Vista - how do I access Documents and Setting folder?

Hello,

I can`t access any item in my Documents and Settings folder that is a short
cut (vs an actual folder).
I just get this message thats says:

C:\Documents and Settings is not accessible.
Access is denied.

Likewise in my C:\Users\My-Name folder I cannot access anything that is
portrayed as a short cut.

Any help appreciated.

Frank

You're in Vista when you do this? If so, Vista may be the C: drive and XP
(with the Documents and Settings folder) may be some other drive. Just a
guess, but it's worth taking a peek.


"FK" <name@company.com> wrote in message
news:OYPTNWCZHHA.1400@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Hello,
>
> I can`t access any item in my Documents and Settings folder that is a
> short cut (vs an actual folder).
> I just get this message thats says:
>
> C:\Documents and Settings is not accessible.
> Access is denied.
>
> Likewise in my C:\Users\My-Name folder I cannot access anything that is
> portrayed as a short cut.
>
> Any help appreciated.
>
> Frank
>

Nope - brand new PC - just out of the box yesterday.
Vista Ultimate from Dell.

F


"just FYI" <nospam@noreply.com> wrote in message
news:O9t5UdCZHHA.1580@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> You're in Vista when you do this? If so, Vista may be the C: drive and XP
> (with the Documents and Settings folder) may be some other drive. Just a
> guess, but it's worth taking a peek.
>
>
> "FK" <name@company.com> wrote in message
> news:OYPTNWCZHHA.1400@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> Hello,
>>
>> I can`t access any item in my Documents and Settings folder that is a
>> short cut (vs an actual folder).
>> I just get this message thats says:
>>
>> C:\Documents and Settings is not accessible.
>> Access is denied.
>>
>> Likewise in my C:\Users\My-Name folder I cannot access anything that is
>> portrayed as a short cut.
>>
>> Any help appreciated.
>>
>> Frank
>>
>
>

There is no folder named Documents and Settings in Vista. It's been renamed
to Users. So where did the shortcuts that point to Cocuments and Settings
come from?


"FK" <name@company.com> wrote in message
news:eMsNs9CZHHA.4220@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Nope - brand new PC - just out of the box yesterday.
> Vista Ultimate from Dell.
>
> F
>
>
> "just FYI" <nospam@noreply.com> wrote in message
> news:O9t5UdCZHHA.1580@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> You're in Vista when you do this? If so, Vista may be the C: drive and XP
>> (with the Documents and Settings folder) may be some other drive. Just a
>> guess, but it's worth taking a peek.
>>
>>
>> "FK" <name@company.com> wrote in message
>> news:OYPTNWCZHHA.1400@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I can`t access any item in my Documents and Settings folder that is a
>>> short cut (vs an actual folder).
>>> I just get this message thats says:
>>>
>>> C:\Documents and Settings is not accessible.
>>> Access is denied.
>>>
>>> Likewise in my C:\Users\My-Name folder I cannot access anything that is
>>> portrayed as a short cut.
>>>
>>> Any help appreciated.
>>>
>>> Frank
>>>
>>
>>
>

In news:OYPTNWCZHHA.1400@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl,
FK <name@company.com> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I can`t access any item in my Documents and Settings folder
> that is a
> short cut (vs an actual folder).
> I just get this message thats says:
>
> C:\Documents and Settings is not accessible.
> Access is denied.
>
> Likewise in my C:\Users\My-Name folder I cannot access
> anything that
> is portrayed as a short cut.
>
> Any help appreciated.
>
> Frank

They're not shortcuts, they're junction points. Here's an
article that does a pretty good job of explaining exactly what
you're seeing.

Windows Vista Junction Points
http://windowsconnected.com/blogs/jo...on-Points.aspx

Here's the explanation from the book "Windows Vista Inside and
Out".

**************************************************************************************
How Windows Vista Maintains Compatibility with Windows XP

Most applications that write to profile locations get those
locations from the operating system as needed, rather than
writing to absolute addresses. (Among other things, this
allows applications to handle relocated folders.) A Windows XP
program that’s well behaved will have no trouble accommodating
the changed names and locations of profile folders in Windows
Vista. On the other hand, a program that looks for Documents
and Settings (the root of profile folders in Windows XP) as an
absolute address could have a problem—were it not for the
junctions (reparse points) that Windows Vista uses to redirect
Windows XP folder names to the appropriate Windows Vista names.

You can see how these junctions are set up by running a Command
Prompt session and typing dir %userprofile%\ /ad.

The reparse points in this directory list are identified by the
label <JUNCTION>. The third column in the display lists the
Windows XP folder name (SendTo, for example) followed, in
brackets, by the redirect address
(F:\Users\Craig\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\
Windows\SendTo). If you display the same folder (%UserProfile%)
in Windows Explorer, with hidden and system files visible, the
junctions will look like shortcuts and won’t include any
information about their targets. If you try to open one of
these items, you’ll be rebuffed. That’s because in all of these
junctions, the Everyone group has a Deny access control entry
preventing users from listing folder contents. This Deny ACE
may seem drastic, but it’s Windows Vista’s way of telling you
to keep your hands off the compatibility infrastructure.

***************************************************************************************
Translated, leave them alone.

Note: To open a command prompt window, Start -> All Programs ->
Accessories -> Command Prompt. Or enter command in the Search
box. Command Prompt should show up in the results. Then enter
dir %userprofile%\ /ad at the prompt to see a graphical display
of what both the web site and the book are explaining.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

Thats because it isn't a folder. It is a shortcut (junction) only for
program compatibility. Turn back on "Hide protected operating system files"
and you won't see these anymore.

Don't worry about this, that shortcut isn't for you. Just go to c:\users
instead of c:\documents and settings, and documents instead of "my
documents".

--
/* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Robert Firth *
* Windows Vista x86 RTM *
* http://www.WinVistaInfo.org *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * */

"FK" <name@company.com> wrote in message
news:eMsNs9CZHHA.4220@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Nope - brand new PC - just out of the box yesterday.
> Vista Ultimate from Dell.
>
> F
>
>
> "just FYI" <nospam@noreply.com> wrote in message
> news:O9t5UdCZHHA.1580@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> You're in Vista when you do this? If so, Vista may be the C: drive and XP
>> (with the Documents and Settings folder) may be some other drive. Just a
>> guess, but it's worth taking a peek.
>>
>>
>> "FK" <name@company.com> wrote in message
>> news:OYPTNWCZHHA.1400@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I can`t access any item in my Documents and Settings folder that is a
>>> short cut (vs an actual folder).
>>> I just get this message thats says:
>>>
>>> C:\Documents and Settings is not accessible.
>>> Access is denied.
>>>
>>> Likewise in my C:\Users\My-Name folder I cannot access anything that is
>>> portrayed as a short cut.
>>>
>>> Any help appreciated.
>>>
>>> Frank
>>>
>>
>>
>

Sorry if I gave you a bum steer there. I can't seem to get any shortcut that
shows C:\Documents and Settings. So I assumed yourse were XP shortcuts.



"FK" <name@company.com> wrote in message
news:OByBEVEZHHA.1240@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>
> "Nepatsfan" <nepatsfan@SBXXXIX.com> wrote in message
> news:X7qdnbMjH7_xD2nYnZ2dnUVZ_oytnZ2d@comcast.com...
>> In news:OYPTNWCZHHA.1400@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl,
>> FK <name@company.com> wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I can`t access any item in my Documents and Settings folder
>>> that is a
>>> short cut (vs an actual folder).
>>> I just get this message thats says:
>>>
>>> C:\Documents and Settings is not accessible.
>>> Access is denied.
>>>
>>> Likewise in my C:\Users\My-Name folder I cannot access
>>> anything that
>>> is portrayed as a short cut.
>>>
>>> Any help appreciated.
>>>
>>> Frank
>>
>> They're not shortcuts, they're junction points. Here's an
>> article that does a pretty good job of explaining exactly what
>> you're seeing.
>>
>> Windows Vista Junction Points
>> http://windowsconnected.com/blogs/jo...on-Points.aspx
>>
>> Here's the explanation from the book "Windows Vista Inside and
>> Out".
>>
>> **************************************************************************************
>> How Windows Vista Maintains Compatibility with Windows XP
>>
>> Most applications that write to profile locations get those locations
>> from the operating system as needed, rather than writing to absolute
>> addresses. (Among other things, this
>> allows applications to handle relocated folders.) A Windows XP program
>> that's well behaved will have no trouble accommodating the changed names
>> and locations of profile folders in Windows Vista. On the other hand, a
>> program that looks for Documents
>> and Settings (the root of profile folders in Windows XP) as an absolute
>> address could have a problem-were it not for the junctions (reparse
>> points) that Windows Vista uses to redirect Windows XP folder names to
>> the appropriate Windows Vista names.
>>
>> You can see how these junctions are set up by running a Command Prompt
>> session and typing dir %userprofile%\ /ad.
>>
>> The reparse points in this directory list are identified by the label
>> <JUNCTION>. The third column in the display lists the Windows XP folder
>> name (SendTo, for example) followed, in brackets, by the redirect address
>> (F:\Users\Craig\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\
>> Windows\SendTo). If you display the same folder (%UserProfile%) in
>> Windows Explorer, with hidden and system files visible, the junctions
>> will look like shortcuts and won't include any information about their
>> targets. If you try to open one of these items, you'll be rebuffed.
>> That's because in all of these junctions, the Everyone group has a Deny
>> access control entry preventing users from listing folder contents. This
>> Deny ACE may seem drastic, but it's Windows Vista's way of telling you to
>> keep your hands off the compatibility infrastructure.
>>
>> ***************************************************************************************
>> Translated, leave them alone.
>>
>> Note: To open a command prompt window, Start -> All Programs ->
>> Accessories -> Command Prompt. Or enter command in the Search box.
>> Command Prompt should show up in the results. Then enter dir
>> %userprofile%\ /ad at the prompt to see a graphical display of what both
>> the web site and the book are explaining.
>>
>> Good luck
>>
>> Nepatsfan
>>
>>
>>
>
> Thank, that explains things.
> All I was trying to do was add a program to the Startup folder and now I
> am able.
>
>
> F
>
>

"Nepatsfan" <nepatsfan@SBXXXIX.com> wrote in message
news:X7qdnbMjH7_xD2nYnZ2dnUVZ_oytnZ2d@comcast.com...
> In news:OYPTNWCZHHA.1400@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl,
> FK <name@company.com> wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> I can`t access any item in my Documents and Settings folder
>> that is a
>> short cut (vs an actual folder).
>> I just get this message thats says:
>>
>> C:\Documents and Settings is not accessible.
>> Access is denied.
>>
>> Likewise in my C:\Users\My-Name folder I cannot access
>> anything that
>> is portrayed as a short cut.
>>
>> Any help appreciated.
>>
>> Frank
>
> They're not shortcuts, they're junction points. Here's an
> article that does a pretty good job of explaining exactly what
> you're seeing.
>
> Windows Vista Junction Points
> http://windowsconnected.com/blogs/jo...on-Points.aspx
>
> Here's the explanation from the book "Windows Vista Inside and
> Out".
>
> **************************************************************************************
> How Windows Vista Maintains Compatibility with Windows XP
>
> Most applications that write to profile locations get those locations from
> the operating system as needed, rather than writing to absolute addresses.
> (Among other things, this
> allows applications to handle relocated folders.) A Windows XP program
> that's well behaved will have no trouble accommodating the changed names
> and locations of profile folders in Windows Vista. On the other hand, a
> program that looks for Documents
> and Settings (the root of profile folders in Windows XP) as an absolute
> address could have a problem-were it not for the junctions (reparse
> points) that Windows Vista uses to redirect Windows XP folder names to the
> appropriate Windows Vista names.
>
> You can see how these junctions are set up by running a Command Prompt
> session and typing dir %userprofile%\ /ad.
>
> The reparse points in this directory list are identified by the label
> <JUNCTION>. The third column in the display lists the Windows XP folder
> name (SendTo, for example) followed, in brackets, by the redirect address
> (F:\Users\Craig\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\
> Windows\SendTo). If you display the same folder (%UserProfile%) in Windows
> Explorer, with hidden and system files visible, the junctions will look
> like shortcuts and won't include any information about their targets. If
> you try to open one of these items, you'll be rebuffed. That's because in
> all of these junctions, the Everyone group has a Deny access control entry
> preventing users from listing folder contents. This Deny ACE may seem
> drastic, but it's Windows Vista's way of telling you to keep your hands
> off the compatibility infrastructure.
>
> ***************************************************************************************
> Translated, leave them alone.
>
> Note: To open a command prompt window, Start -> All Programs ->
> Accessories -> Command Prompt. Or enter command in the Search box. Command
> Prompt should show up in the results. Then enter dir %userprofile%\ /ad at
> the prompt to see a graphical display of what both the web site and the
> book are explaining.
>
> Good luck
>
> Nepatsfan
>
>
>

Thank, that explains things.
All I was trying to do was add a program to the Startup folder and now I am
able.


F

It is there, it is just hidden. If you tell explorer to not hide protected
operating system files, you will see those files. They are hidden for a
reason.

--
/* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Robert Firth *
* Windows Vista x86 RTM *
* http://www.WinVistaInfo.org *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * */

"just FYI" <nospam@noreply.com> wrote in message
news:ObJqaTDZHHA.4008@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> There is no folder named Documents and Settings in Vista. It's been
> renamed to Users. So where did the shortcuts that point to Cocuments and
> Settings come from?
>
>
> "FK" <name@company.com> wrote in message
> news:eMsNs9CZHHA.4220@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> Nope - brand new PC - just out of the box yesterday.
>> Vista Ultimate from Dell.
>>
>> F
>>
>>
>> "just FYI" <nospam@noreply.com> wrote in message
>> news:O9t5UdCZHHA.1580@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>> You're in Vista when you do this? If so, Vista may be the C: drive and
>>> XP (with the Documents and Settings folder) may be some other drive.
>>> Just a guess, but it's worth taking a peek.
>>>
>>>
>>> "FK" <name@company.com> wrote in message
>>> news:OYPTNWCZHHA.1400@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>>>> Hello,
>>>>
>>>> I can`t access any item in my Documents and Settings folder that is a
>>>> short cut (vs an actual folder).
>>>> I just get this message thats says:
>>>>
>>>> C:\Documents and Settings is not accessible.
>>>> Access is denied.
>>>>
>>>> Likewise in my C:\Users\My-Name folder I cannot access anything that is
>>>> portrayed as a short cut.
>>>>
>>>> Any help appreciated.
>>>>
>>>> Frank
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>