Steve said:
Thanks for the reply. I just checked and you are right...something went
behind my back and reset my folder options in all my folders to hide
operating system files...I think it was the last windows update that did
it...is there any information on what else it did behind my back?
So, now let's talk about whether they are real folders or not. For example,
"Documents and Settings". If I left-click on it I get an "Access is denied"
popup. If I right-click I get a Properties multi-tabbed dialog window and
the first thing it says is Type: File Folder. If it is not a folder then why
does it say it is a folder, and why does it tell me access denied? If it is
a junction then it should take me where the new files are stored or provide
me with some information on exactly what it is that I clicked on instead of
telling me "Access is denied".
(snippage)
Information about junctions:
From MVP Jimmy Brush - Many folders used by earlier versions of Windows
have been moved to a new location or given a new name in Windows Vista.
However, the old folders can still be seen if you have enabled Show
Hidden Files. Notice they are displayed with a transparent icon and a
shortcut symbol.
Although these look like folders, they are actually what is known as a
junction. Junctions behave like shortcuts, but look just like regular
folders. Their purpose is to silently redirect programs that access them
to their Windows Vista equivalent.
Since junctions aren't really folders, it is not possible to access
them, and any attempt to do so will give you an "Access Denied" error.
Here is a list of all of the folders that have been moved in Windows
Vista, along with their new location:
Windows XP Location Windows Vista Location
\Documents and Settings \Users
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents \Users\$USER$\Documents
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents\My Music \Users\$USER$\Music
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents\My Pictures
\Users\$USER$\Pictures
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents\My Videos
\Users\$USER$\Videos
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Application Data
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Cookies
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\NetHood
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Network Shortcuts
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\PrintHood
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Printer Shortcuts
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Recent
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\SendTo
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Start Menu
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Templates
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Templates
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings\Application Data
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings\History
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\History
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files
\Documents and Settings\All Users \ProgramData
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data \ProgramData
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop \Users\Public\Desktop
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents \Users\Public\Documents
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Favorites \Users\Public\Favorites
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu
\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Templates
\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Templates
\Documents and Settings\Default User \Users\Default
From MVP Keith Miller - With Vista, you have a UserName folder as you
did on XP. It is now found under 'C:\Users' rather than 'C:\Documents
and Settings' (quite an improvement, I think). It has subfolders named
AppData (normally hidden), Contacts, Documents, Downloads, Favorites,
Links, Music, Pictures, Saved Games, Searches and Videos.
Open a command prompt & issue a plain 'dir' command. You will see the
folders I just mentioned. Now use the command 'dir /al'.
You will see a listing of a file-system level shortcuts known as a
Junctions. These are the icons with shortcut arrows that you are
seeing. Their names corespond to the the old XP user folder structure.
They "point' to the coresponding new user folder in Vista. They are
created so that software that was coded with the XP folder structure in
mind would be less likely to 'break'
HTH,
Malke
