Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos folders disappeared

I had changed the location of my user's folders from the default
(root/Users/'username')directory to some custom folders labeled 'My
Documents', 'My Pictures', etc. a la Wndows XP naming system. I did that
through the 'Location' tab in each folders properties. All worked fine.
However, at some point, every representation of the default folders
(dpecific icons, Start Menu appearance) became generic, and the default
folders acquired the prefix 'My...'.

So I decided to move the "My Music/Pictures/Videos" folders out of the "My
Documents" but under the same custom directory, as the default folders are
arranged under the user directory. I went to my user directory to rearrange
the locations for each of the default folders to the newly organized custom
folders, and I didn't find any of them. The default Documents, Music,
Pictures and Videos folders have disappeared...

The only place they are visible is through the Start Menu icons, but in
their properties, only the general tab remains, with no size or target for
those links. Double clicking on them does nothing. I rebooted and rebooted
in case they default folders come back, but to no avail.

So, this is all I'm asking: how can I bring back those four default folders?
(fully functional again, with their predesigned icons, attributes and the
location tab)

Please help, I'm at a loss here, guys!!!

Bill G. submitted this idea :
> I had changed the location of my user's folders from the default
> (root/Users/'username')directory to some custom folders labeled 'My
> Documents', 'My Pictures', etc. a la Wndows XP naming system. I did
> that through the 'Location' tab in each folders properties. All
> worked fine. However, at some point, every representation of the
> default folders (dpecific icons, Start Menu appearance) became
> generic, and the default folders acquired the prefix 'My...'.
>
> So I decided to move the "My Music/Pictures/Videos" folders out of
> the "My Documents" but under the same custom directory, as the
> default folders are arranged under the user directory. I went to my
> user directory to rearrange the locations for each of the default
> folders to the newly organized custom folders, and I didn't find any
> of them. The default Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos folders
> have disappeared...
>
> The only place they are visible is through the Start Menu icons, but
> in their properties, only the general tab remains, with no size or
> target for those links. Double clicking on them does nothing. I
> rebooted and rebooted in case they default folders come back, but to
> no avail.
>
> So, this is all I'm asking: how can I bring back those four default
> folders? (fully functional again, with their predesigned icons,
> attributes and the location tab)
>
> Please help, I'm at a loss here, guys!!!

System restore?

--
Mamamegs.

I reject your reality and substitute my own.
(Adam Savage)

Nederlandse nieuwsgroep voor Vista
alt.nl.os.windows.vista

Thank you, but, since the problem appeared, I have installed some programs
which will get lost after the restore. Besides, I've had a bad experience
from the System Restore functionality in XP, with duplicate files and other
problems. I don't know If things have changed in Vista, but if my folders'
problem is just a matter of resetting a registry key or something, I prefer
this approach.

<DIV>&quot;Mamamegs&quot; &lt;&gt; wrote in
message news: ...</DIV>> Bill G.
submitted this idea :
>> I had changed the location of my user's folders from the default
>> (root/Users/'username')directory to some custom folders labeled 'My
>> Documents', 'My Pictures', etc. a la Wndows XP naming system. I did that
>> through the 'Location' tab in each folders properties. All worked fine.
>> However, at some point, every representation of the default folders
>> (dpecific icons, Start Menu appearance) became generic, and the default
>> folders acquired the prefix 'My...'.
>>
>> So I decided to move the "My Music/Pictures/Videos" folders out of the
>> "My Documents" but under the same custom directory, as the default
>> folders are arranged under the user directory. I went to my user
>> directory to rearrange the locations for each of the default folders to
>> the newly organized custom folders, and I didn't find any of them. The
>> default Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos folders have disappeared...
>>
>> The only place they are visible is through the Start Menu icons, but in
>> their properties, only the general tab remains, with no size or target
>> for those links. Double clicking on them does nothing. I rebooted and
>> rebooted in case they default folders come back, but to no avail.
>>
>> So, this is all I'm asking: how can I bring back those four default
>> folders? (fully functional again, with their predesigned icons,
>> attributes and the location tab)
>>
>> Please help, I'm at a loss here, guys!!!
>
> System restore?
>
> --
> Mamamegs.
>
> I reject your reality and substitute my own.
> (Adam Savage)
>
> Nederlandse nieuwsgroep voor Vista
> alt.nl.os.windows.vista
>
>
>
>

Hi Bill,

For lack of a better idea, you might have to create a new (administrator)
user profile, in Control Panel under Add or Remove User Accounts. Just an
un-educated guess, but your naming and default location schemes might be
causing confusion in the registry, by interfering with Vista's hidden
junctions, which have the same names as the ones you are using. (In Windows
Explorer, these junctions are shown as hidden shortcuts, with File Folder
properties, used, in part, to redirect XP program installations that rely on
the old XP folder names and XP locations). At any rate, your desktop.ini
files have gone haywire. For now, I'd probably use Vista's default folders,
and create new folders within those, perhaps avoiding the "My..." default XP
folder names for your folder names. Move your files from the old account to
the new one using Windows Explorer, and then remove your old account using
Add or Remove User Accounts. This might be a pain, because you'll have to
redo all your preferences that are user specific.

I've pretty much resigned myself to using Vista's new personal Documents
scheme. After a few new build upgrades and re-installations, it's too much
work to make things too comfortable Ã* la previous previous Windows versions
when an OS is still in Beta. I'm getting used to the new names and locatons,
it just takes time to break old habits.

Just my two cents,
Dean

"Bill G." wrote:

> I had changed the location of my user's folders from the default
> (root/Users/'username')directory to some custom folders labeled 'My
> Documents', 'My Pictures', etc. a la Wndows XP naming system. I did that
> through the 'Location' tab in each folders properties. All worked fine.
> However, at some point, every representation of the default folders
> (dpecific icons, Start Menu appearance) became generic, and the default
> folders acquired the prefix 'My...'.
>
> So I decided to move the "My Music/Pictures/Videos" folders out of the "My
> Documents" but under the same custom directory, as the default folders are
> arranged under the user directory. I went to my user directory to rearrange
> the locations for each of the default folders to the newly organized custom
> folders, and I didn't find any of them. The default Documents, Music,
> Pictures and Videos folders have disappeared...
>
> The only place they are visible is through the Start Menu icons, but in
> their properties, only the general tab remains, with no size or target for
> those links. Double clicking on them does nothing. I rebooted and rebooted
> in case they default folders come back, but to no avail.
>
> So, this is all I'm asking: how can I bring back those four default folders?
> (fully functional again, with their predesigned icons, attributes and the
> location tab)
>
> Please help, I'm at a loss here, guys!!!
>

Thank you, Dean for the prompt answers. The thing you said about the
desktop.ini files got me thinking....so I created the missing folders under
my user's directory, and copied the desktop.ini files from the respective
user folders from the Guest user's directory. Still something was going
wrong with the Music and Videos folders, so something else got in the way
and it got resolved by another means...

In the meantime, I had been experiencing a similar problem with Windows XP,
which was expected, as XP doesn't recognize Pictures, Music and Videos
folders outside the Documents folder. A post in the respective forum and the
answer I got was the following: to modify by hand the following keys

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\Shell
Folders

and

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\User
Shell Folders

either by hand or through TweakUI. It solved the problem, and I thought,
since Vista is still XP in its roots, not having got rid of the Registry,
things might be similar. And they were. After modifying the registry in the
same way, so that Vista could follow my folder arrangement, everything
worked a treat with some desktop.ini following it.

That was all. I'm a happy newbie! Thanks Dean, especially for the
'desktop.ini' keyword!

<DIV>&quot;Dean-Dean&quot; &lt;&gt; wrote
in message news:FCE4FAE6-8EA0-4ED7-AF0B-...</DIV>>
Hi Bill,
>
> For lack of a better idea, you might have to create a new (administrator)
> user profile, in Control Panel under Add or Remove User Accounts. Just an
> un-educated guess, but your naming and default location schemes might be
> causing confusion in the registry, by interfering with Vista's hidden
> junctions, which have the same names as the ones you are using. (In
> Windows
> Explorer, these junctions are shown as hidden shortcuts, with File Folder
> properties, used, in part, to redirect XP program installations that rely
> on
> the old XP folder names and XP locations). At any rate, your desktop.ini
> files have gone haywire. For now, I'd probably use Vista's default
> folders,
> and create new folders within those, perhaps avoiding the "My..." default
> XP
> folder names for your folder names. Move your files from the old account
> to
> the new one using Windows Explorer, and then remove your old account using
> Add or Remove User Accounts. This might be a pain, because you'll have to
> redo all your preferences that are user specific.
>
> I've pretty much resigned myself to using Vista's new personal Documents
> scheme. After a few new build upgrades and re-installations, it's too
> much
> work to make things too comfortable Ã* la previous previous Windows
> versions
> when an OS is still in Beta. I'm getting used to the new names and
> locatons,
> it just takes time to break old habits.
>
> Just my two cents,
> Dean
>
> "Bill G." wrote:
>
>> I had changed the location of my user's folders from the default
>> (root/Users/'username')directory to some custom folders labeled 'My
>> Documents', 'My Pictures', etc. a la Wndows XP naming system. I did that
>> through the 'Location' tab in each folders properties. All worked fine.
>> However, at some point, every representation of the default folders
>> (dpecific icons, Start Menu appearance) became generic, and the default
>> folders acquired the prefix 'My...'.
>>
>> So I decided to move the "My Music/Pictures/Videos" folders out of the
>> "My
>> Documents" but under the same custom directory, as the default folders
>> are
>> arranged under the user directory. I went to my user directory to
>> rearrange
>> the locations for each of the default folders to the newly organized
>> custom
>> folders, and I didn't find any of them. The default Documents, Music,
>> Pictures and Videos folders have disappeared...
>>
>> The only place they are visible is through the Start Menu icons, but in
>> their properties, only the general tab remains, with no size or target
>> for
>> those links. Double clicking on them does nothing. I rebooted and
>> rebooted
>> in case they default folders come back, but to no avail.
>>
>> So, this is all I'm asking: how can I bring back those four default
>> folders?
>> (fully functional again, with their predesigned icons, attributes and the
>> location tab)
>>
>> Please help, I'm at a loss here, guys!!!
>>