Windows 7 Recent Docs won't list despite setting for it

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sandyocean

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Sep 6, 2010
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The Recent Docs has been working perfectly. Suddenly the list disappeared. I checked Advanced setting. It was still all set to list 15 docs. I changed the number to see if it made a difference. Saved some docs. No list. Turned computer off and on. Saved docs. No list. Office - Word 2007. Windows 7.

I haven't used ccleaner or any other.

I believe there are other ways to access a list of recent docs - but I would really like some advice on how to fix this particular problem - as it suits me accessing it inside Word. Ideas on how to fix it, please?
 
Solution
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Ah, so obviously, you problem is failing to run Windows updates.

Pauli is right. Most of the updates relate to security vulnerabilities that are often discovered after a bunch of users suffer horrible fates. They fix real threats that are out there. Follow his suggestion about setting the option to let you choose. The kind of problem you experienced does happen occasionally but it is relatively rare, and you have to weigh it against what could happen if...
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Well despite 127 views, no-one seemed to know how to fix it. Happily it has just fixed itself. I did nothing. The full currrent list just suddenly appeared instead if the little empty box. So all good now. Wish I knew the why though!
 
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sandyocean said:
Well despite 127 views, no-one seemed to know how to fix it. Happily it has just fixed itself. I did nothing. The full currrent list just suddenly appeared instead if the little empty box. So all good now. Wish I knew the why though!
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Thanks for reporting that the problem went away. There are a lot of problems that happen for no apparent reason and then disappear on their own. You were sharp enough to notice the pattern--127 views and nobody had a clue.

I'm starting to get the impression that there is some kind of problem with Windows 7 and the user profile that started relatively recently, probably associated with some Windows update. Windows seems to have become susceptible to something triggering flaky performance relating to saving the user profile. There is a long list of stuff stored in it. You had problems with the recent docs list. I have had intermittent problems with other data and settings not being saved. I see various other problem reports here and on other forums where somebody notices a different item not being preserved. They might share a common cause.
 
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That is interesting. But I am not sure about it being associated with Updates as after a major problem 6 months ago immediately after getting a few Windows update (and only solving it after a Systems restore), I decided to skip all of them - so haven't updated at all.
 
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Windows 7 is what I have called "A paranoid system". And otherwise too, all security programs seem to have an itch about anything "recent". In case you have used one to clean your computer, it's quite possible it has "locked on", so to say.

If you're serious about not having Windows updates, I would strongly urge you to reconsider. In Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Windows Update\Change settings choose "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them". Updates are highly security ones, crucial.
 
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Ah, so obviously, you problem is failing to run Windows updates.

Pauli is right. Most of the updates relate to security vulnerabilities that are often discovered after a bunch of users suffer horrible fates. They fix real threats that are out there. Follow his suggestion about setting the option to let you choose. The kind of problem you experienced does happen occasionally but it is relatively rare, and you have to weigh it against what could happen if you don't do the updates.

You can add another layer of protection against messing up your system by checking on the updates. Make a note of the update identities that Windows wants to install. Wait a day or two for other people to install them. Then do an Internet search on the update ID to see if anybody has reported problems with it. If so, you can make an informed choice about whether to skip that particular update while still being protected against other threats.
 
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Solution
One remark about updates: if you start updates now, you'll probably get an astonishing amount of them, perhaps up to 200. DO NOT download and install them all at once, but take, perhaps, 3-5 at a time. Then preferably reboot, and take the next ones. It's a bit of work, I know.

I'm not quite sure about how it all works, but I would start with older ones, and gradually advance towards the latest.
 
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