Windows says I already have a My Pictures folder, but I can't find it

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  1. Posts : 5
    win 10 home
       #1

    Windows says I already have a My Pictures folder, but I can't find it


    I tried to rename My Pics to My Pictures but windows says "This destination already contains a folder named 'My Pictures'." I can merge them but I want to see whats in 'My Pictures' first. Problem is I can't find it.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 5
    win 10 home
    Thread Starter
       #2

    I didn't see how to edit my question, so this is an edit. I found the "My Pictures" folder. It's actually a hidden shortcut. So the actual folder is out of sight. When I click on it I'm denied access. which lead me to look at my permissions. Who knew you'd need a PhD to figure out how to set permissions. Are there any tutorials explaining permissions and sharing? I don't know what a quick reply is so if I crash the server, I'm sorry.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 1,773
    Windows 10 Home
       #3

    There is no default 'My Pictures' folder like in prev Windows. Did you create one on your own ? What are the exact locations of 'My Pics' and 'My Pictures'; on the Desktop, in Documents or ??? (Hint, use Search to find). The folders under This PC are default folders and can be edited via this tutorial but I recommend you place all picture sub folders in 'Pictures', for easy finding -
    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/6...dows-10-a.html
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 3,257
    Windows 10 Pro
       #4

    "My Pictures" is a hidden link to the "Pictures" folder. It's there for compatibility with older programs that assumed the name of the folder.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 5
    win 10 home
    Thread Starter
       #5

    mrgeek said:
    There is no default 'My Pictures' folder like in prev Windows. Did you create one on your own ? What are the exact locations of 'My Pics' and 'My Pictures'; on the Desktop, in Documents or ??? (Hint, use Search to find). The folders under This PC are default folders and can be edited via this tutorial but I recommend you place all picture sub folders in 'Pictures', for easy finding -
    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/6...dows-10-a.html
    I created the folder in my documents. This PC > Documents The My Pics folder is in the same folder. All I see is a shortcut and that only after I showed hidden files. I think this has something to do with sharing and permissions. I can merge the my pics and my pictures folders but that makes me nervous. If I can look at whats in My Pictures I will be able to move or copy them and delete the folder and rename My Pics.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 12,799
    Windows 11 Pro
       #6

    Please try going to C:\users\yourusername\pictures. If you will right click on that folder > select properties > click on the location tab, it should tell you where your pictures are located. The pictures folder are where your pictures should be located and stored, not 'My Pictures.'

    Did you upgrade your system to Windows 10? If so, what OS were you using before?
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  7. Posts : 5
    win 10 home
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Mystere said:
    "My Pictures" is a hidden link to the "Pictures" folder. It's there for compatibility with older programs that assumed the name of the folder.
    It's hard to understand why MicroBlank saw the need to change Program Manager in Win 95/98 in the first. That had it right. My whole problem is I spend half my day trying to find things. XP is bad enough. They keep changing things that ain't broke and adding bloat to try and convince us that this isn't just new tar on an old road. Any way I just wanted to clean up the left side of Explore by getting rid of the redundant shortcuts and putting the names I'm familiar with back. Can I get rid of Quick access, a completely useless pile of unk. Well, maybe this is the question. Is it safe to merge the files My Pictures and My Pics. Windows said it will merge the files when I tried renaming My Pics.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 4,594
    Windows 10 Pro
       #8

    You don`t have to get rid of it, but you can keep things from piling up there. Just uncheck these.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Windows says I already have a My Pictures folder, but I can't find it-capture.jpg  
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 31,469
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #9

    ChangeOnWin10 said:
    I found the "My Pictures" folder. It's actually a hidden shortcut.
    @ChangeOnWin10, Not quite, it's actually a Junction point (along with the ones for 'My Music' and 'My Videos'). You can see that this is so from a command prompt.

    Windows says I already have a My Pictures folder, but I can't find it-my.png

    There are three types of file links supported in the NTFS file system: hard links, junctions, and symbolic links.
    ... a junction can link directories located on different local volumes on the same computer.
    https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...(v=vs.85).aspx

    Their purpose is to make the (renamed) Windows 10 folders (Pictures, Music and Videos) accessible to old software hard-coded to use the old Win7-style directory structure.

    File Explorer has no explicit functions to manage Junctions (or Hard Links) so it's not surprising you're having difficulties, though you can make your own Junctions or Hard Links from the command prompt.
    http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16226...dows-or-linux/

    ChangeOnWin10 said:
    I can merge them but I want to see whats in 'My Pictures' first.
    As you can see from the screenshot above, 'My Pictures' is just another name for the 'Pictures' folder, that's where you'd end up merging the contents of 'My Pics'.

    PS: You could just use a different but similar name, try an underscore in place of the space: My_Pictures
    Last edited by Bree; 29 Oct 2016 at 20:14.
      My Computers


  10. Posts : 4,594
    Windows 10 Pro
       #10

    You shouldn`t be renaming windows folders, but why didn`t you just create a new folder in the Pictures folder and put your pictures in that, why did you put in the Documents folder ?
      My Computers


 

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