Vista - Documents and Settings is not accessible

Recently started using vista and all is working fine. Just curious though;
why does the folder icon for Documents and Settings appear as a shortcut
(where is is the real folder)? and why am I being denied access to it when I
try to browse it? I'm logged in with an account that is a member of the
local administrators group.

It's a junction point, which is a new feature that points to a different
location. It is created by Vista to accommodate older software programs
expect these directories to install.
Other junctions are provided for My Documents, etc.


"gkey" <kgoshi@cox.net> wrote in message
news:0f0bi.382157$JN6.250467@newsfe17.phx...
> Recently started using vista and all is working fine. Just curious though;
> why does the folder icon for Documents and Settings appear as a shortcut
> (where is is the real folder)? and why am I being denied access to it when
> I try to browse it? I'm logged in with an account that is a member of the
> local administrators group.
>

"gkey" <kgoshi@cox.net> wrote
> Recently started using vista and all is working fine. Just curious though;
> why does the folder icon for Documents and Settings appear as a shortcut
> (where is is the real folder)? and why am I being denied access to it when
> I try to browse it? I'm logged in with an account that is a member of the
> local administrators group.

Because the user doesn't need to access it. They are only seen if show
hidden folders is selected. All it and other such legacy folders contain is
a pointer to the location in Vista where those files are now stored. It is
a junction point. To see the actual folder open an elevated command prompt.
Start, type cmd, right click on it, Run as Administrator. Navigate to the
folder that has the junction point and give the command:
dir /al

The folder to which it points is listed on the right. Documents and
Settings points to C:\Users.

These legacy folders are kept in Vista for old software that looks for them.
Do not change permissions on them.

From a post by MVP Jimmy Brush here is a list of these legacy folders and
the actual folders in Vista.

Windows XP Location Windows Vista Location
\Documents and Settings \Users
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents \Users\$USER$\Documents
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents\My Music \Users\$USER$\Music
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents\My Pictures
\Users\$USER$\Pictures
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents\My Videos
\Users\$USER$\Videos
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Application Data
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Cookies
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\NetHood
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Network Shortcuts
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\PrintHood
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Printer Shortcuts
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Recent
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\SendTo
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Start Menu
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Templates
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Templates
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings\Application Data
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings\History
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\History
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files
\Documents and Settings\All Users \ProgramData
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data \ProgramData
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop \Users\Public\Desktop
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents \Users\Public\Documents
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Favorites \Users\Public\Favorites
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu
\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Templates
\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Templates
\Documents and Settings\Default User \Users\Default

--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]