I have Photoshop Essentials. While running XP Pro with SP3, I had the 3D menu and was able to use it prior to the latest update of Adobe eLearning Suite, which included and update for Photoshop CS6 Essentials.
After the update, the 3D menu was no longer there. While your suggestion is in fact simple, I do not feel it's complete and therefore not accurate. I found one possible solution from the staff at Adobe, which provides an option to try. In my case, my system did not receive the proper signal after updating and my license needed to be reactivated. For some reason, it only provided a Standard view, although I do in fact have essentials.