What just happened to my Docs&Settings?

flycaster

flycaster

Member
Vista 64-bit. New to vista (from xp). Been working with vista for about a week trying to get things going after transferring files from xp. Up until just moments ago, I could have sworn that documents & settings existed on the c root. Here's what happened. I needed to find some files and worked in Folder Options to unselect hide extensions and hide protected operating system files. I got an alert that this may cause a problem, but ignored it (as this operation was recommended by a trusted source). So, after do all this, I noted that D/S and several other folders were now shortcuts. When clicking on these short cuts, I got access denied. I then did a restore to an earlier date and when I went back to the c root, d/s and the other noted short cuts had disappeared. BTW, I ahve undone what I did in Folder Options, but to no avail. Also, I have seen post that say one doesn't need D/S. I find all this very confusing as I had these folders and now I don't. Any ideas what's happening? Thanks.
 

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System One

flycaster said:
Vista 64-bit. New to vista (from xp). Been working with vista for about a week trying to get things going after transferring files from xp. Up until just moments ago, I could have sworn that documents & settings existed on the c root. Here's what happened. I needed to find some files and worked in Folder Options to unselect hide extensions and hide protected operating system files. I got an alert that this may cause a problem, but ignored it (as this operation was recommended by a trusted source). So, after do all this, I noted that D/S and several other folders were now shortcuts. When clicking on these short cuts, I got access denied. I then did a restore to an earlier date and when I went back to the c root, d/s and the other noted short cuts had disappeared. BTW, I ahve undone what I did in Folder Options, but to no avail. Also, I have seen post that say one doesn't need D/S. I find all this very confusing as I had these folders and now I don't. Any ideas what's happening? Thanks.
Click to expand...

The "Documents & Settings" folder has been renamed to "Users".

What you see as "Documents & Settings" is in fact NOT a shortcut, but an NTFS "Reparse Point", that is used internally by Windows when a poorly written pre-Vista program attempts to write directly to that folder. You shouldn't even be seeing these Reparse Points, as they are normally hidden. I'm guessing that you have turned on the display of hidden and system files.

Don't worry do much about it, Flycaster. If there is a folder within the old "Documents & Settings" that you need to find, just browse through "Users".

Hope that helps.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Phenom 9600 Quad
    Motherboard
    ASUS MB-M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi
    Memory
    2 x A-Data 2GB DDR2-800
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ATI Radeon HD 2400PRO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SAHARA 21"
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1200
    Hard Drives
    2 x 80GB Seagate (I)
    2 x 120GB Seagate (I/S)
    2 x 200GB Seagate (I/S)
    2 x 250GB Seagate (I/S)
    PSU
    800W
    Case
    Thermaltake Tai-Chi
    Cooling
    Tai-Chi Water Cooler
    Keyboard
    Genius
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    384kbps
    Other Info
    Currently dual booting between Vista x64 Ultimate Windows 7 BETA x64
Thanks for the quick response and explanation. What gets me is that the disappearance of the D/S happened while I was working on the computer. Could this have happened? Also, you are right about my my allowing the display of hidden files and systems.
 

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You said yourself you did a system restore - which would restore the hidden files setting to *not* show hidden files, and thus would hide the D&S parse point.
 

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System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
    Manufacturer/Model
    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System)
    Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree)
    2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD
    Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
    CPU
    AMD A6-5350M APU
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon HD (Embedded)
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
    PSU
    Lenovo
    Case
    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
Sort of got me, there. But, I have gone back to Folder Options and rechecked View>Advanced Settings and Show hidden file is checked, as is Hide protected operating systems, which were my original default settings, and sill no D&S...which is OK as long as I don't need it. But I'm still in a quandry as to how is disappeared in a flash.
 

My Computer

System One

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