I created a folder in the 'Open All Items' folder, at the same level as Programs, but it shows up under All Programs. I really want it to appear in the pinned area at the top of the start button menu. How can this be done?
Cannot Create or Pin a Folder to Start Menu – Troubleshooting Guide
start-menuwindows 7
Related Solutions
Stop Highlighting Newly Installed Programs
As with earlier versions of Windows, the Windows 7 Start Menu highlights the names of newly-installed software. This way it makes it easier to find these applications, assuming that if you install an application you plan on using it soon.
If you wish to disable this behavior, do the following:
Right-click an empty area of the taskbar and choose "Properties".
The "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties" multi-tabbed dialog box appears. Click the "Start Menu" tab.
Click the "Customize" button.
The "Customize Start Menu" dialog box appears. Scroll down and uncheck "Highlight newly installed programs".
Click "OK" on the dialog boxes to close them.
"Windows Installer dialog pops up and informs me that it is installing/configuring the product"
This is just the default behaviour of Windows Installer (Which is by default present in Windows & running in the background 'msiexec.exe'). Whenever it finds that the original files installed using it are modified, it starts up & re-installs the files. This is a useful feature present to reduce end users' intervention when something goes wrong with the installs.
The workaround is to press "cancel" whenever the installer starts up to repair the installation. Also in my case I just rename the products' installer present in (C:\Windows\Installer) so that the msiexec.exe will not modify the settings again (But its tedious & needs some manual searching for the installer).
So I suggest you go with Molly's suggestion or best leave the two out of place folders.
Best Answer
How to add "Pin to Start menu" option for folders in Windows 7, XP and Vista