

• Task Manager → right‑click Windows Explorer → Restart
  (or run in PowerShell: Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force; Start-Process explorer)

2) Export the Explorer pin mapping (optional, extra safety)

• The registry stores taskbar/startband mappings. Export it so you can restore mappings later:

reg export "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband" "D:\Backups\Taskband.reg"
(Important: run that while signed in as the user whose HKCU you want to export.
3) Export Start11 settings (so the layout + style are preserved)

• Open Configure Start11 (right‑click Start → Configure Start11).
• Look for Advanced / Utilities / Backup or Export (wording varies by version) → Export / Save settings.
• Save that file alongside your D:\Backups folder so you can import it to restore Start11 exactly.

4) One‑shot PowerShell backup script you can run or schedule

• Save this as C:\Scripts\BackupStartPins.ps1 and run it (or create a scheduled task):

$pinned = "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu"
$dest = "D:\Backups\StartMenuPins\$(Get-Date -Format yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm)"
New-Item -Path $dest -ItemType Directory -Force | Out-Null
robocopy $pinned $dest /E /COPYAT /R:3 /W:5
5) Quick restore PowerShell (one script)

• Save and run while signed into your user account:

$src = "D:\Backups\StartMenuPins"
$dst = "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu"
robocopy $src $dst /E
Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force
Start-Process explorer
6) Notes & gotchas

• Always run backup/restore scripts as the same user (AppData and HKCU are per user). If you run as Administrator, $env:APPDATA will reference the admin profile, not yours.
• If Start11 doesn’t immediately show restored pins, ensure Start11’s “sync/import OS pins” option is enabled (Configure Start11 → Windows10 style options) and restart Explorer.
• Keep both the .lnk folder and the Start11 exported settings — restoring both will get you back exactly where you were faster than re‑pinning by hand.

If you want I can:

• Create a scheduled task XML you can import to run the backup daily, or
• Produce a single zip containing the robocopy/PowerShell scripts and a short README for safekeeping.

Which would you like — scheduled backup task, or a zipped script package?

 

[Distorted Vision]

I just wanted to check that Robocopy has done what it was suppose to do as it says only 1 file and it was skipped.

I only see in the backup:

 

[ChatGPT]

Robocopy’s output looks correct for what was present — it found 1 file and didn’t copy any (skipped). That means either:

• The source folder actually contained only a single .lnk (so there was nothing else to copy), or
• The single file in the source already existed in the destination and Robocopy skipped copying because the file is identical (robocopy by default copies only new/changed files).

From your screenshots the backup folder contains one file ("Windows Menu"), so Robocopy behaved as expected: it saw one file and skipped copying it (nothing new to copy). The Start pinned .lnk files live in the per‑user folder %AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu — that’s the folder you backed up.
Steps to verify exactly what happened (three quick checks)
1) Confirm what is in the source now
Open PowerShell (as your normal user) and run:
$src = "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu"
Get-ChildItem -Force -File $src | Sort-Object Name | Format-Table Name,Length,LastWriteTime -AutoSize
This will list every .lnk in the source folder so you can see whether there really is only one file.
2) Check the robocopy result code (what Robocopy returned)
Right after running robocopy, check the exit code in the same shell:
echo %ERRORLEVEL%
Exit codes 0..7 are normal (0 = no files copied; 1 = some files copied; 3,5, etc. indicate acceptable minor issues). If you want Robocopy to be verbose and log details, re-run with /V and /LOG:
robocopy "%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu" "D:\Backups\StartMenuPins" /E /V /LOG:"D:\Backups\StartMenuPins\robocopy_log.txt"
3) If you want to force a copy even when files are identical
Use /IS (include same) or mirror the folder:

• Copy identical files too:
  robocopy "%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu" "D:\Backups\StartMenuPins" /E /IS /V /LOG:"D:\Backups\StartMenuPins\robocopy_log.txt"
• Mirror (make destination exactly match source — WARNING: deletes destination extras):
  robocopy "%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu" "D:\Backups\StartMenuPins" /MIR /V /LOG:"D:\Backups\StartMenuPins\robocopy_log.txt"

Which to use:

• If you simply want an exact backup of whatever is in the source right now, /MIR is quick but be careful (it removes files in the backup folder that aren’t present in the source).
• If you want to preserve any historical extras in the backup folder, use /E (recursive) plus /IS to copy identical files as well.

If you want, I can:

• Interpret the robocopy log if you paste robocopy_log.txt, or
• Give a small one‑shot command to copy the current pins and also save a dated snapshot (so you keep history) — e.g.:

powershell -command "$src='$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu'; $dst='D:\Backups\StartMenuPins\'+(Get-Date -Format yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm); New-Item -Path $dst -ItemType Directory -Force; robocopy $src $dst /E /V /LOG:$dst\robocopy_log.txt"
Run that and then show me the Get-ChildItem output if you want me to confirm the backup contents.

 

[Distorted Vision]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROBOCOPY :: Robust File Copy for Windows
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Started : 04 November 2025 03:02:40
Source : C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.PowerShell_7.5.4.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu\
Dest : D:\Backups\StartMenuPins\

Files : *.*

Options : *.* /V /S /E /DCOPYA /COPYAT /R:1000000 /W:30

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2025/11/04 03:02:40 ERROR 3 (0x00000003) Accessing Source Directory C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.PowerShell_7.5.4.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu\
The system cannot find the path specified.

 

[ChatGPT]

That ERROR 3 is expected from the command you just ran — PowerShell didn’t expand %AppData% so robocopy tried to use it as a literal subfolder of your current working directory (which in your screenshot is the PowerShell program folder). In short: the source path was wrong.
What happened

• You launched robocopy from inside pwsh.exe’s folder and used Windows CMD‑style %AppData% expansion. PowerShell does not expand %VAR% tokens; it uses $env:VAR. So the source became:
  C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.PowerShell_7.5.4.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\%AppData%...
  which does not exist → ERROR 3.

How to verify and fix (pick one of these; follow order)
1) Quick check: show what the source actually contains (PowerShell)

• Open PowerShell as the user account that owns the Start pins (do NOT run it as Administrator under a different account unless you want the admin profile):
  Get-ChildItem -Path "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu" -Force | Sort-Object Name | Format-Table Name,Length,LastWriteTime -AutoSize

This confirms what files are present (you’ll see if only "Windows Menu.lnk" is in the folder).
2) Proper backup from PowerShell (recommended)

• Run this block (as your user account):

$src = "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu"
$dst = "D:\Backups\StartMenuPins\$(Get-Date -Format yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm)"
New-Item -Path $dst -ItemType Directory -Force | Out-Null
robocopy $src $dst /E /V /LOG:"$dst\robocopy_log.txt"

• After it runs, open the $dst folder and check robocopy_log.txt if you want detailed output.

3) Or run robocopy from CMD (classic %AppData% expansion)

• Open Command Prompt as your user (not as Administrator of a different account) and run:

robocopy "%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu" "D:\Backups\StartMenuPins" /E /V /LOG:"D:\Backups\StartMenuPins\robocopy_log.txt"
4) If you ran PowerShell as Administrator by mistake

• $env:APPDATA will point to the admin profile (C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming). To back up your own pins either:
  • Run PowerShell as your normal user (no elevation), or
  • Use the explicit path for your account, e.g.:
    $src = "C:\Users\rupes\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu"

5) To force copy even if the files look identical

• Use the /IS switch to include same files:
  robocopy "$src" "$dst" /E /IS /V

6) How to restore later

• To copy them back, run (as that user):

robocopy "D:\Backups\StartMenuPins\<snapshot-folder>" "%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu" /E
Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force; Start-Process explorer
Short checklist for you now

• Run the Get-ChildItem command in step 1 and paste the output if you want me to confirm what’s in the source.
• If you want me to create a one‑line script that makes a dated snapshot and preserves history, say “Make snapshot script” and I’ll post it.

Would you like me to produce a scheduled task XML that runs the PowerShell snapshot nightly?

 

[Distorted Vision]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROBOCOPY :: Robust File Copy for Windows
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Started : 04 November 2025 03:10:53
Source : C:\Users\rupes\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu\
Dest : D:\Backups\StartMenuPins\2025-11-04_03-10\

Files : *.*

Options : *.* /V /S /E /DCOPYA /COPYAT /R:1000000 /W:30

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 C:\Users\rupes\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu\
*EXTRA File 0 robocopy_log.txt
New File 2138 Windows Menu.lnk
100%

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total Copied Skipped Mismatch FAILED Extras
Dirs : 1 0 1 0 0 0
Files : 1 1 0 0 0 1
Bytes : 2.0 k 2.0 k 0 0 0 0
Times : 0:00:00 0:00:00 0:00:00 0:00:00


Speed : 712,666 Bytes/sec.
Speed : 40.779 MegaBytes/min.
Ended : 04 November 2025 03:10:53

 

[ChatGPT]

All good — that robocopy run succeeded and you have a valid backup of whatever was present in the per‑user pinned folder at the time.
What the robocopy output means (short)

• It copied 1 file (Windows Menu.lnk) into D:\Backups\StartMenuPins\2025-11-04_03-10\ (marked as “New File 2138 Windows Menu.lnk”).
• The “*EXTRA File robocopy_log.txt” line simply shows the log file was created in the destination.
• Summary shows Files: 1 Copied: 1 — so your snapshot contains the single .lnk that currently exists in the source folder.

Why only one file

• After you Reset Start11 you restored the Start layout. The per‑user pinned folder (%AppData%...\User Pinned\StartMenu) currently contains only Windows Menu.lnk, so that’s the only .lnk robocopy could back up. If you later add/re-pin shortcuts they will appear in the source and your next snapshot will include them.

Quick verification and restore commands
1) Verify current source contents (run as your user)
PowerShell:
$src = "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu"
Get-ChildItem -Force -File $src | Sort-Object Name | Format-Table Name,Length,LastWriteTime -AutoSize
2) Restore a snapshot (run as the same user)
robocopy "D:\Backups\StartMenuPins\2025-11-04_03-10" "%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu" /E
Restart Explorer (to make Start/Start11 pick them up):
Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force; Start-Process explorer
3) Export Taskband registry mapping (optional, extra safety)
reg export "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband" "D:\Backups\Taskband.reg"
Extra recommendations (short)

• Export your Start11 settings (Configure Start11 → Advanced / Utilities → Export) and store the .s11 (or .xml) file with the D:\Backups snapshots. This restores layout + style far faster than re-pinning.
• Consider keeping dated snapshots (you already have one) so you can roll back to earlier versions if you add pins later and want a historic copy.
• If you want I can produce:
  • A one‑click PowerShell backup script that makes a dated snapshot (and rotates older snapshots), or
  • A scheduled task XML to run it nightly.

Would you like the one‑shot script or a scheduled task?