Personal User Folder - Restore Missing Folder

**Brink**

How to Restore a Missing Personal User Folder in Vista

INFO: This tutorial will show you how to restore a personal user folder if it has been deleted, in the wrong location, or is missing from your C:\Users\(user name) or Start menu location.

NOTE: If you would like to change or restore the personal user folder default location, then see: How to Change a Personal User Folder Location in Vista

RELATED LINKS:
1. How to Fix a Personal User Shell Folder Displayed as a Standard Yellow Folder Icon in Vista

2. How to Change a Personal User Folder Location in Vista

EXAMPLE: Personal User Folders

User_Folders.jpg

EXAMPLE: Personal User Folders Start menu Location

Start_menu_Location.jpg

OPTION ONE:
Using the Shell Command:
NOTE: This will help you restore the user folder if it is just missing.

1. Open the Start menu.
2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type in the Shell command for the missing Personal User folder and press Enter. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: For a list of Shell commands and how to use it, see: How to Use the Vista Shell Command . For example, I'm using the shell:My Music shell command for the Music personal user folder in this tutorial.

Start_Menu.jpg

3. This should open the missing personal user folder from it's current location and replace it in the Start menu.
NOTE: Check to see if the personal user folder has returned. If not, then proceed to OPTION TWO below.

4. Your done.
NOTE: If the personal user folder has returned and it is a standard yellow folder instead of the greenish blue folder, then see: How to Fix a Personal User Shell Folder Displayed as a Standard Yellow Folder Icon in Vista

OPTION TWO:
Through the Registry:
NOTE: Do OPTION ONE above first, then do this option if necessary. This option will show you how to restore the user folder back to it's default location.

1. Open the Start menu.
2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type regedit and press Enter.
3. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below 5)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
NOTE: You can see the default paths for the user folders under the Data column.

4. In the right pane, check to see if the missing personal user folder (under Name column) has the default %USERPROFILE% location (under Data column) for it.
NOTE: You can see all of the default locations in the screenshot below. If it does not have the default location, then proceed to step 5 to change it. If it is, then go to step .

5. In the right pane, right click on the personal user folder that is missing and click Modify.

User_Folders_Reg.jpg

6. Type in the default location of the missing personal user folder, then click OK. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: For example, %USERPROFILE%\Music.

Modify.jpg

7. Close regedit.
8. Logoff and logon, or restart the computer to restore the folder.
NOTE: Sometimes you may need to restart more than once for the changes to be applied.

That's it,
Shawn

JessiePixie · 04-23-2008

Thank you for your User Shell Folder tutorials, but I am still having a problem here. This started with the problem that Vista seems to have with the folder icons turning yellow, (I assume this is a glitch). This is with the desktop user shell folder. I have managed to change the colour back, but in the process somewhere, (I'm not sure how) there seems to have been a duplicate made of the Desktop folder. There also seems to be a problem with my Music folder too. Is there a way I can reset all the folders to the locations they used to be?

**Brink** · 04-24-2008

Hi Jessie,

Welcome to Vista Forums.

You can try deleting all if your desktop folders, then use this turial here to recreate it.

It depends on what your problem is with your Music Folder, but you can try doing the Restore Default in step 5 of Methon One in this tutorial below to see if that can help it.

Personal User Shell Folders - Move Location

Shawn

kraeye · 05-01-2008

Hi, I'm having a problem with two shell folders, and tryed out this tutorial, but it didn't work. Maybe u know what I need to do to fix this?

1. I moved the folders: "my images" and "my videos" to D:\Users\Username\My Images.. using the change location function.
I did this to save space on my C:\ drive.

2. A bit later I wanted to dual boot Ubuntu(linux) on my laptop and when I was making my D:\ partition extended to make more partitions for linux I accidentaly formatted my D:\ drive losing al the data in my images and videos folders.

3. When I now try to open these folders nothing happens. The my images folder give a white paper icon and I even can't find the My video's folder anywhere.

note: My vista is in dutch. my images = afbeeldingen
my videos = video's
I tried both the dutch words and English words.

screens:

Is there something else I should do?
thx

SOLVED:

- After two reboots, the problem with the "my images folder" was solved. I had again a nice blue images folder, but still no sign of the video folder.

- After three reboots, the problem with the "my videos folder" was solved. Also with a nice blue folder.

I have no idea what, I did to solve the problem. Maybe the system needed some time to index the folder's location..??
Anyway, it's solved!

I guess rebooting 3 times can make miracles happen.

thx for your tutorial

**Brink** · 05-01-2008

Your welcome Kraeye, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Vista can be good as restoring it's system files automatically sometimes. It just may take a few restarts.

I'm glad to hear that you got it sorted.

Shawn

JessiePixie · 2 Weeks Ago

Hi Shawn,
My music folder fixed itself, but the desktop folder is still not right. It's not actually affecting anything important, but it's still annoying knowing it's not right!!

The problem is that there are 2 folders, but one is inside the other, and it won't let me delete either of them, error message: "The action can't be completed because the folder is open in another program. Close the folder and try again."

How can I close the desktop!!?? Any ideas?

Thanks,

Jessie

**Brink** · 2 Weeks Ago

Hi Jessie,

Use Option Two in this tutorial to make sure that the default location %USERPROFILE%\Desktop is set for the Desktop folder in the registry and restart the computer after the change.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Tutorial Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode