Goofed up My Documents

[wsplawn]

I don't know how but it appears I have goofed up things on my computer relative to how Windows 7 thinks of "My Documents." At the following web page it gives instructions on how to Move My Documents. See Windows 7 - Moving My Documents

The instructions are: Click on Start button, click on documents, In the left panel of the Libraries\Documents window, click on the arrows to expand Libraries>Documents>My Documents (C:\Users\[User Name])

But, the instructions don't match what I'm seeing on my computer. I do see Libraries>Documents, but I do not see My Documents listed below Documents.

My Login name is Woody. I do see a folder under Libraries named Woody. And, Under Woody I see My Documents. However, I actuall see two folders under Woody named My Documents. If it is of interest, the properties for one of the My Documents folder does show several tabs, including a location tab.

The properties for the other my documents folder does not show a Locations and defaults to C:\Users\Woody

Anyone have any idea what's going on? At one point I remember trying to change the location of my documents to a folder called C:\Data. This allows me to do easy copying/backup of files and is the way I did things in XP. The first My Documents folder mentioned above (the one with the location tab) does point to C:\data as the Location.

Any help appreciated

 

[Brink]

Hello Wsplawn,

If you wanted to move your actual C:\Users\Woody\My Documents folder, then see if the instructions from here may be able to help instead.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/18629-user-folders-change-default-location.html

Hope this helps for now,
Shawn

 

[wsplawn]

Thank you for responding.

You reference lins are helpful and well written. However, I am in a state at present that is unorthodox. That is, my mentioning for example that there is no "My Documents" folder beneate Libraries>Documents, and also, that there are two "My Documents" Folders that show up under my User Name:

I am concerned about making the suggested changes in your links for fear that they will exaserbate the current problem. If I could somehow get things back into the standard way Windows 7 Does things (a reset button), then I could proceed in an intelligent way. I suppose for this problem there is no Reset button, but what's the next best thing?

I got into this because I was one of the first to go to Windows 7 and the documentation for "My Documents" was not as thorough then.

 

[Brink]

Ok. First we'll see if we can get your "My Documents" folder fixed, then we'll see about it being included in the Documents library.

What is the exact full path of each of these "My Documents" folders? For example, C:\Users\Woody\My Documents, but there cannot be two folders with the exact same name in your Woody folder.

When you right click on both of the "My Documents" folders and click on "Properties", do they both have a "Locations" tab. What does it show as the "Location" (full path) for both folders in either the "Genaral" or "Locations" tab?

 

[wsplawn]

Thank you for responding. I guess you missed the answer to your questions in my original post.

One of the "My Documents" folders has a Locations tab and it says C:\Data. The other My Documents folder does not have a locations tab, but in the General Folder it lists Location as C:\Users\Woody

 

[Brink]

Ok.

First, backup anything that you do not want to lose in the "My Documents" folders to another location to be safe.

For now, do not delete the "My Documents" folder that does not have a "Locations" tab in C:\Users\Woody. Next, try OPTION TWO in the tutorial below to restore the default location of the "My Documents" folder. You may need to restart the computer a few times before it is back to the default C:\Users\Woody\Documents location.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/18583-user-folders-restore-default-location.html


Afterwards, check the Documents library to see if the C:\Users\Woody\Documents folder is included in it again.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/585-library-include-folder.html

 

[wsplawn]

I am reviewing the instructions before actually trying the options. A question first please. Where is there an explanation of what the special incons are about in Windows Explorer. For example, for a downloads folder there is a blue down arrow. For a Links folder there is a blue curved arrow pointing up and to the right?

 

[Brink]

I'm not sure what you mean, but I'll try to explain them. They are just the default icons for the user folders in Windows 7. The smaller icon images in the folder are to represent what the folder is for.



For example:

• blue down arrow for "Downloads"
• Windows Photo Viewer icon for "My Pictures"
• Same "Favorites" star used in Internet Explorer Favorites
• The blue curved arrow pointing up and to the right for "Links" is like a "shortcut arrow" since links are basically shortcuts.
• etc.......

 

[wsplawn]

Well I went through the instructions and my machine appears to be operating in something that appears to be like the default configuration that was setup when I installed Windows 7. There is one exception (problem) however. When I right click on Libraries I get an error message of Windows Explorer has quit working. This tells me that I may not have actually gotten under the problem.

I wonder if I might be better of to simply create a new login that has administrator rights and set things up from scratch there.

Any thoughts?

 

[Brink]

As a test, sure go ahead and create a new administrator account to see if everything works properly while logged on to it.

If it does, then you can copy all of the contents of the old user account's C:\Users\(user-name) folders (including hidden AppData folder) into the corresponding new account's C:\Users\(user-name) folder. After everything checks out ok, you can delete the old user account while logged in the new user account.

 

[wsplawn]

I have discovered that the problem with Right clicking on Libraries and getting thrown out of Windows Explorer exists in the other accounts also.

Should I start a new thread on this?

 

[Brink]

Na. You might consider a repair install. This will reinstall Windows without losing anything to hopefully fix this for you.

 

[wsplawn]

That's fairly severe. I need to think about that a little.

By the way, thank you for your help. It is much appreciated.

 

[Brink]

No problem. Just let me know if you have any questions about it.