Documents & Settings vs. Users folders

OS: Vista Business; upgraded from Win XP Pro SP3. Joined to a WinSer 2003
domain.

I just noticed that I have (near) identical files and folders in my
C:\Documents and Settings folder and the C:\Users folder. Is this because
it was an upgrade? Is there a way to eliminate one of them to free up some
HD space?

--
Mike Webb
Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust, Inc.
a conservation non-profit (501 (c)(3)) organization
Wood River, NE

In article <8B0B66B9-1E62-479D-BC74->,
says...
>
> OS: Vista Business; upgraded from Win XP Pro SP3. Joined to a WinSer 2003
> domain.
>
> I just noticed that I have (near) identical files and folders in my
> C:\Documents and Settings folder and the C:\Users folder. Is this because
> it was an upgrade? Is there a way to eliminate one of them to free up some
> HD space?

C:\Documents and Settings folder is probably just junction
or directory symlink to Users folder.( for compatibility reason ).
there is more such redirections in Vista.

Practically, they are just 2 pointers to the same folder.
Whatever you change in C:\Documents and Settings,
will be changed in C:\users and vice verse.

Similarly, vista uses also plenty of file hardlinks
( didferent pathnames to the same file )
E.g. Many files in system32 ( or syswow64 ) folder
are just hardlinks to huge winsxs folder.


--
Poutnik
The best depends on how the best is defined.

In article <MPG.25923601dad28cdd989895@127.0.0.1>,
says...
>

For more search for
Vista command mklink,
junctions,
hardlinks
symlinks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTFS_symbolic_link

--
Poutnik
The best depends on how the best is defined.

Thanks!

"Poutnik" <> wrote in message
news:MPG.259236ed4c769f16989896@127.0.0.1...
> In article <MPG.25923601dad28cdd989895@127.0.0.1>,
> says...
>>
>
> For more search for
> Vista command mklink,
> junctions,
> hardlinks
> symlinks
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTFS_symbolic_link
>
> --
> Poutnik
> The best depends on how the best is defined.