Two folders marked "My Documents"

[sharonf]

When I go to Windows Explorer I can see two folders named "My Documents.
Why? They are both located under the user name. The first one looks like
a normal "My Documents" when opened. The second one (listed right after
the first folder) does not open when I click on it. Instead I get a pop
up box that is titled "Location is not available". It further states
"C:Users\JerryF\My Documents is not accessible. Access is denied.

 

[Seth]

When I go to Windows Explorer I can see two folders named "My Documents.
Why? They are both located under the user name. The first one looks like a
normal "My Documents" when opened. The second one (listed right after the
first folder) does not open when I click on it. Instead I get a pop up box
that is titled "Location is not available". It further states
"C:Users\JerryF\My Documents is not accessible. Access is denied.

The first one is really just "Documents". Microsoft dropped the "My " but it
still shows up in some views.

The second one is not a folder but rather a junction point. It's there to
redirect some software that may be hardcoded to the old may.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Sharon.

Get a magnifying glass and look at the icons for those two "My Documents"
"folders". One of them, probably the second one, should have an arrow on
the icon. This will be the one that produces the "Access is denied" error
message. If you check out a few other folders, you should see similar icons
with arrows, such as Favorites, Local Settings and others.

These folder names were used by Windows XP, but Win7 has different ways to
access the same information. Properly written WinXP apps used environmental
variable names and will have no problem locating the info in Win7. But many
older apps were written with absolute references, rather than symbolic ones,
so they can't "shift gears" and find their way in Win7. The Win7 developers
created "Junction Points" to accommodate such apps; these use the WinXP
names, but only point the way to where that data resides in Win7. So there
are actually no folders for Explorer to show us in that Junction Point.
(Too bad the Win7 developers did not spend just a little more time and
create a more-informative "error message" to explain that.)

Your first "My Documents" folder should have contents. The second one, the
Junction Point, should point the way to the first "C:Users\JerryF\My
Documents" folder, which IS accessible. But the signpost works only when
accessed by an app, not directly from Windows Explorer. (No, I don't know
why.)

Don't worry about this. It works fine, even if I don't fully understand it.
;<)

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


"sharonf" wrote in message

When I go to Windows Explorer I can see two folders named "My Documents.
Why? They are both located under the user name. The first one looks like
a normal "My Documents" when opened. The second one (listed right after
the first folder) does not open when I click on it. Instead I get a pop
up box that is titled "Location is not available". It further states
"C:Users\JerryF\My Documents is not accessible. Access is denied.

 

[Todd]

Hi, Sharon.

Get a magnifying glass and look at the icons for those two "My
Documents" "folders". One of them, probably the second one, should have
an arrow on the icon. This will be the one that produces the "Access is
denied" error message. If you check out a few other folders, you should
see similar icons with arrows, such as Favorites, Local Settings and
others.

These folder names were used by Windows XP, but Win7 has different ways
to access the same information. Properly written WinXP apps used
environmental variable names and will have no problem locating the info
in Win7. But many older apps were written with absolute references,
rather than symbolic ones, so they can't "shift gears" and find their
way in Win7. The Win7 developers created "Junction Points" to
accommodate such apps; these use the WinXP names, but only point the way
to where that data resides in Win7. So there are actually no folders for
Explorer to show us in that Junction Point. (Too bad the Win7 developers
did not spend just a little more time and create a more-informative
"error message" to explain that.)

Your first "My Documents" folder should have contents. The second one,
the Junction Point, should point the way to the first "C:Users\JerryF\My
Documents" folder, which IS accessible. But the signpost works only when
accessed by an app, not directly from Windows Explorer. (No, I don't
know why.)

Don't worry about this. It works fine, even if I don't fully understand
it. ;<)

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


in message

When I go to Windows Explorer I can see two folders named "My Documents.
Why? They are both located under the user name. The first one looks like
a normal "My Documents" when opened. The second one (listed right after
the first folder) does not open when I click on it. Instead I get a pop
up box that is titled "Location is not available". It further states
"C:Users\JerryF\My Documents is not accessible. Access is denied.

Hi Sharonf,

On these "junction points", Windows Explorer will show a little arrow
on the icon's picture. I have learned not to click on them.

-T

 

[sharonf]

Hi Sharonf,

On these "junction points", Windows Explorer will show a little arrow
on the icon's picture. I have learned not to click on them.

-T

Thanks. I guess there is going to be a bit of a learning curve here for
me. I am totally new to Windows 7.

 

[Jesper Kaas]

Thanks. I guess there is going to be a bit of a learning curve here for
me. I am totally new to Windows 7.

You can turn off display off junction points (and other stuff): In
Explorer you go to Tools->Folderoptions and click on "Show". Put a
checkmark in the box for "Hide protected systemfiles" (I have a
norwegian Windows7, so maybe the exact words are different).

 

[Tom Lake]

"Seth" wrote in message

When I go to Windows Explorer I can see two folders named "My Documents.
Why? They are both located under the user name. The first one looks like a
normal "My Documents" when opened. The second one (listed right after the
first folder) does not open when I click on it. Instead I get a pop up box
that is titled "Location is not available". It further states
"C:Users\JerryF\My Documents is not accessible. Access is denied.

The second one is not a folder but rather a junction point. It's there to
redirect some software that may be hardcoded to the old may.

IMHO, that's one of the biggest mistakes MS made since having email
programs called Outlook and Outlook Express. So many of my users call
me to rant and rave because they don't have permission to view some
@^#&(@^&!!! folder and it's their machine and they should have the right
to open any folder on it, etc., etc., etc.

Tom Lake

 

[Twayne]

In

When I go to Windows Explorer I can see two folders named
"My Documents. Why? They are both located under the user
name. The first one looks like a normal "My Documents"
when opened. The second one (listed right after the first
folder) does not open when I click on it. Instead I get a
pop up box that is titled "Location is not available". It
further states "C:Users\JerryF\My Documents is not
accessible. Access is denied.

I managed to get into that "folder" by simply taking ownership. But I
removed myself after looking around it; don't know what would happen if I
mistakenly aimed something at it instead of the real folder.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

You can turn off display off junction points (and other stuff): In
Explorer you go to Tools->Folderoptions and click on "Show". Put a
checkmark in the box for "Hide protected systemfiles" (I have a
norwegian Windows7, so maybe the exact words are different).

"Hide protected operating system files (recommended)"

Your translation was more than satisfactory

 

[Retired]

When I go to Windows Explorer I can see two folders named "My Documents.
Why? They are both located under the user name. The first one looks like
a normal "My Documents" when opened. The second one (listed right after
the first folder) does not open when I click on it. Instead I get a pop
up box that is titled "Location is not available". It further states
"C:Users\JerryF\My Documents is not accessible. Access is denied.

Welcome to Windows 7