Where are folder Options in W-7

[R. C. White]

?Hi, Miles.

Mixing a few apples amongst all the oranges here... ;^}

Not realizing the cause/effect this caused several folders to be seen but
could not be opened such as Documents & Settings.

That's because Documents & Settings is not a folder at all in Win7. It's
just an artifact left in Win7 for the benefit of poorly-written programs for
WinXP, which have that setting hard-coded, so they get lost if they can't
find D&S in Win7. In Win7 it is a "Junction Point", which simply points to
C:\Users\Miles\My Documents - if Miles is your username. (This is
essentially the same explanation your friend gave you.)

In Users\Miles, you'll see TWO My Documents "folders" listed. One is the
actual folder; the other is simply another Junction Point and "Access is
Denied" when you click it. Kind of a dumb arrangement, it seems to me, but
Microsoft developers must have felt it was better than any alternative they
could think of at the time. And, most of the time, users never see any of
this "under the hood" redirection. You saw it only because you disregarded
the "(Recommended)" label. So did I, and I often advise other serious
users to UNcheck this box. But newbies who see this "Access is Denied"
window for the first time get awfully indignant: "This is MY machine! Why
am I denied access to my own folders?!"

If Microsoft would just make this explanation a little more clear, prominent
and discoverable, a LOT of users would not worry so much. Or if MS would
find another way to deal with programs that still insist on seeing
"Documents & Settings" in Win7. And, HP and other OEMs need to explain it
to their own Support personnel, who should immediately recognize the
situation when their customers run into it. It's not really a secret, just
not understood by many users - even many IT Pros.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail Version 2011 (Build 15.4.3002.0810)) in Win7 Ultimate x64


"Miles" wrote in message
* Donald L McDaniel wrote, On 20-Sep-10 00:35:

You might also want to remove the check-marks from all selections
which start with "Hide...". Some will tell you this is dangerous,
but if you want to see ALL your files, it is necessary.

Word of warning: When I first opened Win7 I unchecked all the "hide"
lines, including "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)"

Not realizing the cause/effect this caused several folders to be seen
but could not be opened such as Documents & Settings. Very frustrated
I called the computer mfgr HP tech service & spent hours/days with
several techs who suggested many different ways to correct it, finally
concluding that I should call MSFT. Being as it's an OEM copy of Win7
that would cost $. Then a friend who has been with win7 for some time
me that some of these files are here as a holdover from winxp because
some older programs still use them, and he had gone through the same
frustrations some time ago. Rechecked that line and these "virtual"
files are no longer seen.
Miles

 

[Miles]

* R. C. White wrote, On 23-Sep-10 09:14:

?Hi, Miles.

Mixing a few apples amongst all the oranges here... ;^}


That's because Documents& Settings is not a folder at all in Win7. It's
just an artifact left in Win7 for the benefit of poorly-written programs for
WinXP, which have that setting hard-coded, so they get lost if they can't
find D&S in Win7. In Win7 it is a "Junction Point", which simply points to
C:\Users\Miles\My Documents - if Miles is your username. (This is
essentially the same explanation your friend gave you.)

In Users\Miles, you'll see TWO My Documents "folders" listed. One is the
actual folder; the other is simply another Junction Point and "Access is
Denied" when you click it. Kind of a dumb arrangement, it seems to me, but
Microsoft developers must have felt it was better than any alternative they
could think of at the time. And, most of the time, users never see any of
this "under the hood" redirection. You saw it only because you disregarded
the "(Recommended)" label. So did I, and I often advise other serious
users to UNcheck this box. But newbies who see this "Access is Denied"
window for the first time get awfully indignant: "This is MY machine! Why
am I denied access to my own folders?!"

If Microsoft would just make this explanation a little more clear, prominent
and discoverable, a LOT of users would not worry so much. Or if MS would
find another way to deal with programs that still insist on seeing
"Documents& Settings" in Win7. And, HP and other OEMs need to explain it
to their own Support personnel, who should immediately recognize the
situation when their customers run into it. It's not really a secret, just
not understood by many users - even many IT Pros.

RC

You hit the nail on the head! It was most frustrating and a long long
waste of my time and HP's. And this was on top of other difficulties
such as the optical drive would not burn DVD's and HP eventually sent
a replacement -- however without directions and HP techs didn't have
the foggiest idea how to change it -- those in India obviously not
trained on hardware.
Miles