Desktop label keep changing to Downloads

Eagle51 · 31 Aug 2018

You are right! So far I counted 4 assignments of Downloads, but I didn't touch them yet. Please see the attached images of the two regedit trees.

in the User Shell Folder ... your 1st screen shot
Right Click on the following keys > modify and change the Downloads to Desktop
{754AC886-DF64-4CBA-86B5-F7FBF4FBCEF5} : %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
Desktop : %USERPROFILE%\Desktop

in the Shell Folders ... your 2nd screen shot
Right Click on the following key > modify and change the Downloads to Desktop
Desktop : c:\users\ ineuw\Desktop

Don't remember if you need to Reboot PC or just close/open File Explorer, but it's a good idea to Reboot PC and hopefully you'll have your Desktop and Downloads folders back.

The Pool Man · 01 Sep 2018

I had this issue months ago. Searched the internet high and low. There's no real answer but a system reinstall.

I switched from decades of macOS to Windows. Windows has taught me you better make sure everything you need is backed up. Because then it's not as hard to 'deal' with baloney like this.

(Not that macOS didn't have these moments too, but something as simple as this problem never surfaced in macOS. It's an embarrassment that a simple fix isn't known by now.)

ineuw · 23 Sep 2018

The solution was quite simple. Noticed that I was missing the "Downloads" folder, so I created one. Then checked the Properties\Location tab of the Desktop folder, which was also Downloads. Corrected it to C:\Users\username\Desktop and everything is functioning properly.

dalchina · 24 Sep 2018

Glad you fixed it. The 'location' tab offers users a way to create quite unfortunate situations.

ineuw · 24 Sep 2018

As they say "I was my own worst enemy". At the beginning, I couldn't cope with the intrusive profusion of the Library folders popping into the Windows Explorer as if they know better what I want and where I want to keep it. Like all constant users, I have my own scheme, meaning that I never store data on the C:\ drive, and I always save the downloads on the desktop so I deleted the "My . . ." folders. But it seems that they are considered to be some kind of "system" folders and this caused the mess. But now everything is fine.