Duplicate Documents Folder inside of Home Folder

[Guest]

I changed the location of the default Documents folder to a separate HDD. I
accepted the prompt about merging the two locations or whatnot; However, when
I open up my Home folder (C:\Users\Brian) there are two documents folders
displayed. The Shell folder (I believe) which points to the above path, and
the one that was apparently created when I changed the location to D:\ . Can
I hide, or get rid of the folder that is not being used? Will doing so like
recreate the disaster at Cherynobyl only in the Northeast US?

This really is nothing more than a nuisance as I can tell at a glance which
one is which, and the Documents folder in the favorites section points to the
correct location, but I guess it's more of an OCD type thing. In my mind
there should be only ONE Documents folder.

Thank You All So Much for your help...

 

[Keith Miller MVP]

If the properties dialog for the folder just has five tabs, its nothing
special & can be deleted.

However, be aware of the normally hidden junctions (i.e. My Documents).
These appear with the shortcut arrow icon overlay but are file system
junctions rather than .lnk files. These exist for compatibility with older
programs & MAY not be needed by the software you run, but it's a good idea
to keep them around. For example: on a fresh install of Vista, The
'C:\Users\Username' folder will contain both the 'Documents' folder & a
junction named 'My Documents' that points to the 'Documents' folder. If you
move the 'Documents' folder via the 'Location' tab in its Properties dialog,
the 'My Documents' link is now broken -- it points to a non-existent folder.
So, after moving the 'Documents' folder, you should open a Command prompt
window to your Username folder & execute the following commands: (assuming
that 'Documents' has been pointed at the folder 'D:\Docs')

rd "My Documents"
mklink /j "My Documents" "D:\Docs"
attrib +h +s "My Documents" /L

 

[Guest]

Keith,

Thank you so much for the reply, however when I open Windows Explorer and
navigate to C:\Users\%Username% I do not see a My Documents Folder. Now, that
may be because that while I have the option to show hidden files and folders
unchecked, I have the option to Hide Protected Operating System Files
checked. I don't really know. The location in that Documents folder still
points to C:\Users\%Username% and it only has 5 tabs so I'm not really sure
what's going on. As I mentioned earlier though, when I open up the link to my
Personal folder, either through Windows Explorer, on my Desktop, or in any
other folder there are two Documents folders. One points to D:\Documents
(that is the one I use) and the other one which I am believing is the
"original" one created from the clean install of Vista points to
C:\Users\Brian and has 5 Tabs whereas the Documents folder that points to my
D:\Documents has 6 Tabs.
--
UNTIL it blows up I think I can fix it. IF it blows up I didn''''''''t touch
it!

If the properties dialog for the folder just has five tabs, its nothing
special & can be deleted.

However, be aware of the normally hidden junctions (i.e. My Documents).
These appear with the shortcut arrow icon overlay but are file system
junctions rather than .lnk files. These exist for compatibility with older
programs & MAY not be needed by the software you run, but it's a good idea
to keep them around. For example: on a fresh install of Vista, The
'C:\Users\Username' folder will contain both the 'Documents' folder & a
junction named 'My Documents' that points to the 'Documents' folder. If you
move the 'Documents' folder via the 'Location' tab in its Properties dialog,
the 'My Documents' link is now broken -- it points to a non-existent folder.
So, after moving the 'Documents' folder, you should open a Command prompt
window to your Username folder & execute the following commands: (assuming
that 'Documents' has been pointed at the folder 'D:\Docs')

rd "My Documents"
mklink /j "My Documents" "D:\Docs"
attrib +h +s "My Documents" /L

 

[Keith Miller MVP]

Response Inline:

Keith,

Thank you so much for the reply, however when I open Windows Explorer and
navigate to C:\Users\%Username% I do not see a My Documents Folder. Now,
that
may be because that while I have the option to show hidden files and
folders
unchecked, I have the option to Hide Protected Operating System Files
checked. I don't really know.

That would be the reason -- the junction is flagged as both hidden and
system.

The location in that Documents folder still
points to C:\Users\%Username% and it only has 5 tabs so I'm not really
sure
what's going on.

There is a 'Location:' field on the general tab of all folders -- that
displays the path to the parent folder. Only the User Shell Folders have a
sixth TAB labeled 'Location.

As I mentioned earlier though, when I open up the link to my
Personal folder, either through Windows Explorer, on my Desktop, or in any
other folder there are two Documents folders. One points to D:\Documents
(that is the one I use) and the other one which I am believing is the
"original" one created from the clean install of Vista points to
C:\Users\Brian and has 5 Tabs whereas the Documents folder that points to
my
D:\Documents has 6 Tabs.

You can safely delete the one with 5 tabs.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

UNTIL it blows up I think I can fix it. IF it blows up I didn''''''''t
touch
it!

If the properties dialog for the folder just has five tabs, its nothing
special & can be deleted.

However, be aware of the normally hidden junctions (i.e. My Documents).
These appear with the shortcut arrow icon overlay but are file system
junctions rather than .lnk files. These exist for compatibility with
older
programs & MAY not be needed by the software you run, but it's a good
idea
to keep them around. For example: on a fresh install of Vista, The
'C:\Users\Username' folder will contain both the 'Documents' folder & a
junction named 'My Documents' that points to the 'Documents' folder. If
you
move the 'Documents' folder via the 'Location' tab in its Properties
dialog,
the 'My Documents' link is now broken -- it points to a non-existent
folder.
So, after moving the 'Documents' folder, you should open a Command prompt
window to your Username folder & execute the following commands:
(assuming
that 'Documents' has been pointed at the folder 'D:\Docs')

rd "My Documents"
mklink /j "My Documents" "D:\Docs"
attrib +h +s "My Documents" /L


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I changed the location of the default Documents folder to a separate
HDD. I
accepted the prompt about merging the two locations or whatnot;
However,
when
I open up my Home folder (C:\Users\Brian) there are two documents
folders
displayed. The Shell folder (I believe) which points to the above path,
and
the one that was apparently created when I changed the location to D:\
.
Can
I hide, or get rid of the folder that is not being used? Will doing so
like
recreate the disaster at Cherynobyl only in the Northeast US?

This really is nothing more than a nuisance as I can tell at a glance
which
one is which, and the Documents folder in the favorites section points
to
the
correct location, but I guess it's more of an OCD type thing. In my
mind
there should be only ONE Documents folder.

Thank You All So Much for your help...

 

[Guest]

Hi,

I have the exact same problem, but still can't solve it. I installed Vista
RC1 into C:\ partition, but I want to store my personal files on D:\
partition so when I reinstall Windows I wouldn't have to copy all of them.

So I created D:\Doubleface folder and all those Pictures, Music, ... folders
within. Then I changed the location of all those folders from
c:\Users\Doubleface\... to D:\Doubleface\... and merged them. At first,
everything looked allright except that the Doubleface icon on the desktop
still pinpointed to C:\Users\Doubleface.

Later, duplicate folders started popping up in C:\Users\Doubleface. What the
reason for that?! Should I just delete them and thats it or am I doing sth
wrong? because some of those folders delete, but contacts (with 5 tabs,
the fake one) won't delete. I also see .gtk-bookmarks and ntuser.dat files ,
which is very annoying..

so, is there some clean and easy solution to all this mess?

 

[Keith Miller MVP]

On a fresh install, the content of 'C:\Users\UserName' and
'Desktop\UserName' appear identical -- user shell folders and, if you're
showing hidden/system files, various NTUSER.DAT files & compatibility
junction points. However, if you opt to relocate some of the shell folders
via the 'Move' button on the 'Location' tab, and accept the option to move
all contents so that the original folder is deleted, you will notice that
the shell folders still appear under 'Desktop\UserName' but not
'C:\Users\UserName'.

The reason for this is that 'Desktop\UserName' is a namespace folder
designed to show the contents of 'C:\Users\UserName' AND the user shell
folders, regardless of their location.

The easiest way to avoid seeing NTUSER.DAT and other clutter is to not show
hidden/system files -- but you probably already knew that and, like me,
prefer seeing everything that's there. You can clean up the look of
'Desktop\UserName' so that it only shows shell folders and not the contents
of 'C:\Users\UserName' by doing the following:

Start Search -> regedit<Enter>

Navigate to:

"HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\UsersFiles\NameSpace\DelegateFolders"

Export this key so you have a way to undo this modification, then delete the
'DelegateFolders' key.

As for the duplicate Documents folder, in the Start Search box on the Start
menu, type:

shellersonal

click in the Breadcrumbs bar to see the actual path of the folder that Vista
thinks is your Documents folder. If it's your 'D:\Doubleface\Documents'
folder, great -- you should be able to delete C:\users\doubleface\Documents
without problem. If 'C:\...\Documents' opens, use the 'Move' button on the
'Location' tab to point it at 'D:\...\Documents', accept the option to move
all files as the will also delete the 'C:\...\Documents' folder.

I think the inability to delete the five tab Contacts folder is probalbly
just a permissions issue -- search Help & Support for 'take ownership'.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the reply, now everything is clear

On a fresh install, the content of 'C:\Users\UserName' and
'Desktop\UserName' appear identical -- user shell folders and, if you're
showing hidden/system files, various NTUSER.DAT files & compatibility
junction points. However, if you opt to relocate some of the shell folders
via the 'Move' button on the 'Location' tab, and accept the option to move
all contents so that the original folder is deleted, you will notice that
the shell folders still appear under 'Desktop\UserName' but not
'C:\Users\UserName'.

The reason for this is that 'Desktop\UserName' is a namespace folder
designed to show the contents of 'C:\Users\UserName' AND the user shell
folders, regardless of their location.

The easiest way to avoid seeing NTUSER.DAT and other clutter is to not show
hidden/system files -- but you probably already knew that and, like me,
prefer seeing everything that's there. You can clean up the look of
'Desktop\UserName' so that it only shows shell folders and not the contents
of 'C:\Users\UserName' by doing the following:

Start Search -> regedit<Enter>

Navigate to:

"HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\UsersFiles\NameSpace\DelegateFolders"

Export this key so you have a way to undo this modification, then delete the
'DelegateFolders' key.

As for the duplicate Documents folder, in the Start Search box on the Start
menu, type:

shellersonal

click in the Breadcrumbs bar to see the actual path of the folder that Vista
thinks is your Documents folder. If it's your 'D:\Doubleface\Documents'
folder, great -- you should be able to delete C:\users\doubleface\Documents
without problem. If 'C:\...\Documents' opens, use the 'Move' button on the
'Location' tab to point it at 'D:\...\Documents', accept the option to move
all files as the will also delete the 'C:\...\Documents' folder.

I think the inability to delete the five tab Contacts folder is probalbly
just a permissions issue -- search Help & Support for 'take ownership'.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Hi,

I have the exact same problem, but still can't solve it. I installed Vista
RC1 into C:\ partition, but I want to store my personal files on D:\
partition so when I reinstall Windows I wouldn't have to copy all of them.

So I created D:\Doubleface folder and all those Pictures, Music, ...
folders
within. Then I changed the location of all those folders from
c:\Users\Doubleface\... to D:\Doubleface\... and merged them. At first,
everything looked allright except that the Doubleface icon on the desktop
still pinpointed to C:\Users\Doubleface.

Later, duplicate folders started popping up in C:\Users\Doubleface. What
the
reason for that?! Should I just delete them and thats it or am I doing sth
wrong? because some of those folders delete, but contacts (with 5 tabs,
the fake one) won't delete. I also see .gtk-bookmarks and ntuser.dat files
,
which is very annoying..

so, is there some clean and easy solution to all this mess?