Problem 'not accessible - Access is denied'

[gecko]

A security question.

I have a new VISTA ULTIMATE installation, with very little on it as
yet. I am the single user 'GECKO'. I have installed the software for
my HP AIO, and it wants to store its scanned images in c:\documents
and settings under GECKO, which is okay. I believe the images
actually are in folder c:\documents and settings\GECKO\My Scans.
However, I can't get a look at them in Windows Explorer because I get
an error when I click on c:\documents and settings 'not accessible -
Access is denied.

Since I am the only user, and the security properties all seem to
allow me free access to that folder, why is this happening? And, more
important - how can I fix things?

Thanks

-GECKO

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

"C:\Documents and Settings" is a junction point in Vista, there is nothing
actually in it. It exists for compatibility with hard-coded software that
expects that directory structure to be there. It redirects to C:\Users.

You should be able to locate your images under C:\Users\GECKO\My Scans.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[gecko]

Hi,

"C:\Documents and Settings" is a junction point in Vista, there is nothing
actually in it. It exists for compatibility with hard-coded software that
expects that directory structure to be there. It redirects to C:\Users.

You should be able to locate your images under C:\Users\GECKO\My Scans.

Hmmm

I have C:\Users\GECKO\Documents\My Scans, under which the images
exist. I guess things are okay.
Strangely, I also have C:\Users\GECKO\My Documents, which gives me the
same problem.
Why do I have both 'Documents' and 'My Documents'?
Thanks
-GECKO

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

"My Documents", as well as any of the "My..." folders are junction points as
well. Each points to the corresponding folder under the user's profile.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[gecko]

Hi,

"My Documents", as well as any of the "My..." folders are junction points as
well. Each points to the corresponding folder under the user's profile.

Out of curiosity, do you know why are there two 'documents' folders
(or junction points as you state)? Sure confused me.

Thanks for help

-GECKO

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

Actually, the explanation is simple, it's a matter of compatibility for
older software. Prior to Vista, Windows used the "My <folder>" convention
for each user's personal folders. When software writers developed their
programs, they often included these folders as a data store point. These
bits were "hard-coded", meaning that rather than using a variable for
certain path statements, they used the actual physical path to the folder,
ie:

C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents

With Vista a change was made based on tons of feedback about getting rid of
the "My" moniker. Problem is, doing so would make all that hard-coded
software fall over since that file path would no longer exist. Despite what
people think, Microsoft spends a lot of time trying to make a new operating
system compatible with older software. The solution was to include these
junction points in the user profile to redirect any of these hard-coded
requests to the new location, ie:

C:\Users\username\Documents

The software doesn't know the difference, and the user would not normally
see them unless they enable the option to see hidden and system folders. The
same applies to "C:\Documents and Settings" as it is nothing more than a
redirect to the "C:\Users" folder. If Microsoft had not done this, no
software hard-coded with those paths would have been able to work in Vista.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[gecko]

Hi,

Actually, the explanation is simple, it's a matter of compatibility for
older software. Prior to Vista, Windows used the "My <folder>" convention
for each user's personal folders. When software writers developed their
programs, they often included these folders as a data store point. These
bits were "hard-coded", meaning that rather than using a variable for
certain path statements, they used the actual physical path to the folder,
ie:

C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents

With Vista a change was made based on tons of feedback about getting rid of
the "My" moniker. Problem is, doing so would make all that hard-coded
software fall over since that file path would no longer exist. Despite what
people think, Microsoft spends a lot of time trying to make a new operating
system compatible with older software. The solution was to include these
junction points in the user profile to redirect any of these hard-coded
requests to the new location, ie:

C:\Users\username\Documents

The software doesn't know the difference, and the user would not normally
see them unless they enable the option to see hidden and system folders. The
same applies to "C:\Documents and Settings" as it is nothing more than a
redirect to the "C:\Users" folder. If Microsoft had not done this, no
software hard-coded with those paths would have been able to work in Vista.

Thanks

Actually I did wonder about the 'Users' folder also. Your explanation
makes sense. Yes, I had enabled the option to see hidden and system
folders. I always did. I don't see that MS needed to drop the 'My'
however. To wit - c:\Users\username\my documents instead. This is
just a nit on my part I guess.

-GECKO