XP Home duplicating my files

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I had to wipe the drive and do a clean install with the XP Home disc. I'm
starting to put stuff back on. While looking for something, I discovered
that I have 2 files called "MY Documents" and they are exactly the same. Why
is it duplicating them? Which one should I delete? One is at the beginning
right after the desktop and one is down at the bottom under Linda (name of
computer.) I can see them when I use the browse feature in PSP. I never
had it before I had to wipe it.
 
Hi Linda,

That is a special folder, and you will see it repeated in several places -
none of which can or should be deleted. They are all mirrors of the true
folder located here:

C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents

You will find one for each user profile on the system. The mirrors appear
for whichever user is logged on.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
I noticed these some time ago and assumed that they were there for a good
reason - but why? Surely if the idea is to create a backup just in case a
file becomes corrupted, the mirror file will also be corrupted during the
"Save" procedure? Similarly, if a virus attacks a file, wouldn't it be able
to attack the mirror file too?

I do a backup regularly onto an external hard drive so feel as protected as
I can be so far as this is concerned.

What's the reason for these mirror files?
 
I had to wipe the drive and do a clean install with the XP Home disc. I'm
starting to put stuff back on. While looking for something, I discovered
that I have 2 files called "MY Documents" and they are exactly the same. Why
is it duplicating them? Which one should I delete? One is at the beginning
right after the desktop and one is down at the bottom under Linda (name of
computer.) I can see them when I use the browse feature in PSP. I never
had it before I had to wipe it.
Click to expand...

What you describe is normal. The one under your name in Documents and
Settings is the actual folder. The one under desktop is another route to
the same folder. It is known as a "namespace item." I refer to it as a
system shortcut (created by the operating system, not by the user).
 
I'm the only user on the computer. I'm going to have over 100 assorted files
with graphics in them to use for Paint Shop Pro. Isn't this going to eat up
my hard drive? Prior to crashing the computer, I had used up 40% of a 250
something hard drive. I never saw 2 copies of all these files. The computer
has my name and program is set for all users. Do I have to change it to my
name only? If I uninstall Paint Shop Pro again, should I install it to be
used by Linda only? I never had to do this before? Dell's support that is
helpful is non-existent. They said to turn off AV programs and all Microsoft
related programs and then computer would stop freezing. They said something
in background from Microsoft was causing freeze ups. After I couldn't find
half the files, I went back throught misconfig and restored them and found my
files. I hate to reinstall so much when I'm going to have to do something
drastic so everything isn't duplicated. Thanks
 
I'm the only user on the computer. I'm going to have over 100 assorted files
with graphics in them to use for Paint Shop Pro. Isn't this going to eat up
my hard drive? Prior to crashing the computer, I had used up 40% of a 250
something hard drive. I never saw 2 copies of all these files. The computer
has my name and program is set for all users. Do I have to change it to my
name only? If I uninstall Paint Shop Pro again, should I install it to be
used by Linda only? I never had to do this before? Dell's support that is
helpful is non-existent. They said to turn off AV programs and all Microsoft
related programs and then computer would stop freezing. They said something
in background from Microsoft was causing freeze ups. After I couldn't find
half the files, I went back throught misconfig and restored them and found my
files. I hate to reinstall so much when I'm going to have to do something
drastic so everything isn't duplicated. Thanks
Click to expand...

The files are not duplicated. They are in your My Documents folder. You
have multiple routes to those files, not multiple file sets.
 
Look at it this way: if I right click on a folder called "Documents" on
drive C and then paste a shortcut to C:\Documents on my desktop, I will see
exactly the same files whether I use the shortcut I created or navigate to
the folder using My Computer. I didn't create a new set of files, I just
created a shortcut to the folder containing those files. That's the same as
the My Documents folder on the desktop or the start menu.
 
Hi,

They aren't true mirrors. What you are seeing is multiple views of the same
thing. There is only one true folder (in the file path listed in my initial
response). The others are just shortcuts to that same folder. If you modify
a file in any of them, you will see it reflected in all of the views.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
Convenience mainly. This folder is designed to be easily accessible to the
user for storage of their files.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
Thank you Rick, but what's their purpose?
Click to expand...

By design, there is usually a minimum of 3 methods to perform any one task
in Windows (in this case, traversing to the My Documents folder for the
current user). The built in flexibility accommodates a variety of work
styles. A user may adopt one method or use whichever one is most convenient
at the moment.
 
Thank you Rick and Sharon.

Sharon F said:
By design, there is usually a minimum of 3 methods to perform any one task
in Windows (in this case, traversing to the My Documents folder for the
current user). The built in flexibility accommodates a variety of work
styles. A user may adopt one method or use whichever one is most
convenient
at the moment.
Click to expand...
 
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