Folder Odd Behaviour; Junction / Hardlink?

Akira Kurosawa · Jul 22, 2009

Edit: Check; http://www.vistax64.com/general-dis...-behaviour-junction-hardlink.html#post1097400

Hello,
Can someone clarify this odd behavior.
I have C & D drives, I use D for mundane files\downloads and portable apps.

However, I have a few folders that's are different from any I've seen.
I don't know how to explain it other than using a detailed example.

I have D:\Folder1
I can rename Folder1 to whatever I want.
E.g it will appear as D:\NewFolder
However the dir location of it still points to D:\Folder1

I have also scanned the registry for D:\Folder1 and D:\NewFolder there are no references of it.
I've reformatted the C:\ drive multiple times and reinstalled windows.
So I know it's nothing to this specific windows installation
(the folders have been like this for about a year)

It's not really a problem, I love it because I can rename the folder without messing up links etc.

At first I thought it might be a junction, however in cmd it still shows as <Dir> not <Junction>

I also checked for hidden folders on the drive. I found nothing.
Does anyone know what this is, and how I can recreate it?

Thanks in advance.

usasma · Jul 23, 2009

I've only seen this sort of behavior associated with User accounts.
Try checking the properties of the directory to see if there's any further info there.

Brink · Jul 23, 2009

Hello Akira, and welcome to Vista Forums.

I agre with John above. This sounds like it may be a user folder that has had it's default location changed. Are you having any problems with any of your C:\Users\(user-name) folders duplicating or missing? The tutorials below may be a useful reference for this.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/107990-personal-user-shell-folders-move-location.html

and

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/148461-personal-user-folder-restore-missing-folder.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Akira Kurosawa · Jul 23, 2009

Thanks for the input guys.
Edit: Actually thank you very much. (I'll explain)
@usasma; No I have check the properties quite a few times in my confusion. They appear identical to a normal folder.

@Brink; No I wasn't having any problems with user folder data. However I had in the past used it for moving my user folders. The folders had completely different names than the normal though.

Like I said, I have reformatted a few times (4?) since it started, and every time they have remained the same. So it's something stored on the HDD it's self (I don't mean like a hidden file.)

Anyways, thanks to the both of you though. I now have my way to recreate it.
(I had already known how to move user folders as I said, but that was my missing key)

So while I don't know how it works (which annoys me greatly) I at least now know how to recreate the effects. Thanks a bunch, much appreciated. :D

/Solved
_____
Simple tutorial if anyone else is interested in static folder names.
Edit 2: after messing around with it, I've found it's a little more intricate than I thought.
1: Change location of any user folder. E.g "%userprofile%\contacts"
2: To, e.g D:\junkfiles

3: Go to. D:\junkfiles, and rename the folder to anything e.g TEST.
(what you rename it to is what the internal name will become)

4: The external(?) name will reset to what ever folder you originally used. E.g contacts, so will the icon. However the above TEST name you put in will be it's path. (Both of which can now be changed as needed)

5: Go to, D:\TEST - properties, and restore the folder (contacts) to defaults (using location tab>restore)

6: Enjoy, the folder will still be there, and can be renamed to EXAMPLEfolder but the path will still be D:\TEST

#Notes:
-this will not interfere with any user-data
-the folders can be moved and will retain there (internal/external?) names.
-the folders can easily be deleted like a normal folder.

usasma · Jul 23, 2009

I think this has to do with the special functions that pertain to System folders - and suspect that that naming convention is buried deep inside the OS.

You might want to perform a trace with Process Monitor (free here: Process Monitor ) to monitor the changes it makes
- when you change a system folder, and
- when you change one of the renamed folders.

Beware tho', the log from this program is huge - so only run it for a short period when making the changes. I forgot once and left it on overnight - the logfile was so big that I couldn't do anything with my system!

Akira Kurosawa · Jul 23, 2009

Alright, thanks I'll try that out. Because I am still curious as to how it works.

usasma · Jul 23, 2009

Me too - but I don't have the time to experiment with it!

Akira Kurosawa · Jul 23, 2009

Magic Folder Source.rar
Instructions;
-Extract folder
-Rename folder
-Check against folder path

___________________
After much experimentation I have concluded that.
The External name is stored inside the hdd like an alias/junction, and the internal name is the folders real name/path, the folder it's self also seems to be flagged to allow aliases.

The download above is an example, if you rename the folder while it is in the .rar you are changing the internal & external name.

Once you extract it, and rename it directly, you are only renaming the external.

Folder Odd Behaviour; Junction / Hardlink?

Akira Kurosawa

My Computer

System One

usasma

Old and cranky

My Computer

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Brink

My Computers

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Akira Kurosawa

My Computer

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usasma

Old and cranky

My Computer

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Akira Kurosawa

My Computer

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usasma

Old and cranky

My Computer

System One

Akira Kurosawa

My Computer

System One