Question : Windows 98 Shortcuts disappear after restart

I have a strange problem that has just started occuring on a Win98 machine.  Each time I create a shortcut on the desktop to a program or file, it disappears after reboot.  I have tried changing the registry setting NoSaveSettings to 0, per MS KB article 130234 but the shortcuts still are not saved.  I tried an experiment and copied a file to the desktop along with a shortcut and the file remained after the restart but the shortcut disappeared again.  I have searched in several places and can not find anything on this problem and would appreciate any help I can get.

Answer : Windows 98 Shortcuts disappear after restart

That sounds like the best suggestion to me too, but I would first use Windows Explorer and combine the desktop and Start Menu contents from all the separate profiles into the common "any user" ones ie. C:\Windows\Desktop and C:\Windows\Start Menu before deleting any passwords or user profiles.