Moved documents location. how do I restore it?


  1. Posts : 4
    Windows 10 Pro x64 1909
       #1

    Moved documents location. how do I restore it?


    I moved my documents location from C:/Users/aaron/Documents to D:. It's not really ideal as the whole drive is dedicated to documents now. I probably should have made the file structure inside the D drive first. How do I fix it? I can't create a new folder inside my user folder, it gets automatically deleted. If I try to move its location anywhere i get the message 'folder can't be moved here: failed to build the list of regular subdirectories under "D:\recovery". Access is denied'. This is an empty partition

    I'm running windows 10 pro 1909
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 16,713
    Windows 10 Home x64 Version 22H2 Build 19045.4170
       #2

    1 Create the folder you want. D:\Documents would seem suitable.
    2 Copy & paste the full path into anything, such as File explorer or an application's FileOpen dialog, to test it - you cannot afford to have any pisprints in this procedure.
    3 Run RegEdit [C:\Windows\regedit.exe].
    4 Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
    5 Find the 'Personal' entry and double-click on the icon on its left to open it up for editing.
    6 Paste in that folder path you had already tested, click on OK.
    7 Manually copy all your files and subfolders over into the desired folder.

    I can't create a new folder inside my user folder, it gets automatically deleted
    There should be nothing stopping you making your own folders within either C:\Users\%UserName% or D:\
    - If this is really what you mean then the problem will need separate investigation before you can successfully do the change I suggested above.
    - I would create a new user and start using that instead because it might be a lot quicker than fault-finding such an issue.

    Denis
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 4
    Windows 10 Pro x64 1909
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Hi Denis,
    I used the path D:\Documents and changed the registery value to that. It was previousally set as D:\. I didn't see anything happen. Is a restart required? Do i need to use the format '%USERPROFILE%\Documents' to restore the default?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 16,713
    Windows 10 Home x64 Version 22H2 Build 19045.4170
       #4

    I didn't see anything happen
    There is nothing to see. You have merely changed the property of a folder.

    If you want to see something as confirmation then go to D:\Documents, right-click on it, select Properties and you'll see that it has a Location tab - a marker for it being a user folder.

    Do i need to use the format '%USERPROFILE%\Documents'
    No. That is not what I think you are trying to achieve.
    - %UserProfile%\Documents means C:/Users/%Username%/Documents i.e. C:/Users/aaron/Documents
    - I thought you were trying to set D:\Documents, or similar, to be your user documents folder [as many of us do].

    Denis

    Denis
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 4
    Windows 10 Pro x64 1909
    Thread Starter
       #5

    I'd like to start from a clean slate as i think there's something funny going on. I logged out and in again, editing the personal value has fixed libraries documents to the original location. I have now also set {F42EE2D3-909F-4907-8871-4C22FC0BF756} registry value as %USERPROFILE%\Documents. That's set this pc documents to its original location.
    The only problem now is that when I manually navigate to C:\users\USERNAME, documents folder is hidden. Showing hidden folders does not reveal it. If it try to creat a new folder here called documents then it tells me that it already exists and asks if i want to merge it
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 2,112
    Windows 11 Pro (latest update ... forever anal)
       #6

    Restore Default Location of Personal Folders in Windows 10

    Scroll down a bit, there are some .bat files that restore the default loaction(s).

    BACKUP FIRST BEFORE TRYING ANYTHING
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 4
    Windows 10 Pro x64 1909
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Thanks Denis and idagt. I had to navigate to 'shell:UsersFilesFolder' in an explorer window, where documents were shown as a hidden folder rather than a completly invisiable folder. If that makes sense. I could then go to the folders properties and restore it as a previous version, which made it visiable again. Previousally unchecking hidden or restoring it as a previos version did nothing. I'm not sure why navigating to 'shell:UsersFilesFolder' first made a difference
      My Computer


 

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