Administrative Tools - Restore Shortcuts

How to Restore the Administrative Tools Shortcuts in Vista​

information   Information
Administrative Tools is a folder in Control Panel that contains tools for system administrators and advanced users. The tools in the folder might vary depending on which edition of Vista you are using. This will show you how to restore all of the default Administrative Tools shortcuts in case you accidentally deleted them.
Tip   Tip
The Administrative Tools folder is located at:
NOTE: ProgramData is a hidden system file.

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools
Note   Note
Some common Administrative Tools in this folder include: (See last example screenshot below)
[TABLE=class:-grid,-width:-700][TR][TD]
Administrative Tool
[/TD]
[TD]
Description
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Computer Management
[/TD]
[TD]
Manage local or remote computers by using a single, consolidated desktop tool. Using Computer Management, you can perform many tasks, such as monitoring system events, configuring hard disks, and managing system performance.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Data Sources (ODBC)
[/TD]
[TD]
Use Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) to move data from one type of database (a data source) to another.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Event Viewer
[/TD]
[TD]
View information about significant events, such as a program starting or stopping, or a security error, that are recorded in event logs.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
iSCSI Initiator
[/TD]
[TD]
Configure advanced connections between storage devices on a network.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Local Group Policy Editor
[/TD]
[TD]
View and edit Group Policy settings. This is not available in the Vista Home Basic and Home Premium editions.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Local Security Policy
[/TD]
[TD]
View and edit Group Policy security settings. This is not available in the Vista Home Basic and Home Premium editions.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Memory Diagnostics Tool
[/TD]
[TD]
Check your computer's memory to see if it is functioning properly.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Print Management
[/TD]
[TD]
Manage printers and print servers on a network and perform other administrative tasks.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Reliability and Performance Monitor
[/TD]
[TD]
View advanced system information about the central processing unit (CPU), memory, hard disk, and network performance.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Services
[/TD]
[TD]
Manage the different services that run in the background on your computer.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
System Configuration
[/TD]
[TD]
Identify problems that might be preventing Windows from running correctly.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Task Scheduler
[/TD]
[TD]
Schedule programs or other tasks to run automatically.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Windows Firewall with Advanced Security
[/TD]
[TD]
Configure advanced firewall settings on both this computer and remote computers on your network.
[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]


EXAMPLE: Default Control Panel Location
Control_Panel.jpg​
​
EXAMPLE: Default Start Menu Location
NOTE: To add or remove the Administrative Tools button from the Start menu, see OPTION ONE here: How to Customize the Start Menu in Vista.
Start_menu.jpg​
​
EXAMPLE: Administrative Tools
NOTE: See the NOTE at the top of the tutorial for a description of each of these.
Administrative_Tools.jpg​
​



Here's How:
NOTE: Check to make sure that in the Customize Start Menu window you have a option under System administrative tools dotted to be displayed.
1. Click on the download button below to download the Administrative_Tools.zip file.​
​
download​

2. Click on Save and save it to the Desktop.​
​
3. Right click on the Administrative_Tools.zip file (on Desktop) and click on Open.​
​
4. Click on Allow in the UAC prompt.​
​
5. Select the Administrative Tools folder and Extract it to your desktop.​
​
6. To Restore the Shortcuts​
A) Open the extracted Administrative Tools folder on your desktop.​
​
B) Copy the shortcuts you want to:​
​
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools​
NOTE: ProgramData is a hidden system file. ​
​
C) Click on Continue for Destination Folder Access Denied prompt.​
​
D) Click on Continue for UAC prompt.​
NOTE: You will need to repeat C & D for each time you copy a shortcut or group of shortcuts.​

7. When done, you can delete the Administrative Tools.zip folder on the desktop.​
​
​
That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

 

Attachments

Last edited:
Click to expand...
Thanks -- this worked for me when I stupidly deleted the Administrative Tools folder, thinking I could just access it from the control panel and the start menu copy was redundant. Little did I know the "control" panel was just a shortcut to the start menu item! So thanks for publishing this.

However, these shortcuts now have an "unknown" publisher and generate an extra confirmation prompt (before the UAC prompt) when launched. I can deselect the "Always prompt when opening this file" checkbox, and this is probably just prudent security since the shortcuts did, after all, come from a non-Microsoft source. But is there a way to restore the original publisher as well?
 

My Computer

System One

Hi txviking, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Did you extract the shortcuts from the ZIP folder to your desktop first? This has to be done there first to remove the Unblock button. Right click on one of the shortcuts and click on Properties to see if there is a Unblock button under the General tab. If there is click on it to see if it will go away when you check Properties again. If not, then you will need to move them back to the desktop and click the Unblock button for each shortcut, then move them back.

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Thanks Brink!

I did extract them to the desktop first ("C:\Users\Stian\Desktop\Administrative Tools" to be exact.) However, I had not gone through and manually chosen "Unblock" on each individual item prior to moving the folder where it belongs. Doing so made the warnings go away. Permissions/Ownership/Origin are still incorrect, but that doesn't matter -- the important thing is to be able to use the Administrative Tools as normal, which now works.
 

My Computer

System One

That's good to hear. Do you by chance have UAC turned off? If so, this may be why it did not unblock the shortcuts automatically when you extracted them from the ZIP file.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Nope, UAC is enabled. The only change I made to UAC was to disable the switch to the secure desktop when a UAC prompt comes up -- thanks to buggy nvidia drivers, the switch is both slow and causes the screen to flash in a rather distracting fashion.

But UAC itself remains enabled -- not only for security, but also to keep poorly written/legacy software from writing into Program Files and such. I love the transparent redirects Vista does for software like that.
 

My Computer

System One

You're most welcome Jud, and welcome to Vista Forums. :)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top