Vista Tutorial - folder and search options

I wanted to change the folder options in the window explorer. Went to the
folder options, then to View and unchecked the option "Hide protected
operating system
files". A huge amount of files and folders appeared. For example, in the
folder Documents, which was empty before the change, received 3 folders(my
music, my pictures, my videos)and 1 file (desktop.ini).
The problem is that I can't open those folders. Every time I try to, I get a
message
"folder is not available, access refused". Can somebody tell me why and what
I can do. Thanks.

Hi Serge,

This is normal. It will not let you open from these folders because they are not really a folder, but a database file used by another shortcut that you can open from instead. It's strange, but it's just a way to protect the data source.

The 3 folder (Music, Pictures, Videos) are the hidden system files for the "Links" folder in your personal user folders from the Start Menu. They can be viewed from there.

The "desktop.ini" file store settings (icon, folder views, etc) information about that particular open folder. If you delete it, you will loose your settings for that window. Vista will rebuild the file though automatically.

I would leave them all alone.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Serge

The default name and location of some user folders has changed in Vista. The
"My" designation has been retired.

The folders you are seeing (My Music, My Pictures, My Videos, etc) are not
real folders, they are called Junctions and they are there for compatibility
purposes only. These junctions will redirect any older program or
application installations to the new location in Vista. You can identify
these junctions by the shortcut arrow that appears on the folder icon.

Example: The C:\Documents and Settings folder is now called C:\Users.
Example: The My Documents folder is now simply called Documents. It still
appears under the Users/username folder.

It's very important to understand that these junctions do not contain any
useful information and should not be opened or used like a regular folder.

There is a website that explains this in detail and has a list of the old
folders that you saw in XP with their new names/locations in Vista.

Windows Vista Junction Points:
http://www.svrops.com/svrops/articles/jpoints.htm

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User


"Serge" <Serge@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:C4EA399F-5BEB-4805-A45E-54A5A220DB0A@microsoft.com...
>I wanted to change the folder options in the window explorer. Went to the
> folder options, then to View and unchecked the option "Hide protected
> operating system
> files". A huge amount of files and folders appeared. For example, in the
> folder Documents, which was empty before the change, received 3 folders(my
> music, my pictures, my videos)and 1 file (desktop.ini).
> The problem is that I can't open those folders. Every time I try to, I get
> a
> message
> "folder is not available, access refused". Can somebody tell me why and
> what
> I can do. Thanks.

"brink" wrote:

>
> Serge;424722 Wrote:
> > I wanted to change the folder options in the window explorer. Went to
> > the
> > folder options, then to View and unchecked the option "Hide protected
> > operating system
> > files". A huge amount of files and folders appeared. For example, in
> > the
> > folder Documents, which was empty before the change, received 3
> > folders(my
> > music, my pictures, my videos)and 1 file (desktop.ini).
> > The problem is that I can't open those folders. Every time I try to, I
> > get a
> > message
> > "folder is not available, access refused". Can somebody tell me why and
> > what
> > I can do. Thanks.
>
> Hi Serge,
>
> This is normal. It will not let you open from these folders because
> they are not really a folder, but a database file used by another
> shortcut that you can open from instead. It's strange, but it's just a
> way to protect the data source.
>
> The 3 folder (Music, Pictures, Videos) are the hidden system files for
> the "Links" folder in your personal user folders from the Start Menu.
> They can be viewed from there.
>
> The "desktop.ini" file store settings (icon, folder views, etc)
> information about that particular open folder. If you delete it, you
> will loose your settings for that window. Vista will rebuild the file
> though automatically.
>
> I would leave them all alone.
>
> Hope this helps,
> Shawn
>
>
> --
> brink
>
> *There are no dumb questions, just the people that do not ask them.*
> _http://www.Vistax64.com (\"http://www.Vistax64.com\")_
> *Please post feedback to help others.*
> Many thanks for your help but I don't understand the meaning of the whole thing. Windows is getting more and more complicated. Why doesn't Microsoft get rid of the rubbish from the previous Windows editions and lighten the whole thing
a bit. Serge

"Ronnie Vernon MVP" wrote:

> Serge
>
> The default name and location of some user folders has changed in Vista. The
> "My" designation has been retired.
>
> The folders you are seeing (My Music, My Pictures, My Videos, etc) are not
> real folders, they are called Junctions and they are there for compatibility
> purposes only. These junctions will redirect any older program or
> application installations to the new location in Vista. You can identify
> these junctions by the shortcut arrow that appears on the folder icon.
>
> Example: The C:\Documents and Settings folder is now called C:\Users.
> Example: The My Documents folder is now simply called Documents. It still
> appears under the Users/username folder.
>
> It's very important to understand that these junctions do not contain any
> useful information and should not be opened or used like a regular folder.
>
> There is a website that explains this in detail and has a list of the old
> folders that you saw in XP with their new names/locations in Vista.
>
> Windows Vista Junction Points:
> http://www.svrops.com/svrops/articles/jpoints.htm
>
> --
>
> Ronnie Vernon
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows Shell/User
>
>
> "Serge" <Serge@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:C4EA399F-5BEB-4805-A45E-54A5A220DB0A@microsoft.com...
> >I wanted to change the folder options in the window explorer. Went to the
> > folder options, then to View and unchecked the option "Hide protected
> > operating system
> > files". A huge amount of files and folders appeared. For example, in the
> > folder Documents, which was empty before the change, received 3 folders(my
> > music, my pictures, my videos)and 1 file (desktop.ini).
> > The problem is that I can't open those folders. Every time I try to, I get
> > a
> > message
> > "folder is not available, access refused". Can somebody tell me why and
> > what
> > I can do. Thanks.
>
> Many thanks for your help but I don't understand the meaning of the whole thing. Windows is getting more and more complicated. Why doesn't Microsoft get rid of the rubbish from the previous Windows editions and lighten the whole thing
a bit. Serge

"Serge" <Serge@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news97A8ACC-A15C-46C4-B5EA-19C621BE27E9@microsoft.com...
>> Many thanks for your help but I don't understand the meaning of the whole
>> thing. Windows is getting more and more complicated. Why doesn't
>> Microsoft get rid of the rubbish from the previous Windows editions and
>> lighten the whole thing
> a bit. Serge

Serge

The meaning of the whole thing is "backward compatibility".

People just will not accept a new OS that does not support older programs.
Backward compatibility accounts for most of the "bloat" that you see in all
versions of windows.

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User