Classic Shell: Forum

I have 2 desktops. I always arrange my Start Menu like this attachment. On this, the HP, I have one column with commonly used links on top, and the Program Menu at the bottom opens to a 2nd column. Below Programs I've chosen which links I want. "Documents" is recent doc accessed. It was all customized with CS


I'm setting up a 2nd desktop, (named Gateway) and I've run CS, copying my settings from this computer. I restarted, and the default menu is still there. Maybe I left some setting out. Or can I just copy the Backup from HP to Gateway into the proper folder? I have presumably a profile folder in MyId>Appdata>Roaming, but it's empty. i aslo have one in AppData>Local with datacache.db. Is that my profile?

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2 desktops--Win 7 Ultimate/ 6 MB RAM/ Firefox, Thunderbird / Classic Shell 4.3.1

If you made a backup XML file on the HP desktop,
then loaded that XML file on Gateway desktop, it should set everything same unless,

the skin is not one included in Classic Shell program. Copy over modded skin and put in the skins folder.

Possibly, Gateway desktop is not set up for Windows 7 classic theme.

Any icons that are not default will have to be carried over with exact same locations as HP.

In time someone with more knowledge might help you out.

I don't bother with skins.

I don't use IE, so it's just 2 sets of settings. It copied the Explorer settings,
but it says "Parsing Error--[the StartMenu settings] has an invalid character in the text content."--attached.


CS has been running just fine in this computer for 3 years. I don't know a lot about xml, but it shouldn't have Chinese characters. My programs are strictly English.

Just searched this topic, and someone else had Chinese characters too.

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2 desktops--Win 7 Ultimate/ 6 MB RAM/ Firefox, Thunderbird / Classic Shell 4.3.1

Put the XML backup file anywhere you want.
The important part is that it gets loaded with the backup/load button of settings.
It's worked for me countless times going back and forth between operating systems.
I have never tried on the same system with different accounts though.
Never had an xml error myself.
Trying it now, same error.
Too bad it does not show the exact error.
I see someone downloaded your file already. If they can't figure it out,
I will look at it tom.

It's not the same system, but 2 separate machines, this HP and a Gateway I set up this week. OK, I see it made copies in Temp too. If it's working on this one, how could it have weird characters? I just backed up a 2nd time, and the file is identical.

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2 desktops--Win 7 Ultimate/ 6 MB RAM/ Firefox, Thunderbird / Classic Shell 4.3.1

Here;s something. In the Program folder on this (HP)system,

classicelxplorersettings.exe works fine

but classicstartmenu.exe has just stopped working. Maybe that's why the file is weird. I can't wipe and reinstall the program until I have 2 good backups.

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2 desktops--Win 7 Ultimate/ 6 MB RAM/ Firefox, Thunderbird / Classic Shell 4.3.1

Not sure about your new problem. Sorry.

I'm gathering you are using the classic 1 style skin, not the no skin.
I have a feeling the skin options are corrupt.
Open up the file in notepad.
What you could do is delete this part that looks odd:

<SkinOptionsC1>
<Line>DA60029A|E55CEDD2|BD80CDB3|C26EAF5C|86F3669C|5225DC46|5D3248DC|E87963C2|80316ABE|</Line>
<Line>|</Line>
<Line>k</Line>
<Line>��殿槣e退擰﵀߾</Line>
<Line>
</Line>
</SkinOptionsC1>

and replace with this part from a working xml file:

<SkinOptionsC1>
<Line>CAPTION=1</Line>
<Line>USER_IMAGE=0</Line>
<Line>USER_NAME=0</Line>
<Line>CENTER_NAME=0</Line>
<Line>SMALL_ICONS=0</Line>
<Line>THICK_BORDER=1</Line>
<Line>SOLID_SELECTION=1</Line>
</SkinOptionsC1>

I don't have much experience with xml files either.
If the file does partially work, look for more Asian symbols elsewhere and delete/ replace those too.
I don't believe all of your recent menu entries will carry over in the xml.
Will end up a very short menu.

If that doesn't work, I'm just going to screenshot my StartMenu settings in the program and duplicate them manually on the Gateway, as the 2 machines aren't networked yet.

Thanks for your time, and I love your balloons.

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2 desktops--Win 7 Ultimate/ 6 MB RAM/ Firefox, Thunderbird / Classic Shell 4.3.1

It's still telling me there's a wrong character in the xml. Fuggeddaboudit.

I did the StartMenu manually, and it looks good, so a copy that one will be the backup.

Thanks for your help.

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2 desktops--Win 7 Ultimate/ 6 MB RAM/ Firefox, Thunderbird / Classic Shell 4.3.1

Fuggeddaboudit,
but the little rat avatar is asking 'Can I have some more cheese please'.

Well, that's a bummer. So what I did now is try the newly changed settings on a Windows 7 system.

It works for me, but as I suspected, all your Windows shortcuts don't show up above the basic menu.
Make sure to exit CSM and open CSM settings shortcut to get CSM menu restarted.
I don't see any more Chinese/Asian symbols in file, but I do see again that strange set of numbers section further on down:

<SkinOptionsA>
<Line>E87963C2|80316ABF|</Line>
</SkinOptionsA>

I've seen stuff like that on another XML file from davestewart.
His XML file version was version"4.2.4" but still worked on CSM version 4.3.1
so I did not touch it in your file.

Well, I don't know what else I can do to help. Must be some kind of registry error on your computer?
Hope someone else comes forward with the same problem, and with their fix.

About Rats. When we installed a birdhouse on a tall metal pole this winter,
I found out rats can jump, climb, and even chirp like birds.
They are almost as acrobatic as those bugger squirrels.

The shortcuts above the basic menu are the ones I put there, not MS's list. I'm an iconoclast. They're the ones I would use most often while on the web.

Got it working fine now.

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2 desktops--Win 7 Ultimate/ 6 MB RAM/ Firefox, Thunderbird / Classic Shell 4.3.1