Move Location of Desktop Folder in Windows 10  

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  1. Posts : 4
    Windows 10
       #10

    essenbe said:
    Have you tried to use the exact location? If you have moved them, I would think it needs the exact location.
    Yes the files were moved...per the instructions in this thread, using the properties/location tab for each directory. All these directories were in "C:\users\<name>", so per the properties/locations tab of those, I moved them to "F:\users\<name>". I guess I assumed that since it was moved through the "proper" method, these shortcuts would also be appropriately relinked.

    Before I made the moves, the system "knew" if I typed "desktop" in the run dialog, it would open "C:\users\<name>\desktop" in file explorer. I'm trying to figure out how to retain the behavior so it now properly opens "F:\users\<name>\desktop." It seems that moving them in this method doesn't do anything to fix those links.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 68,669
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #11

    Hello ftlg12, and welcome to Ten Forums.

    I'm afraid those won't work anymore after moving the folders.

    If you like, you could still use the Shell commands for them instead though.

    Shell Commands List for Windows 10 | Windows 10 Tutorials

    • shell:desktop
    • shell:personal
    • shell:downloads
    • shell:My Music
    • shell:My Pictures
    • shell:My Video
    • etc...
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 4
    Windows 10
       #12

    Brink said:
    Hello ftlg12, and welcome to Ten Forums.

    I'm afraid those won't work anymore after moving the folders.

    If you like, you could still use the Shell commands for them instead though.

    Shell Commands List for Windows 10 | Windows 10 Tutorials

    • shell:desktop
    • shell:personal
    • shell:downloads
    • shell:My Music
    • shell:My Pictures
    • shell:My Video
    • etc...
    Thanks. It's unfortunate that Windows doesn't really properly retain the same functionality after moving them through their approved method.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 40
    Windows 10 Home
       #13

    is it possible to move all the username folder (not the users folder) at once? theres no location tab when I right click on my username folder
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  5. Posts : 68,669
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #14

    qwertymikey said:
    is it possible to move all the username folder (not the users folder) at once? theres no location tab when I right click on my username folder
    If you like, you could move the "C:\Users" folder using the method in the tutorial below.

    Move Users Folder Location in Windows 10 | Windows 10 Tutorials
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 29
    Windows 10
       #15

    Shawn:
    I'm really hoping you can help me.

    I've been working on various issues for days so I'll try to be brief and outline my specific issue at the moment. I started out trying to resolve some issues with OneDrive and folders (see background info below if interested). After unlinking my PC and moving all my folders from OneDrive to my User Profile by dragging and dropping, I moved my Desktop folder to a new location in my User Profile folder following the prompts in Properties (because it wouldn't let me drag and drop and before I found and read these instructions) . I ended up with my entire User folder as part of the "Desktop" folder in Quick Access and it was renamed to my user name. I believe this occurred because I didn't make sure there was a folder named Desktop at the new location (which I see in your instructions). The big problem now is when I reboot, my desktop is displaying all the folders from my User Profile and they don't appear to be shortcuts and I'm missing all the shortcuts that are actually in my Desktop folder to the programs I use most often. Also missing items all the items in my taskbar , except Edge but that might be a different issue and Edge isn't working.

    If I look at the files in my User Profile everything seems fine. There is a Desktop folder and is has the correct program shortcuts. But if I look at the contents under the file in Quick Access I see my entire user folder. If I open on of the items on the desktop, it's just an Explorer Window. It seems that all the folders in my User Profile are now considered "desktop" folders but when I go to settings and try to set what shows on my desktop these aren't there.

    I've tried to resolve this and I've been searching for a solution. This tutorial is the closest I came. Any ideas?

    Mickey

    Background if you're interested and want to hear more: This all started because my User Profile folder was 5 characters and didn't match my Account Name. I've been ignoring it for months but my OCD got the best of me. I found your tutorial on "How to Change the Name of a User Profile Folder in Windows 10" and tried to follow those instructions. In Explorer, my user folder was "drsto". In looking for the SID using CMD prompt, there was no user "drsto", but there was one "micke", plus Administrator and david (account I set up for my husband). I made the assumption "micke" was the right one as I had a Microsoft Account linked and there were two email addreses - one started with drsto and an alias or alternate starting with micke. When I went to the registry to change the entry for that SID, it said "C:\Users\drsto" and not "micke". I probably should have stopped there and done more research, but I didn't. I followed the tutorial and changed the name to "Mickey". I've had previously modified my Microsoft Account to only have one email address.

    Anyway, I ended up with a mess. I checked properties on a bunch of items and some were c:\Users\Mickey and others were C:\Users\drsto. After rebooting my desktop was a mess, couldn't get Dropbox or OneDrive working again, and so on. I started searching the registry and changing entries from "drsto" to "Mickey" but there were hundreds of them and it didn't seem to help. Tried reverting to a backup copy of Registry I had and it got errors and wouldn't load. Finally I did a Restore to a copy I'd made before things started thinking that would at least get me back to where I was. But, it didn't really help. I still had a mess.

    Today I think I'm closer to being where things should be if I can only get my desktop straightened out. I don't know how to move the files off my desktop.

    Sorry for the length of this but it's been a long few days.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 68,669
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #16

    Hello Mickey, and welcome to Ten Forums.

    Let's see some screenshots showing how this looks in your user profile folder and desktop folder in File Explorer to see if it may help for a starting point.

    Do you have a system image backup that you can restore to before you did all this?
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 29
    Windows 10
       #17

    I do have several restore points, one from two or three days ago and another from today before I started trying to fix the desktop issue again. I already tried restoring from the earlier point and still had problems, it didn’t really bring me back to where I started.

    Screen print of part of the Desktop showing the folder contents of my User Profile. Note that the darker gray/black area is because I use “Fences” to organize my desktop. Those survived this fiasco.
    Move Location of Desktop Folder in Windows 10-1-actual-desktop.jpg

    Explorer view showing the contents of the Desktop folder under Quick Access. Finally today I was able to remove the one labeled “Mickey” by logging in as Administrator. I wish now I had saved that to show you.
    Move Location of Desktop Folder in Windows 10-2-desktop.jpg

    Copy of Properties of Desktop folder.
    Move Location of Desktop Folder in Windows 10-3-desktop-properties.jpg

    Screen print of User Profile folder and Properties for Mickey. Note that the User Profile “FKA drsto” is the old one I renamed to try to force errors to help identify items that were still stored as C:\Users\drsto rather than C:\Users\Mickey .
    Move Location of Desktop Folder in Windows 10-5-user-folder.jpgMove Location of Desktop Folder in Windows 10-4-user-folder-properties.jpg
    https://www.tenforums.com/attachment...&thumb=1&stc=1
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 29
    Windows 10
       #18

    Also here is a copy of the UserAccounts showing "micke" but no "drsto".
    Move Location of Desktop Folder in Windows 10-user-profile-list.jpg

    I'm sure I've got other things also messed up and I'm trying to test them out. So far Edge was a problem, but fixed now. I can't seem to run the "wmic useraccount" query in Powershell either under my profile but it ran find under Administrator. Tomorrow I'll work on reconnecting Dropbox. Not sure I want to tackle OneDrive yet or not.

    Thanks for taking the time.

    Mickey

    (Looks like this post got posted before my initial reply with all the other screenprints. I assume it's coming)
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 68,669
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #19

    @MickeyCT,

    I'm not really seeing anything wrong in those screenshots other than your "Desktop" folder with the name "Mickey" instead.

    Let's see screenshots like below of the values for these two registry keys to see what it shows for these shell folder names. Be sure to include everything (Name, Type, Data) in the full right pane.

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

    Move Location of Desktop Folder in Windows 10-shell_folders.png

    Let's also see what the registry key below that shows your user profile folder path and name "Mickey" vs "micke" from your PowerShell screenshot.

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\S-1-5-21-3844912707-15396672-3895340303-1001

    Move Location of Desktop Folder in Windows 10-profileimagepath.png
      My Computers


 

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