Trying to focus in on what you did...
We are talking about the menu item "Microsoft Office" which then opens up options to click on "MS Word, MS Excel etc", right?
Do you know if you moved it or deleted it or something?
Basically anything showing up on the menu should be found in the following folder:
Code:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\
"C" and "All Users" would depend on your personal set up though.
If you look there and cannot find a folder called "Microsoft Office" then you can create one and create new shortcuts to the office programs in this folder. This way they will show up on the Start menu as normal.