Do you pin shortcuts to the Windows 8 explorer jump-list on the task bar?
Have the pinned links disappeared on a are-boot ever?
Apparently Windows Explorer (explorer.exe) is responsible for this crime.
Check out this nice article and for the batch script that can be run at boot time to prevent it from happening. It is for geeks, so beware:
Or you can also try this fix from Microsoft: Desktop shortcuts disappear in Windows 7, and wait until it happens again.
