Start Menu does not work

I can switch back to "classic" mode, but this does not quite help as
it just shows the deeper program menus (of WIndows 2000) and not the
dynamic menu list. In my "broken" Vista, I can still go to PROGRAMS
and launch them just fine, it is just that when they show up in the
dynamic menu off of Start, they do nothing.

And this is definately a Microsoft Office thing . . . the other apps
behave fine.

I have an unusual problem; I like to move all of the shortcuts in my start
menu to my user profile (Except for the Administrative tools and the Start-Up
Folder). I have moved all of the shortcuts from
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\ to C:\Users\<user
account>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\. Now, under the
Classic Start Menu, the shortcuts do not work; the Start Menu just goes away
and the program does not launch. If I switch to the "new" menu, they work
fine.

Any idea why this happens?