Knowledge Base

Start Menu Wraps Off the Display

Article ID: 125633

Article Last Modified on 11/15/2006

Microsoft Windows 95
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition

This article was previously published under Q125633

SYMPTOMS

When you click an item on the Start menu, a menu that covers the entire display and wraps off the right side of the screen appears. You cannot access any items on the menu that are not visible, and there does not seem to be any way to remove the menu without clicking an item on it.

CAUSE

This problem can occur if a folder contains so many items that Windows cannot display them all on the screen at the same time. Windows does not have the capability to scroll to the right of a menu so you can see the items that are off the screen.

RESOLUTION

To remove the menu, press the ESC key or the LEFT ARROW key until the menu closes. To prevent the problem from occurring, use any of the following tips:

Reduce the number of items in the folder by deleting items or moving some of them to different folders.

Use Windows Explorer to view the contents of the folder.

View the contents of the folder by opening it from My Computer.

Increase the display resolution so that more items can be seen on the screen at once. For example, if you are using 640 x 480 resolution, increase the resolution to 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768. NOTE: Not all monitors can display all resolutions.

Install Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 95 or later, and enable the Windows Desktop Update component, or if you are already running this version, add the Windows Desktop Update component. For information about how to obtain Internet Explorer 4.01, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
177485 Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 Available
For information about how to add the Windows Desktop Update component, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
165695 How to Add or Remove Windows Desktop Update

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows 95.

MORE INFORMATION

The Windows Desktop Update shell (included with Internet Explorer 4.0 or later and Windows 98) does not display multiple columns for Start menu folders that have too many items to display in one column. Instead, a single column is displayed and you can scroll multiple items using the arrows at the top or bottom of the folder's single column.

You can return to the classic shell behavior (display multiple columns if needed for Start menu folders) on Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 by removing the Windows Desktop Update, but the problem noted in the Symptoms section of this article will return.

Additional query words: scroll

Keywords: kbprb kbprint kbui kbusage KB125633