How to Place a New Folder Under "My Computer" in the Hierarchy?

[A Baffled User]

I have customized my HP notebook (model ze4933us), running Windows XP SP2,
so that "My Documents" does not appear on the folder list in Windows
Explorer or My Computer. I am the only person who will ever use this
computer, so my one user-administrator account is all I need.

When I open Windows Explorer, my document folder, "Ethel's Documents,"
appears on the list under "My Computer" at the same level of the Windows
folder hierarchy as "Local Disk," the CD-RW drive, "Control Panel," "Shared
Documents," and "Ethel's Documents."

I now want to create another folder, "My Business," which should not,
logically, be placed under "Ethel's Documents," that would have a place at
the same level of the hierarchy as the folders or devices I've named above.
In other words, the list would look like this:

My Computer
Local Disk (C
Drive D (the CD-RW drive)
Control Panel
Shared Documents
My Business
Ethel's Documents

When I open "My Computer," I would like "My Business" to be listed there
along with "Shared Documents" and "Ethel's Documents."

How can I accomplish this?

Thanks for all suggestions!

Joan

 

[T. Waters]

No can do, I'm afraid.
You cannot modify the My Computer basic hierarchy, only work within it.
That's why you cannot create a new folder at the level of Local Disk.
Best to rename Ethel's Documents "Ethel," or the umbrella name of your
choice.
Under Ethel, you can have the folders Ethel's Documents and My Business.

 

[Baffled2]

I agree with T. Waters that you "Can't" but it has been done.
How?
I dion't have a clue.

Somehow I have a Robert's Doucments that is even called a Local Disk and is
a "Ghost" of C drive that appears at the Computer level.
It does not affect the system and shows same drive size and free space as
C: in Computer view.
However checking properties it carries 0 bytes as size.
Moving, copying, deleting files/ folders in and out of C drive or Robert's
Documents is mirrored in the other drive/folder.
I can not delete this folder.

I have done chkdsk /f /r.
Chkdsk report no errors or problems.
I have booted into safe mode to command prompt but
Robert's Documents does not appear at any level

It does not appear in the registry.

I am guessing it is something in the MFT (using NTFS) that is seen as real,
but in fact does not exist.

 

[A Baffled User]

It is a mystery to me why Microsoft would make its operating systems
progressively less logical and user friendly. Windows Me, for example, is
worse than Windows 98, and now Windows XP is less flexible (to say nothing
of less logical!) than Windows Me. I just don't get it.

Thanks for your reply nonetheless.

Joan

 

[A Baffled User]

Thanks for writing, T. Waters. You obviously know a lot more about what's
going on in your computer than I do. I just don't understand why Windows XP
is not more transparent.

I also have three "Administrator" accounts on my machine that I never
created, don't want there, and don't know where they came from. They're
called "Administrator," "Administrator HPLAPTOP," and Administrator
"HPLAPTOP.000." I hope they're having a nice time "administrating"!

Joan

 

[T. Waters]

You are so right. Windows is a big ball of very tangled worms!
And it only gets worse with each incarnation of Windows because no
systematic rethinking has or ever will take place. Individual elements of
Windows may undergo radical change, but what holds Windows together as a
whole is basically the software equivalent of duct tape. Add to that the
phenomenon of "Microsoft Think," and you realize you are up against a more
intransigent opponent than any government or religion. I shudder to imagine
Windows 2020.

 

[Keith Miller]

It's possible. Instructions here:

http://www.virtualplastic.net/html/ui_shell.html

Keith

 

[A Baffled User]

Dear Keith,

It'll take me some time to absorb and carefully follow the instructions that
your link directs me to. But I knew that if anyone could figure out how to
do what I want to do, it would be you. Many thanks!

Do you by any chance know why I now have three "administrators" listed under
Documents and Settings: "Administrator," "Administrator HPLAPTOP," and
"Administrator HPLAPTOP.000"? There's also a "Default User" thrown in there
for good measure. I'd like to give them the boot. Too many cooks . . .

Joan

It's possible. Instructions here:

http://www.virtualplastic.net/html/ui_shell.html

Keith

 

[Keith Miller]

Dear Keith,

It'll take me some time to absorb and carefully follow the instructions that
your link directs me to. But I knew that if anyone could figure out how to
do what I want to do, it would be you. Many thanks!

You're welcome, but I didn't figure out how to do it, I just pointed you in the right direction

Do you by any chance know why I now have three "administrators" listed under
Documents and Settings: "Administrator," "Administrator HPLAPTOP," and
"Administrator HPLAPTOP.000"? There's also a "Default User" thrown in there
for good measure. I'd like to give them the boot. Too many cooks . . .

You definitely need and should leave alone "Administrator" and "Default User". "Administrator HPLAPTOP" and "Administrator HPLAPTOP.000" I don't know about. Have you asked HP? Have you checked to see if they correspond to actual accounts? I definitely would not try deleting the folders until I had deleted the accounts.

Good Luck,
Keith

 

[A Baffled User]

Right (re my multiple "administrators"). I'll give HP a call.

Best,
Joan

Dear Keith,

It'll take me some time to absorb and carefully follow the instructions that
your link directs me to. But I knew that if anyone could figure out how to
do what I want to do, it would be you. Many thanks!

You're welcome, but I didn't figure out how to do it, I just pointed you in
the right direction

Do you by any chance know why I now have three "administrators" listed under
Documents and Settings: "Administrator," "Administrator HPLAPTOP," and
"Administrator HPLAPTOP.000"? There's also a "Default User" thrown in there
for good measure. I'd like to give them the boot. Too many cooks . . .

You definitely need and should leave alone "Administrator" and "Default
User". "Administrator HPLAPTOP" and "Administrator HPLAPTOP.000" I don't
know about. Have you asked HP? Have you checked to see if they correspond
to actual accounts? I definitely would not try deleting the folders until I
had deleted the accounts.

Good Luck,
Keith

 

[sf]

Why make a folder called "My Business"? Make a shortcut to C: and
create a file with the name of what you're doing - create subfolders
within it if you need them.

```````````````````````

 

[A Baffled User]

Could you explain this a little more? The reason I want to create a folder
called "My Business" at the same level of the Windows XP hierarchy as "My
Documents" is because my business folders are not a subcategory of "My
Documents." They are the records, correspondence, etc., of the institution
for which I work.

Joan

 

[WTC]

I have customized my HP notebook (model ze4933us), running Windows XP
SP2,
so that "My Documents" does not appear on the folder list in Windows
Explorer or My Computer. I am the only person who will ever use this
computer, so my one user-administrator account is all I need.

When I open Windows Explorer, my document folder, "Ethel's Documents,"
appears on the list under "My Computer" at the same level of the
Windows
folder hierarchy as "Local Disk," the CD-RW drive, "Control Panel,"
"Shared
Documents," and "Ethel's Documents."

I now want to create another folder, "My Business," which should not,
logically, be placed under "Ethel's Documents," that would have a
place at
the same level of the hierarchy as the folders or devices I've named
above.
In other words, the list would look like this:

My Computer
Local Disk (C
Drive D (the CD-RW drive)
Control Panel
Shared Documents
My Business
Ethel's Documents

When I open "My Computer," I would like "My Business" to be listed
there
along with "Shared Documents" and "Ethel's Documents."

How can I accomplish this?

Thanks for all suggestions!

I have created Folders in the My computer under the "Other" categories.
And it is quite simple, but you must edit the registry. Let me know and
I will walk it through to you.

 

[Treeman]

Am I missing something? Can't Ethel just get rid of the My Computer
view by switching to Classic mode? Give Windows Explorer shortcut's in
"Target," the attribute of; %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n,/e,C:\
It looks just like the old Win98 Explorer view without the dorky "My
Computer"
mess.
Treeman

 

[A Baffled User]

Dear Treeman,

That's exactly what I would like--the old Win98 Explorer view. And "dorky"
is indeed the word for this new My Computer setup.

Could you tell me where "Target" is?

Thanks!

Joan (a.k.a. Ethel)

Am I missing something? Can't Ethel just get rid of the My Computer
view by switching to Classic mode? Give Windows Explorer shortcut's in
"Target," the attribute of; %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n,/e,C:\
It looks just like the old Win98 Explorer view without the dorky "My
Computer"
mess.
Treeman

 

[A Baffled User]

Dear William,

Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to this newsgroup. I ran into a
very strange new problem the other day trying to install my HP PSC 950
all-in-one machine, and I'm still struggling with the chain of technical
events that that failed installation unleashed.

Because of that ongoing mess, I may not be able to get back to the hierarchy
question today. But I will get back to it eventually. Keith Miller has
directed me to the following Web page for instructions on creating a "shell"
folder: http://www.virtualplastic.net/html/ui_shell.html. They're a bit
complicated, so I haven't tackled them yet.

It sounds like Treeman, below, has a relatively simple way to make the
Windows Explorer list look like the one in Windows 98. Maybe my best bet
would be to wait and hear back from him before I ask you to take the time to
send me your step-by-step instructions. In any case, many thanks for
writing, and I'll be back with a report on my progress.

Best,
Joan (a.k.a. Ethel)

 

[A Baffled User]

Dear William,

I have, amazingly, managed to solve the installation problem I was grappling
with earlier today. I have also tried to follow the instructions at the
link,
http://www.virtualplastic.net/html/ui_shell.html, about creating shell
folders. Those instructions are simply too complicated for me. I don't mind
editing the registry--I've done it at least once before--but I need very
specific and very clear instructions. I would be most grateful if you could
let me know what you did.

All best,
Joan

 

[WTC]

Dear William,

I have, amazingly, managed to solve the installation problem I was
grappling with earlier today. I have also tried to follow the
instructions at the link,
http://www.virtualplastic.net/html/ui_shell.html, about creating shell
folders. Those instructions are simply too complicated for me. I don't
mind editing the registry--I've done it at least once before--but I
need very specific and very clear instructions. I would be most
grateful if you could let me know what you did.

Hi,

I will give you step by step instructions, in how to created the "My
Business" folder located in My computer.

1. Create a Restore Point called "My Business Folder" with the quotes.
So if something goes wrong you can restore the registry.

2. Open the Registry Editor, to this go Start>Run and type "regedit"
without the quotes.

3. Navigate to the following key:
HKCR\CLSID

4. Right-click CLSID and select New>Key. Call this key
"{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}" without the quotes.

5. Highlight the key {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}. In the
right-hand pane double-click (default) and enter "My Business" without
the quotes.

6. Highlight the key {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}. In the
right-hand pane, right-click and select New>String Value. Rename this to
"InfoTip" without the quotes. Double-click InfoTip and enter the
description of the "My Business" Folder.

7. Highlight the key {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}. Right-click
{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1} and select New>Key. Call this key
"DefaultIcon" without the quotes.

8. Close the registry editor.

9. Open the command prompt by Start>Run and type "cmd" with out the
quotes.

10. Type "REG ADD
HKCR\CLSID\{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}\DefaultIcon /ve /t
REG_EXPAND_SZ /d shell32.dll,4" without the quotes.

11. Open the Registry editor and navigate back to
HKCR\CLSID\{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}.

12. Highlight the key {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}.
Right-click {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1} and select New>Key.
Call this key "InProcServer32" without the quotes.

13. Highlight the key InProcServer32. In the right-hand pane,
right-click and select New>String Value. Rename this to "ThreadingModel"
without the quotes. Double-click ThreadingModel and enter "Apartment"
without the quotes.

14. Close the registry editor.

15. Open the command prompt by Start>Run and type "cmd" with out the
quotes.

16. Type "REG ADD
HKCR\CLSID\{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}\InProcServer32 /ve /t
REG_EXPAND_SZ /d SHDocVw.dll" without the quotes.

17. Open the Registry editor and navigate back to
HKCR\CLSID\{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}.

18. Highlight the key {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}.
Right-click {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1} and select New>Key.
Call this key "Instance" without the quotes.

19. Highlight the key Instance. In the right-hand pane, right-click and
select New>String Value. Rename this to "CLSID" without the quotes.
Double-click CLSID and enter "{0AfACED1-E828-11D1-9187-B532F1E9575D}"
without the quotes.

20. Highlight the key Instance. Right-click Instance and select New>Key.
Call this key "InitPropertyBag" without the quotes.

21. Highlight the key InitPropertyBag. In the right-hand pane,
right-click and select New>DWORD Value. Rename this to "Attributes"
without the quotes. Double-click Attributes and select Hexadecimal then
enter "15" without the quotes.

22. Highlight the key InitPropertyBag. In the right-hand pane,
right-click and select New>Expandable String Value. Rename this to
"Target" without the quotes. Double-click Target and enter the location
of the MY Business folder (example, c:\my business).

23. Highlight the key {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}.
Right-click {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1} and select New>Key.
Call this key "ShellFolder" without the quotes.

24. Highlight the key ShellFolder. In the right-hand pane, right-click
and select New>DWORD Value. Rename this to "Attributes" without the
quotes. Double-click Attributes and select Hexadecimal then enter
"f8000110" without the quotes.

25. Highlight the key ShellFolder. In the right-hand pane, right-click
and select New>String Value. Rename this to "WantsFORPARSING" without
the quotes. Double-click WantsFORPARSING and do not enter anything, it
should be blank.

26. Navigate to this key if you want the My Business Folder only shown
in your user account:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace

or Navigate to the key if you want the My Business Folder shown in all
user accounts.
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace

27. Highlight the key NameSpace. Right-click NameSpace and select
New>Key. Call this key "{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}" without
the quotes.

28. If you want the My Business Folder shown on the Desktop, Navigate to
this key if you want the My Business Folder only shown in your user
account.
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

or Navigate to the key if you want the My Business Folder shown in all
user accounts.
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

29. Highlight the key NameSpace. Right-click NameSpace and select
New>Key. Call this key "{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}" without
the quotes.

Good Luck

 

[WTC]

Hi,

I will give you step by step instructions, in how to created the "My
Business" folder located in My computer.

1. Create a Restore Point called "My Business Folder" with the quotes.
So if something goes wrong you can restore the registry.

2. Open the Registry Editor, to this go Start>Run and type "regedit"
without the quotes.

3. Navigate to the following key:
HKCR\CLSID

4. Right-click CLSID and select New>Key. Call this key
"{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}" without the quotes.

5. Highlight the key {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}. In the
right-hand pane double-click (default) and enter "My Business" without
the quotes.

6. Highlight the key {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}. In the
right-hand pane, right-click and select New>String Value. Rename this
to "InfoTip" without the quotes. Double-click InfoTip and enter the
description of the "My Business" Folder.

7. Highlight the key {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}.
Right-click {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1} and select New>Key.
Call this key "DefaultIcon" without the quotes.

8. Close the registry editor.

9. Open the command prompt by Start>Run and type "cmd" with out the
quotes.

10. Type "REG ADD
HKCR\CLSID\{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}\DefaultIcon /ve /t
REG_EXPAND_SZ /d shell32.dll,4" without the quotes.

11. Open the Registry editor and navigate back to
HKCR\CLSID\{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}.

12. Highlight the key {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}.
Right-click {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1} and select New>Key.
Call this key "InProcServer32" without the quotes.

13. Highlight the key InProcServer32. In the right-hand pane,
right-click and select New>String Value. Rename this to
"ThreadingModel" without the quotes. Double-click ThreadingModel and
enter "Apartment" without the quotes.

14. Close the registry editor.

15. Open the command prompt by Start>Run and type "cmd" with out the
quotes.

16. Type "REG ADD
HKCR\CLSID\{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}\InProcServer32 /ve
/t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d SHDocVw.dll" without the quotes.

17. Open the Registry editor and navigate back to
HKCR\CLSID\{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}.

18. Highlight the key {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}.
Right-click {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1} and select New>Key.
Call this key "Instance" without the quotes.

19. Highlight the key Instance. In the right-hand pane, right-click
and select New>String Value. Rename this to "CLSID" without the
quotes. Double-click CLSID and enter
"{0AfACED1-E828-11D1-9187-B532F1E9575D}" without the quotes.

20. Highlight the key Instance. Right-click Instance and select
New>Key. Call this key "InitPropertyBag" without the quotes.

21. Highlight the key InitPropertyBag. In the right-hand pane,
right-click and select New>DWORD Value. Rename this to "Attributes"
without the quotes. Double-click Attributes and select Hexadecimal
then enter "15" without the quotes.

22. Highlight the key InitPropertyBag. In the right-hand pane,
right-click and select New>Expandable String Value. Rename this to
"Target" without the quotes. Double-click Target and enter the
location of the MY Business folder (example, c:\my business).

23. Highlight the key {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}.
Right-click {55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1} and select New>Key.
Call this key "ShellFolder" without the quotes.

24. Highlight the key ShellFolder. In the right-hand pane, right-click
and select New>DWORD Value. Rename this to "Attributes" without the
quotes. Double-click Attributes and select Hexadecimal then enter
"f8000110" without the quotes.

25. Highlight the key ShellFolder. In the right-hand pane, right-click
and select New>String Value. Rename this to "WantsFORPARSING" without
the quotes. Double-click WantsFORPARSING and do not enter anything, it
should be blank.

26. Navigate to this key if you want the My Business Folder only shown
in your user account:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace

or Navigate to the key if you want the My Business Folder shown in all
user accounts.
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace

27. Highlight the key NameSpace. Right-click NameSpace and select
New>Key. Call this key "{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}"
without the quotes.

28. If you want the My Business Folder shown on the Desktop, Navigate
to this key if you want the My Business Folder only shown in your user
account.
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

or Navigate to the key if you want the My Business Folder shown in all
user accounts.
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

29. Highlight the key NameSpace. Right-click NameSpace and select
New>Key. Call this key "{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}"
without the quotes.

Good Luck

Once you decide on this:

"26. Navigate to this key if you want the My Business Folder only shown
in your user account:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace

or Navigate to the key if you want the My Business Folder shown in all
user accounts.
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace

27. Highlight the key NameSpace. Right-click NameSpace and select
New>Key. Call this key "{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}" without
the quotes."

Open the command prompt by Start>Run and type "cmd' without the quotes,
then type

REG DELETE
"HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}"
/va

or
REG DELETE
"HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}"
/va

Once you decide on this:

"28. If you want the My Business Folder shown on the Desktop, Navigate
to this key if you want the My Business Folder only shown in your user
account.
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

or Navigate to the key if you want the My Business Folder shown in all
user accounts.
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

29. Highlight the key NameSpace. Right-click NameSpace and select
New>Key. Call this key "{55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}" without
the quotes."

Open the command prompt by Start>Run and type "cmd' without the quotes,
then type

REG DELETE
"HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}"
/va

or
REG DELETE
"HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\55028DEA-EA62-4c5f-A1F3-9D123DFAEDA1}"
/va

 

[A Baffled User]

Dear William,

It is incredibly nice of you to take the time to spell out these
instructions in such detail. I will print them out and follow every step
VERY CAREFULLY.

Many, many thanks. I'll report back tomorrow on my progress.

All best,
Joan