Quick Launch keeps disappearing -- no more

OK, you're already familiar with the registry hacks that had to do with spyware, and you've done your damndest to filter them out of Google because that wasn't your problem, was it.

It wasn't in my case, either. I'd log out of XP, then log back in and the space for the Quick Launch was there but the icons weren't. Turn off the QL toolbar and turn it back on, and there they were. Royal PITA to do every time you log in.

Chances are good if this is your problem, that you work in a networked situation where the sysadmins have put your Application Data folder on a network share that's mounted at startup. Trouble is, the moment at which Windows needs to retrieve that Quick Launch folder probably precedes the moment that Windows maps the share to a drive -- and the registry settings which tell Windows where to find the QL use (you guessed it) a drive address. This is the same reason that wallpapers I select from Firefox don't return on startup; the Quick Launch shortcuts folder and the FF wallpaper are both stored in subfolders of Application Data (which on non-networked computers is neatly tucked into your C:\Documents and Settings directory). In fact, Quick Launch is actually application data belonging to Internet Explorer.

Here's the solution. Usual disclaimer about editing registry and destroying your system here, the secretary will disavow all yada yada yada...

The first thing you need to know is the UNC path to your Application Data folder. In our case, my network share is 'yourshare' and the U: drive maps to
\\yourshare\yourdepartment\yourusername\

There are two registry keys which point to your application data's location; in my case their values used drive addresses instead of UNC addresses.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders\AppData
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders\AppData

Those keys' values default to U:\myusername\Application Data which is technically correct but undefined at the moment they're needed.

Change both of them to \\yourshare\yourdepartment\yourusername\Application Data and quit regedit. Log out and log back in and you should be fine and dandy.