I have the same problem with "All Programs" menu not remembering the
sort order. There is a bug in the current version of Explorer.exe or one
of it's DLL's. I monitored my real time registry activity with
SysInternals "Process Monitor" while sorting "All Programs" and found it
was writing the new sort order to the
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Exp lorer\MenuOrder\Favorites]Order
key. THIS IS THE SAME KEY FOR THE ROOT DIRECTORY SORT ORDER OF THE
"Favorites" MENU. So when you try to sort "All Programs" it overwrites
the "Favorites" sort data. It also reads/writes to this key ONLY the
sort order of the current directory of the "All Programs" menu you
happen to be sorting. I think the only thing keeping the sort order
temporarily in "All Programs" is one of the Shell "Most Recently Used"
Bag keys, which re-sorts any time the Pograms folder is addressed with
any kind of view/data change.
Until Microsoft admits there is a problem with this and fixes it, the
best I can do is preserve my "Favorites" menu sort order by turning off
the "drag and drop" feature in the "Customize Start Menu" property page.


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StrayDogHwy395