How do I add / edit a specific site to / in "your most popular sites"?

Have you tried clearing the browsing history?

Internet Options> General > Browsing History> Delete.

Make sure you remove the check mark in Preserve Favorites website data and make sure that History and Temporary Internet Files are checked.

Ultimately what I need to know, is if there is a way to edit the list of sites directly; as I have several entries that need to be adjusted / added.

I haven't come across a way to directly populate the site list. You can add rows so more sites are displayed but my guess is that you cannot edit it.

A workaround would be to design a specific site with all the pages you want there and display that when you open a new tab.

russ_emi--
"Ultimately what I need to know, is if there is a way to edit the list of sites directly; "
You can delete sites by clicking the down arrow (next to the right hand Control key) until the one you want to delete (like the google.com URL with search terms) is highlighted and then click Delete.
As far as adding items to the list, do you perhaps have Autocomplete turned off?  (IE Tools|Internet Options|Content Tab|AutoComplete section|Settings )
Of course you have to type enough into the Address bar for Autocomplete to know what URL you want to access.

If I misunderstand what you mean by "most popular sites" please elaborate.

jcimarron - "most popular sites" is what comes up when you open a new tab inside IE9.
I don't think it has anything to do with auto-complete (which is enabled, BTW).
Does anyone know where the URL's are stored, or where the NewTabPage is stored?
I looked in the registry, it points to a nonexistent folder/file under Users/Links.
Is it that its hidden somehow?

russ_emi--Thanks for the clarification.
Here are ways to manipulate the sites shown in "Your most popular sites".

http://www.worldstart.com/add-sites-to-ie9-popular-web-sites/

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/29364/change-or-remove-the-new-tab-page-in-ie-9/

Thank you, but neither of those answered my question.
I need to know how to add to or edit a specific site to the new tab page.
1. http://www.worldstart.com/add-sites-to-ie9-popular-web-sites/
showed how to add rows to increase the number of sites to select from.
2. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/29364/change-or-remove-the-new-tab-page-in-ie-9/
showed how to remove the page; hide or show selections on the page.
Neither of these will allow me add a new single site to the page; or better still how to adjust the existing URL the each box displays for that specific selection.
Does anyone know where the information for the tab page is kept.
I think that would be a great help.
Someone from MS must know, is it classified information?

russ_emi--"Your most popular sites" shows the sites you have visited most frequently--the most frequently first.  The more sites you show, the more likely one that you want will be shown.  I do not know if you can manually add a site since it will not have precedence over more visited sites.  
You could, of course, move a site up in precedence by deleting the sites ahead of it in the "Your most popular sites" window.

And you can play around with the Registry location mentioned here

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/forum/ie9-windows_7/internet-explorer-9-your-most-popular-sites-i/4e84fec5-1536-4970-8c65-3b0272449a94

Thank you for your ideas, but the link:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/forum/ie9-windows_7/internet-explorer-9-your-most-popular-sites-i/4e84fec5-1536-4970-8c65-3b0272449a94
talked about how you can undelete a site accidentially removed, showing several ways to do this.
That's not what my problem is. I have several sites that I go to very often. They are listed in the most popular sites, but with added terms (like google with search terms automatically included). I have tried to go to plain www.google.com several dozen times, but the site will not appear while the other reference to google is still active.
I guess I can delete ALL sites and start over, but I thought there might be a simple way to add / edit a single entry.
Since on one knows the answer, suppose I should close this and use my own delete all and start over method.

russ_emi---
"I guess I can delete ALL sites and start over, but I thought there might be a simple way to add / edit a single entry. "

After reading your last post, I wonder if you read the paragraph on how "Your most popular sites" works in my post http:#a37738912 .  The more sites you show, the more likely the one you want will be shown.   And sites are displayed in the order visited, so you cannot just add a site at the top.
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"but the site will not appear while the other reference to google is still active."

So delete that reference to Google?  You click the X in the upper right corner.
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Forget the link I mentioned in my post above.  I offered it only to lead you to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\TabbedBrowsing\NewTabPage\Exclude

I still think your best option is to create a home page, customize it as you see fit and let that one be the one the new tab opens, as mentioned in my second comment.

Yes, I do agree. Appreciate your & jcimarron's comments / advice. Just wish there was an easier work around for working with the sites, as they are. Someone somewhere knows where the links are stored. Oh well, the programmer inside me wanted an elegant solution.
jc - its not that I didn't read your post, just I wanted to find a way to edit the links, because I have several similar to google - where the home page is desired, but what is saved is with search terms or netflix/specific_movie.
Yes, I did delete the specific sites, waiting to see plain google.com; netflix.com; etc.

russ_emi--
Huh?  What does Home Page have to do with your original question?
And, concerning editing I told you how to delete sites and told you you cannot manually add a new site.

Actually, I was thinking that I was wrong in my awarding points; I would have liked to share them equally between you two.  I will ask for an adjustment.
FYI, days later, after deleting all references to google.com (w/search options included) I still can't get plain www.google.com to come up on the list - despite going there over a dozen times.
I understood how to delete a site prior to posting the question, it has always been about manually adding or editing an existing one. I do believe those are not viable options, so I must look else where for a solution.
The idea behind the home page is that I can design a replacement new tab page & have exactly what sites I want on it.
That's why it seems the best final solution.

Thanks for the post. Thought I was the only 1 that saw the design flaws, can't edit & can't manually add a link.
Russ