Program Files (x86) not showing up in start menu

Hey guys,

Recently, my (x86) program files have not shown up in my start menu. It is my understanding that the x86 files are the 64 bit files. Most of the games that I install end up defaulting to the x86 directory and when they finish installing they do not show up in my start menu. They don't even show up when I type their name in the search bar at the bottom of the start menu.

I can manually search them by going through my C: drive, but it becomes a pain to have to do this every time I try to run a program. I have tried showing hidden files and folders but it still does not work.

Any ideas?

thanks.

negative.

neither is the case afaik. I have owned a fresh copy of norton since day 1 and run daily scans (never found a threat). I also run noscripts, adblock plus etc. I really don't think it's malware.

I have not configured anything in the start menu other than messing with file showing settings (show/hide hidden folders).

I am not overly concerned, as i'm hoping my upgrade to windows 7 corrects the problem when I get my copy. I was checking if anyone else had this issue or knew of a possibly fix.

have same problem if you find the answer please let us know.... Microsoft is crazy!