PC Drivers & Software

[discordstar]

I'm seeing this in my start menu and have no idea what this is?

from what i'm hearing its from AMD drivers and is installed in the wrong place i believe? what do i need to do to correct this?

[pokester]

Could you please supply your system specs and os information. Also if you can get a screen shot of it that would help. I know someone asked about this a while back. I had no idea what this was and don't know if that got resolved. These are users helping users here not AMD driver guys. With a bit more info hopefully someone knows. You can also submit a support ticket to AMD for them to help your. It is the link in orange at the bottom of their contact page.

[discordstar]

Windows 10 Pro

Ryzen 2600

Sapphire RX580

8gb ram

samsung ssd 250gb

is this the info you want?

[pokester]

I was thinking a screen shot of exactly what you are seeing would be nice but yes the other information is good.

[discordstar]

this is what i see in the start menu:

is it something important installed in the wrong place or....?

[pokester]

I have not had this exact issue. I have had other issues with icons not showing the correct one. I have used the method elstaci mentioned and could manually re-link them and that would fix things but they would revert back. I know I used a feature in a 3rd utility Tweaking_com Windows Repair. I don't remember exactly what option fixed it, I think it was an option for fixing start menu problems though. I am not at my pc right now to check. 

Before digging too much and taking my potentially bad advice. I would contact AMD Support on their contact page as I told you above and run this by them. They may be able to offer some quick good advice. No guarantees but it might be worth waiting a day or two before starting something else.

[elstaci]

Here is an old thread from AMD Forum with the same question as you: Why does the driver create a folder called ##ID_STRING16## in start menu?

This later thread actually has a reply from AMD Support concerning your question: AMD 17.11.1 ##ID_STRING16## folder start menu

[discordstar]

one of the post mentions editing the string, can i get an example what that means and how to do it

[elstaci]

Not sure. I have been using Classic Shell Menu since I first upgraded to Windows 8.1 from Windows 7.  Classic Shell is not supported anymore but is open source and now called Open Shell. Same program but now supported again. But I am able to switch to Windows 10 Menu. I right clicked one file and it several  entries  but none to rename. But it does show  "Open to File Location"

Under Windows 10 Menu, Click on the String. What do you see in the submenu?  "Open to File Location" or "Rename"?  If you see only  "Open to File Location", click on that. It should take you to the AMD file and maybe you might be able to change it to the proper name if the file's name is garbled. If it shows "Rename" then simply rename the menu entry to the correct AMD file (by going to file location and finding out name of the file).

[elstaci]

Found this website that shows how to rename Windows 10 Start Menu entries: Renaming a start menu Item in Windows 10 - Super User

[discordstar]

so the file's name is ##ID_STRING18##, what do i change that into?
also do i need to change ##ID_STRING16## folder name too?

[elstaci]

Yes to both.

First start with the garbled file name. Right click on the file. On the submenu click on "Properties" than click on "Details". In Details it will tell you the name of the program that the file is being used under "File Description". Go further down to the last line and you will see the actual name of the file. Use this to rename the file back to what it was before it got garbled.

For the Folder right click on the folder and on the Submenu click on "Properties"  There it should have the proper name of the folder. If it doesn't then click on "Sharing". Hopefully it will have the correct name there.

Once you rename both the file and folder, Click on the link in my previous comment to show you how to change the name in the Windows 10 Start Menu.

Renaming a start menu Item in Windows 10 - Super User

[kingfish]

I would also make the file 'read only' after making the changes...so it can't be 'corrected'.

[discordstar]

it don't see its name in detail. if you mean the path to file it still says id string

[elstaci]

can you upload an image of the file with submenu with Details showing? Also when you clicked on "Open File Location" did it go to an AMD Folder? If it didn't disregard, the following instructions and tell me what program that folder belongs to if it isn't AMD.

Maybe you should try and reinstall the AMD Drivers again.

Follow these instructions on how to do a basic AMD installation. See if the file and folder show up correctly. It is possible that the installation got corrupted.

install AMD driver:

1) Download the correct AMD Full Set of drivers from AMD Support. Make sure your Windows is fully updated via Windows Update. Windows MUST be fully updated because the latest AMD Drivers requires all  the latest "Optional" and "Recommended" Updates to be installed. Make sure to disable the Internet to prevent Windows Update from installing a newer version. Also configure Windows to prevent it from updating Drivers via Windows Update. Also it has been mentioned to disable any Anti-virus programs before installation of AMD Drivers.

2) Use Windows Uninstall to uninstall current AMD driver and software. Then use DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) V17.0.9.1 Released. - Wagnardsoft Forum in safe mode to eliminate all traces of the current AMD driver and software from your computer.

Delete C:\AMD folder from the Root Directory. Reboot.

3) Go to Device Manager and click on "Display Adapter" and make sure you are on the MS Basic Display Adapter. If not, uninstall the AMD driver using Properties.

4) Try reinstalling the AMD FULL SET OF DRIVERS that you manually downloaded (Radeon™ RX 580 Drivers & Support | AMD ).

5) If the new AMD drivers installs and works correctly, delete again the C:\AMD folder from the Root directory. To save space on the HDD.

6)Enable both the internet and Anti-Virus program (if applicable).

7) Go back to Device Manager and check to be sure your GPU card driver is working and identified correctly.

If you follow this instructions faithfully, hopefully everything will work and look correctly. If not post back.

Note: after completely uninstalling the AMD Drivers, Make sure that the folder and file that has the garbled name is also deleted. It is possible that the folder may not be deleted since it doesn't have a valid name on it and the AMD uninstaller and DDU may not recognize it and deleted during uninstallation. So make sure you write down the location of thar particular folder and file before following the above instruction.

[discordstar]

Here's what i'm seeing

https://i.imgur.com/Ujn5WwR.png

it didn't go into a AMD folder.

this is the path C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Menu Start\Programs\##ID_STRING16##

P.S.: for some reason when i open the file location from the start menu, "menu start" will show up as "start menu". There is no folder with that name

[pokester]

I am really wondering if this issue is with other than English language versions. I seem to think that the few times we have seen this it has always been on other than English language versions of Windows. Not sure if that is and AMD or MS or both issue.

[elstaci]

I found this Microsoft Start Menu Troubleshooter. Run the program and see if that garbled menu entry disappears. I have attached the troubleshooter to this post.

EDIT: Ran the troubleshooter on my Windows 10 Pro computer. Under "Advance" I unchecked the box to automatically repair. Came up saying my Start Menu Database was corrupt. But I figure this was due to the fact I have Open Shell installed. Thus most likely is the reason why it showed the Start Menu Database on my computer corrupt.

When you run it, click on the "Advance " button and make sure it has "Repair automatically" checked marked. Than run the troubleshooter. Then check your menu to see if the garbled entry is deleted.

[discordstar]

ran the program with checked box.

it noticed that the tiledatabase is damaged, but was unable to fix it.

then it list potential problems:

programs that were not installed properly:

Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost" and "Microsoft.Windows.Cortana" need to be reinstalled correctly.

Registry key Permission Issues

The current user needs permissions to gain access to the following registry key:HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DeviceAccess\Global

P.S.: also something that might be interesting to point out is that in the ##ID_STRING18## properties, the 'shortcut-tab' shows sysWOW64 (C:\Windows\SysWOW64\msiexec.exe) any ideas?

[elstaci]

Follow the instructions from this website to run commands to repair and reinstall Cortana and Shell Experience Host (Start Menu):

This website also give instructions on how the fix the exact same issue you have from Troubleshooter: Windows 10 start up menu how to reinstall ShellExperienceHost, Cortana? - Super User :down vote​ Copied from Super User link:

Start PowerShell as Administrator. PowerShell.exe is located in this folder:

C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0 

Right-click PowerShell.exe and click Run as Administrator.

Execute these two commands:

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"} 
Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.Cortana | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"} 

This reinstalls ShellExperienceHost and Cortana.

Just COPY AND PASTE each Get-AppxPackage separately and run each separately.

EDIT: Ran both commands separately in a elevated Powershell and it seemed to work.

Then run the Microsoft Start Menu again and see what it says.

[discordstar]

the 2nd line gives me an error:

Add-AppxPackage : Deployment failed with HRESULT: 0x80073D02,(somthing about cannot make changes, because location is being used@)

error 0x80073D02: Unable to install because the following apps need to be closed Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_1.10.7.17134

_neutral_neutral_cw5n1h2txyewy.

NOTE: For additional information, look for [ActivityId] 0710cea4-34cc-0002-fa28-3e07cc34d401 in the Event Log or use th

e command line Get-AppxLog -ActivityID 0710cea4-34cc-0002-fa28-3e07cc34d401

At line:1 char:54

+ ...  | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.I ...

+                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (C:\Windows\Syst...ppXManifest.xml:String) [Add-AppxPackage], Exception

    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : DeploymentError,Microsoft.Windows.Appx.PackageManager.Commands.AddAppxPackageCommand

[elstaci]

Cortana was the only one that failed. Did the Shell Experience Host pass? That is the one the is the Start Menu. Do you still have the garbled entries after doing the command for Shell Experience Host?

Try this command that re-installs all the built-in Windows APPs including Cortana as per Microsoft Forum:

Try to run the PowerShell command:

• Press Windows + X keys on the keyboard, select Command prompt (admin).
• Enter the below commands one by one and hit Enter key.

PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

• It will open the PowerShell window.
• Now enter the below command and hit Enter key.
• $manifest = (Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.Cortana).InstallLocation + '\AppxManifest.xml' ; Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $manifest
• Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers |Where-Object {$_.InstallLocation -like "*SystemApps*"}

After running the command see if the Menu is fixed. If not restart the computer than check the Start Menu again.

[discordstar]

didn't work still see folder.

also asked MS support there saying the file is from amd problem wizard, maybe helpful info

[elstaci]

First lets try and get your Start Menu and Cortana to check good.

I see that you have Windows 10 Pro. You can disable Cortana through Group Policy and then run the previous command to reinstall Cortana.

I just did this on my computer. I ran the command to reinstall Cortana and got the same error of Cortana being in use. So I disabled Cortana, which I never use anyways, through Group Policy. After Rebooting, I don't have Cortana active anymore. Ran the previous command to reinstalled Cortana and this time I received no errors.

Here is how to Disable Cortana in WIndows 10 Pro using Group Policy:

Pro and Enterprise Users: Disable Cortana via Group Policy

For Windows 10 Professional or Enterprise, the easiest way to disable Cortana is by using the Local Group Policy Editor

Type gpedit.msc and Enter

Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search

Locate the “Allow Cortana” setting in the right pane and double-click it

Set the Allow Cortana option to “Disabled” and then click OK

Close the group policy editor

Reboot your computer

After rebooting, run the previous command again with an elevated Powershell:

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.Cortana | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

Now run Start Menu Troubleshooter again and see what results you get. If it checks good, check the Start Menu again. Post back the results.

NOTE: to Enable Cortana again just do the same thing as before except click on " Not Configured"  close Group Policy and Reboot and you should have Cortana back again active.

Note 2: Once all this checks good and the Start Menu still has garbled we will start troubleshooting from the information you gave me.

[elstaci]

from the previous link, this Start Menu problem seems to be due to being translated into Spanish.

You know what to eliminate this possibility, Can you install AMD DRIVER PACKAGE in ENGLISH instead of SPANISH just to see if the START MENU gets fixed.

[goodplay]

Or change language in radeon settings(not sure if that will change in start menu though).

[elstaci]

This is getting to be frustrating working with Windows 10 Start Menu that gives you very few options.

Let try this. Lets replace the Windows 10 Start Menu with OPEN SHELL (Classic Shell - old name). With OPEN SHELL  you have a huge amount of options to change the Start Menu including Deleting, Renaming, Moving, etc. Under OPEN SHELL Main Settings you can adapt the Start Menu anyway you want including changing the Language to Spanish.

Once you install OPEN SHELL, try deleting the garbled Menu entries. Then within OPEN SHELL switch to Windows 10 Start Menu and see if that garbled entry is also deleted. It should be. Here is a image from my computer with OPEN SHELL using Windows 7 Start Menu:

Later on if you don't like OPEN SHELL you can Uninstall it from the Control Panel - Uninstall, but the easiest way is to run the OPEN SHELL installer again and click on "REMOVE" afterwards you need to log back in again or simply restart your computer. (Did this on my computer without any problems, then reinstalled the OPEN SHELL again)

I zipped the OPEN SHELL Installer and attached it to this post.

NOTE: I am getting desperate now. If you notice at the bottom of the image, the Cortana Icon is replaced with the Search Icon after disabling Cortana in Group Policy.

[elstaci]

By the way, there are two Windows 10 Start Menu folders. Both are hidden. One in APPDATA and the other in PROGRAMDATA.

C:\Users\XXXXXX\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows

[discordstar]

1) I think i was able to reinstall with powershell with both codes without any errors.

Tried "startmenu.diagcab.zip" but still the same message as last time, didn't fix it and the 2 potential problems still remain.

2) changed radeon language to english in settings, didn't work. (didn't install any english drivers, like you said)

3) Haven't tried OPEN SHELL yet.

4) Folder is located in here: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\##ID_STRING16##

the other folder you mentioned doesn't have it.

I want to point out that when i look at the dir link, it says "menu start" and programma's.

BUT when i want to select the line to copy, it changes to start menu and programs.

(maybe its english as stardard but shows it in a different language visually.)

What was the first thing you mentioned editing the string.

what is a string exaclty its not clear to me. is it something hard to do? you need a tool for it?

[elstaci]

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\##ID_STRING16## <----- Is this a folder that you can rename or delete?

[discordstar]

i can rename yes, haven't tried deleting it

[elstaci]

Did it change the name on the Start Menu?

If it did then do the following:

If you can rename it, Rename it to AMD. Then see if you can right click the new renamed folder on the Start Menu and on the Sub-menu look for "Unpin from Start". Click on that. That should remove the folder from the Start Menu.

Then go to the AMD Folder in Program Files or Program Files (x86) and look for the AMD Folder. Right-Click on the AMD Folder that has a program in it. When the Sub-Menu comes up. Click on "Pin to START". This will add the AMD Folder to the Start Menu.

I just did this on my computer. Afterwards, I right-clicked the new Start Menu Folder and selected "Unpin from Start" and it removed the new entry.

[discordstar]

can't change name from start menu. only from file explorer.

do you know what this file is, whats its purpose? won't deleting it be bad?

[elstaci]

All you are doing is deleting the entry from the Start Menu as long as you deleted from C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs and not from File Explorer. If you delete from File Explorer you will delete the file from your computer.

The garbled Menu entry on the Start Menu, when you Right click it, it doesn't show "Unpin from Start" does it?

What happens if you click the folder on File Explorer?  If  the folder is empty, then delete it from File Explorer. If it has files in it, see what are the names of the file. If it is AMD you will know it. If so rename the folder to the .ExE file in the folder which should be the AMD Program. Otherwise delete it after doing a Restore Point. If it does belong to AMD you can always run the AMD Package Driver again to reinstall the deleted folder.

Before you delete anything, be sure to do a Windows Restore Point in case by deleting the folder causes unexpected problems.

[elstaci]

Found this from Microsoft Forum. This is to repair the Start Menu also.

Run this troubleshooter and see if it does  anything. Delete the original Start Menu Troubleshooter that I posted. Looks like it doesn't work in Windows 10.

This could be due to the App or system file is corrupt. Let’s try the simple steps and check if it helps to resolve the issue.

Method 1.

You can run the Windows store apps troubleshooter on Windows 10. Follow the below steps to perform System maintenance troubleshooter.

1. Press Windows + X keys on the keyboard and select Control Panel
2. Type Troubleshooting in the search bar on the Control Panel.
3. Click on View all on the left navigation pane.
4. Click on Windows store apps.
5. Click on Advanced on the Windows store apps dialog box and click on Run as administrator (Enter the credentials if required).
6. Click on Next and follow onscreen instruction complete the Windows store apps troubleshooter.

[discordstar]

1) no i can't unpin the folder.

2) like i said multiple times there is a file in id_string16 folder and its a file with no extenstion called id_string18 (eighteen)

should i move the folder somewhere else instead of deleting it? if so then what?

3) no potental errors shown with troubleshoot. it does want me to login with a microsoft account, which i don't want to do. so it didn't do anything.

also this folder & file, is it safe to assume there like similar to shortcut icons for your desktop? not the actual file?

[elstaci]

Great idea. If you can rename it. Since the both the file and Folder have garbled names on it. Rename the entire Folder OLD 16 and the File OLD 18. That way the Start Menu won't be seeing those garbled names anymore. Hopefully. when you click on the Garbled Menu entry and it sees that there are no folder or file by that name it will ask you to delete the Menu entry.

Cross your finger.

If the garbled Menu Entry is pointing to an actual garbled Folder and File it is not a short cut icon where it is pointing too. Once those files are renamed and moved, The Start Menu should ask you to delete the Start Menu entry since it is not pointing to any actual folder. Also move the entire folder to Documents after renaming it.

IF YOU CAN"T RENAME IT, TRY DELETING IT AFTER DOING A WINDOWS RESTORE POINT!

But before deleting, Open Radeon Settings and see if that is still working. If it is, since you were told the problem was with AMD PROBLEM Wizard click in Radeon Settings the program to report an AMD Problem. If you get an error message, than you know that folder was for that AMD program.

[discordstar]

1) i mean that the garbeld folder and file serves as startup tile icon, but isn"t the actual file/program, its stored somewhere else.

2) When i try to launch "launch problem report wizard" it doesn't open. could this be id_sting18?

[elstaci]

Looks like it may be.

I read you can uninstall this program from Control Panel - Uninstall. Here is how to do it. IF IT WORKS.

To uninstall AMD Problem Report Wizard in Windows 10/8 ▾, follow these steps:

1. Press Windows key + X to open the Start menu.
2. Click the first menu item Programs and Features.
3. In the list of installed programs, search AMD Problem Report Wizard.
4. Click the software you want to uninstall.
5. Click Uninstall button which appears at the top of the program list and follow the instructions to uninstall the program.

But I have feeling that it won't since the Folder and File are garbled. But try it anyways.

NOTE: I am downloading the AMD PACKAGE For the RX 580. I am going to unpack it using 7zip. Then I am going to see if it shows a folder called AMD PROBLEM REPORT WIZARD. I will let you know if it shows it or not.

This is obviously a AMD bug concerning Non-English Windows.

[elstaci · Accepted solution]

I was deleting the post concerning the download of AMD PROBLEM REPORT WIZARD and accidently ended up deleting all the comments after that post.

My fault, just got up from sleeping and my mind is not very sharp yet.

1) Uninstall AMD Package Driver with DDU in safe mode with internet disconnected.

2) Make sure you delete any AMD Folders in Programfiles or Programfiles (x86) and APPDATA Folder that may have remained.

3) Reboot to Windows Desktop and check the Start Menu and see if the garbled entries are gone. CLick on those entries and see if Start Menu asks to delete them since they are not present on your computer anymore. If not go to Programdata -Microsoft-Windows-Start Menu- Program  and delete the entries that you see that are garbled.

4) Run the AMD PACKAGE installer again. Make sure you UNCLICK the AMD EXPERIENCE Program and choose CUSTOM. Under CUSTOM  installation UNCLICK AMD PROBLEM REPORT WIZARD. Now run the installer. It shouldn't install neither the AMD EXPERIENCE PROGRAM nor the AMD PROBLEM REPORT WIZARD.

5) Reconnect the Internet and Check the Start Menu again to make sure  everything look correct.

Note: If I had known you could have prevented the AMD PROBLEM REPORT from being installed it would have saved a lot of troubleshooting. But that was my fault.