Vista - Can't Access the Documents and Settings folder

Any reason why Documents and Settings folder can't be accessed? I
tried to change permissions for the folder (including in Safe Mode)
and got access denied?
Any ideas will be appreciated.

On Apr 15, 9:28 pm, "glamart" <glamar...@NScomcast.net> wrote:
> Any reason why Documents and Settings folder can't be accessed? I
> tried to change permissions for the folder (including in Safe Mode)
> and got access denied?
> Any ideas will be appreciated.

You have to take ownership of the folder before you can edit it. By
default "system" owns the folder not administrator so you do no have
rights to access the folder.
Right click and go to properties then security and give the
administrator ownership.

Vista has hidden junctions, which, in Windows Explorer, are shown as hidden
shortcuts, with File Folder properties; they are used, in part, to redirect
program installations that rely on the old XP folder names and XP
locations). "Documents and Settings" is one of those junctions, and not a
folder as such (and yes, when clicked on, will give you an "access denied"
message). For more info, see:

http://www.devsource.com/article2/0,1895,1999637,00.asp


"glamart" <glamartNS@NScomcast.net> wrote in message
news:uaJrKa8fHHA.4064@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Any reason why Documents and Settings folder can't be accessed? I tried to
> change permissions for the folder (including in Safe Mode) and got access
> denied?
> Any ideas will be appreciated.
>

What I don't see in the page dean-dean referred you to is that the folder
called "Users" is essentially a replacement for "Documents and Settings".

The reason you get access denied on the Junctions is becuase of the "Deny"
permission for the "Everyone" group. Some people have suggested removing
this, but Microsoft recommends not doing so becuase it can result in infinte
loops in some applications.

--
Bruce Sanderson MVP Printing
http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders

It is perfectly useless to know the right answer to the wrong question.



"glamart" <glamartNS@NScomcast.net> wrote in message
news:uaJrKa8fHHA.4064@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Any reason why Documents and Settings folder can't be accessed? I tried to
> change permissions for the folder (including in Safe Mode) and got access
> denied?
> Any ideas will be appreciated.
>

"glamart" <glamartNS@NScomcast.net> wrote
> Any reason why Documents and Settings folder can't be accessed? I tried to
> change permissions for the folder (including in Safe Mode) and got access
> denied?
> Any ideas will be appreciated.

You don't need access to this folder, among others. Why? Because all it
contains is a pointer to the actual folder in Vista where the files are
kept. Vista has certain folders that are the same as in XP. They are in
Vista for compatibility purposes for legacy software, however they don't
hold actual data. They are what is called a junction point (similar to a
shortcut). All it contains is a pointer. You should not change the access
permissions on these folders. It could cause problems for legacy apps.

Any folder that is shown dimmed with the shortcut arrow and gives an access
denied message is one of these. To see the actual folder it points to open
an elevated command prompt (from Start type in cmd, then right click on it
at the top and choose Run as Administrator). Navigate to the folder that
has the folder in question and give the command
dir /al

Junctions are indentified by <Junction> and the folder it points to is
listed at the end of the line in brackets. For Documents and Settings the
real folder is C:\Users.

From a post by Jimmy Brush, MVP, here is a list of all these folders

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]

<wwwmikey@gmail.com> wrote
> On Apr 15, 9:28 pm, "glamart" <glamar...@NScomcast.net> wrote:
>> Any reason why Documents and Settings folder can't be accessed? I
>> tried to change permissions for the folder (including in Safe Mode)
>> and got access denied?
>> Any ideas will be appreciated.
>
> You have to take ownership of the folder before you can edit it. By
> default "system" owns the folder not administrator so you do no have
> rights to access the folder.
> Right click and go to properties then security and give the
> administrator ownership.

You don't need to access that folder (or several others). They are just
junction points that contain pointers to the actual folder where the files
are kept. See my reply to the OP.

--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

It's a junction point. You should NOT change it's permissions.

Joe

"glamart" <glamartNS@NScomcast.net> wrote in message
news:uaJrKa8fHHA.4064@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Any reason why Documents and Settings folder can't be accessed? I tried to
> change permissions for the folder (including in Safe Mode) and got access
> denied?
> Any ideas will be appreciated.
>

Great info - thanks to all!
--

<wwwmikey@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1176688880.781081.13190@y80g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> On Apr 15, 9:28 pm, "glamart" <glamar...@NScomcast.net> wrote:
>> Any reason why Documents and Settings folder can't be accessed? I
>> tried to change permissions for the folder (including in Safe
>> Mode)
>> and got access denied?
>> Any ideas will be appreciated.
>
> You have to take ownership of the folder before you can edit it.
> By
> default "system" owns the folder not administrator so you do no
> have
> rights to access the folder.
> Right click and go to properties then security and give the
> administrator ownership.
>
>

I was wondering about "Users" also - thanks!
--

"Bruce Sanderson" <bsanders@newsgroups.nospam> wrote in message
news:0060640A-10BD-4594-922C-7DBB15E9DFFF@microsoft.com...
> What I don't see in the page dean-dean referred you to is that the
> folder called "Users" is essentially a replacement for "Documents
> and Settings".
>
> The reason you get access denied on the Junctions is becuase of
> the "Deny" permission for the "Everyone" group. Some people have
> suggested removing this, but Microsoft recommends not doing so
> becuase it can result in infinte loops in some applications.
>
> --
> Bruce Sanderson MVP Printing
> http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders
>
> It is perfectly useless to know the right answer to the wrong
> question.
>
>
>
> "glamart" <glamartNS@NScomcast.net> wrote in message
> news:uaJrKa8fHHA.4064@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> Any reason why Documents and Settings folder can't be accessed? I
>> tried to change permissions for the folder (including in Safe
>> Mode) and got access denied?
>> Any ideas will be appreciated.
>>
>

Good info - thanks!
--

"Rock" <Rock@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:uEiVGv9fHHA.4536@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> "glamart" <glamartNS@NScomcast.net> wrote
>> Any reason why Documents and Settings folder can't be accessed? I
>> tried to change permissions for the folder (including in Safe
>> Mode) and got access denied?
>> Any ideas will be appreciated.
>
> You don't need access to this folder, among others. Why? Because
> all it contains is a pointer to the actual folder in Vista where
> the files are kept. Vista has certain folders that are the same
> as in XP. They are in Vista for compatibility purposes for legacy
> software, however they don't hold actual data. They are what is
> called a junction point (similar to a shortcut). All it contains
> is a pointer. You should not change the access permissions on
> these folders. It could cause problems for legacy apps.
>
> Any folder that is shown dimmed with the shortcut arrow and gives
> an access denied message is one of these. To see the actual
> folder it points to open an elevated command prompt (from Start
> type in cmd, then right click on it at the top and choose Run as
> Administrator). Navigate to the folder that has the folder in
> question and give the command
> dir /al
>
> Junctions are indentified by <Junction> and the folder it points
> to is listed at the end of the line in brackets. For Documents
> and Settings the real folder is C:\Users.
>
> From a post by Jimmy Brush, MVP, here is a list of all these
> folders
>
> 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]