Hi, Dan.
WINDOWS 7 IS NOT WINDOWS XP!!!!
(I think 4 is the right number of !!s. <g> )
Once you get over the WinXP mindset and accept that Win7 is "NOT your
father's WinXP", the rest of your Win7 orientation will go much more
smoothly. ;^}
As Char said, Documents and Settings does not exist in Win7 except as a
"Junction Point". Many apps written for WinXP (and Win2K) were hard-coded
to look for a folder by that name. Since Win7's structure moved the former
contents of that folder to each C:\Users folder tree, those older hard-coded
apps needed a "detour" signpost to the new location. So the Win7 developers
created the "Documents and Settings" junction point, which does nothing but
point to the new location. There is no actual folder there, so it can't
have contents.
The main mistake the developers made, I suppose, is using the "Access is
denied" error message. They should have created a new message directing the
user to the new C:\Users\{username}\My Documents folder. And they
compounded that mistake by showing TWO apparent "My Documents" folders under
C:\Users\{username}! Yes, there are different icons in front of the two
foldernames in Windows Explorer, but the difference is so subtle that most
of us (including me) don't notice them until someone points them out and
explains. (See the attached Snip; I can't show the icons here in plain-text
mode.) Note that the highlighted "My Documents" entry shows the usual
yellow folder icon. The other "My Documents" is just a small arrow in a
box; this is the symbol indicating that this is a Junction Point, not an
actual folder. When you click the one with the arrow icon, you get the
Access is denied message. Click the other one to see the contents of the
"My Documents" folder for YOUR User account.
Now you can explore other junction points to see Win7's new organization
structure. But be aware that they don't all follow the same pattern; your
"Recent" folder has the "junction point" arrow icon, but it's a real folder
with contents. And "Application Data" has mutated to a separate "AppData"
folder for each user.
Win7 is MUCH less frustrating once we've broken out of the WinXP mindset.
;^}
RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010)
Windows Live Mail 2011 (Build 15.4.3508.1109) in Win7 Ultimate x64 SP1
"Dan" wrote in message
I ran Vista beta when it came out, and Win7 is reminding me of why I
hated it so much. Why in the bloody hell can I not access the start
menu, documents and settings, application data, etc in WE????? Is there
a way to get this infuriating nonsense to stop, and get the OS to stop
treating me like it's my MOMMY???
ARRRRRGHHH!!! Drives me NUTS!
TIA
Dan