Change My Documents Folder Default Location ^not enabled?

mycdnprince · Feb 14, 2014

Trying to move certain folders in my Documents folder on my home directory C:\Users\XXX to another drive following standard procedures as outlined by Microsoft: How to Change the Default Location of the My Documents Folder

The problem is when yu go to step 4 as directed the target window does not allow you to edit it to insert a new target destination. And several tabs at the bottom are missing. See screenshots of how my window is suppose to look and what I actually have.

Any advice or comments will be appreciated.

Brink · Feb 14, 2014

Hello mycdnprince, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Did you right click on the folder from it's "C:\Users\(user-name)" location, and not from any other location?

If you like, you could also use METHOD TWO in the tutorial below to manually move the folder.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/107990-personal-user-shell-folders-move-location.html

Hope this helps for now,

Shawn

mycdnprince · Feb 14, 2014

Brink said:
Hello mycdnprince, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Did you right click on the folder from it's "C:\Users\(user-name)" location, and not from any other location?

If you like, you could also use METHOD TWO in the tutorial below to manually move the folder.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/107990-personal-user-shell-folders-move-location.html

Hope this helps for now,
Shawn

Hi Shawn,
Thanks for getting back to me. I can't do as you suggested as the features I need are ^not available. My screenshots clearly show this. For some reason my screenshots are not appearing? I have sent a message to the moderator of this site as to why but have not heard back.

Let me try and explain without the aid of my images. I am set up as the administrator and only account on this computer. If you right click on the Documents, Music, Pictures folders, and go to properties, you get tabs like Share, Security, Customize, and Location. Normally, the Location tab allows you to redirect where these folders are i.e, instead of the C: drive, they can point to another drive or partition (which is what I want), if you choose. They do this by a Move button and an address bar (showing the file path) that you can change the target location with. But for some reason, my move button is missing and I can't change the file path!?!?!

mycdnprince · Feb 14, 2014

The image on the left is how my window should look, but as you can see on the right I am missing the buttons at the bottom (including the Move button), as well as ^not being able to edit the target address field???

wither 3 · Feb 14, 2014

As you probably have learned, Vista doesn't use the My Documents folder. It uses Documents. It seems to me that the options in your right hand screenshot accomplish the same thing as the Move. Of course, in any software you have, you can change where to save things.

mycdnprince · Feb 14, 2014

wither 3 said:
As you probably have learned, Vista doesn't use the My Documents folder. It uses Documents. It seems to me that the options in your right hand screenshot accomplish the same thing as the Move. Of course, in any software you have, you can change where to save things.

Yes I'm aware that in Vista it is Documents and no you 'cannot' accomplish the same thing because my right hand screen is missing the Move button as well as the target address bar is not allowing me to edit (change) the destination folder.

mycdnprince · Feb 14, 2014

mycdnprince said:
Yes I'm aware that in Vista it is Documents and no you 'cannot' accomplish the same thing because my right hand screen is missing the Move button as well as the target address bar is not allowing me to edit (change) the destination folder.

First post on this forum asking for help and get fed malware instead??? :-(

Brink · Feb 14, 2014

Please elaborate on "fed malware"?

mycdnprince · Feb 14, 2014

Brink said:
Please elaborate on "fed malware"?

Change My Documents Folder Default Location not enabled .jpg

Brink · Feb 15, 2014

That looks like advertisement instead if you were not logged in to the site at the time. While you are logged in, you will not see any advertising.

Did you try all of what I posted above?

You didn't clarify if the folder was the exact folder one from the location below, and not from the Start Menu or any other location.

Did you right click on the folder from it's "C:\Users\(user-name)" location, and not from any other location?

If you like, you could also use METHOD TWO in the tutorial below to manually move the folder.

Personal User Shell Folders - Move Location

wither 3 · Feb 15, 2014

I agree with Brink. I just went to C:\Users\Administrator\Documents and right clicked on the folder. I selected Properties, then Location. The Move option is there.

mycdnprince · Feb 15, 2014

Brink said:
That looks like advertisement instead if you were not logged in to the site at the time. While you are logged in, you will not see any advertising.

Did you try all of what I posted above?

You didn't clarify if the folder was the exact folder one from the location below, and not from the Start Menu or any other location.

I gotcha. Yes, I've tried every combination from my home folder at C:\Users\John Prince\XXX to Documents from the Start Folder, etc. nothing works. Interesting though when I logged in using the default administrators user profile the missing buttons appeared under start/documents/properties. However, the documents folder was empty? But all settings were operable for moving folders in the documents folder.

Brink · Feb 15, 2014

Were you able to use METHOD TWO to manually move the folder using the registry instead?

mycdnprince · Feb 15, 2014

Brink said:
Were you able to use METHOD TWO to manually move the folder using the registry instead?

Tried that too with no success. It seems no changes I make to the registry has any effect, like some other setting is overriding all others?

Brink · Feb 15, 2014

Could be an enabled group policy preventing user folders from being moved.

Does this happen only with the Documents folder, or all of your user folders?

If all of them, then use the tutorial below to allow them to be moved, and see if you are able to move the folder afterwards.

User Folders - Allow or Prevent Moving Location - Windows 7 Help Forums

wither 3 · Feb 15, 2014

As I mentioned, I tested using the Administrator account.

If you right click on the Documents folder and go to Properties, Security, do you, as a user, have full control of the folder. Can you change it?

mycdnprince · Feb 16, 2014

Brink,
Sorry for the delay as my computer is undergoing a disk defrag that is now 19.5 hours in the making and still going strong. :-0 :-)
Brink, I will do the tutorial when this defrag finally completes and get back to you. Thanks for this.... although, I believe I've tried something like this before with the DisablePersonalDirChange 0 and 1 options respectively to no avail. But I'll give it another shot here shortly and let you know. I appreciate your assistance here very much!

Wither3,
No, I don't. That's the problem. Everything I've tried (including altering the registry several times) will not restore the buttons I need to move my folders to another drive.

wither 3 · Feb 16, 2014

Just to be clear, it won't let you change the permissions under Security?

mycdnprince · Feb 16, 2014

No, it won't. When I go to start-documents-properties-security all options are dimmed i.e. unable to change anything. Although it does show all the allows (including full control) with check marks for System, John Prince and Administrators, and it will allow me to add or remove a group or user name.

mycdnprince · Feb 16, 2014

Change My Documents Folder Default Location ^not enabled?

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