Cannot Rename or Move a File or Folder in Vista Fix

Cannot Rename or Move a File or Folder in Vista Fix​

   Information

If you recieve the error The File or Folder does not exist when you cannot move or rename a file or folder, then this will show you how to fix this problem in Vista.

   Note

This problem usually occurs when this registry key or it's subkeys below gets corrupted, changed, or deleted. This is usually done by a registry cleaning program that was allowed to delete (fix) something it found wrong that should not have been.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\FolderDescriptions

   Tip

If the steps below do not help, then take ownership of the file or folder, then try to move or rename it again. For how, see: How to Take Ownership of a Item in Vista

EXAMPLE: The File or folder does not exist. Error Message

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STEP ONE

Disable Offline Files

   Note

This will only apply to the Vista Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions. If you do not have one of these editions, then skip this section and go to STEP TWO below.

1. Open the Control Panel (Classic View).​

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2. Click on the Offline Files icon.​

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3. Click on the Disable Offline Files button. (See screenshot below step 5)​

NOTE: If it says Enable Offline Files instead, then click on it and click Apply and then click Disable Offline Files.​

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4. Click on Continue in the UAC prompt.​

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5. Click on OK.​

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6. Click on Yes to restart the computer. (See sceenshot below)​

WARNING: To prevent any loss of data, be sure to save and close all open programs before clicking Yes.​

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STEP TWO

Restore Registry Settings

   Note

• This will restore the default entries and settings for the registry key at the top of the tutorial. Be sure to download the 32 bit or 64 bit version for your version of Vista. To see what bit version you have of Vista, open the Control Panel (Classic View) and click the System icon, or right click Computer in the Start Menu and click Properties. You will see the bit version under the System type section.
• If this involves a New folder, then you should also do this tutorial. See: How to Fix New Folder in Vista

1. For the 32 bit version of Vista -​

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A) Click on the download button below to download the reg file below.​

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Fix_Rename_32_Bit_ Vista.reg​

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B) Go to step 3.​

2. For the 64 bit version of Vista -​

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A) Click on the download button below to download the reg file below.​

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Fix_Rename_64_Bit_Vista.reg​

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3. Save the .reg file to the Desktop.​

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4. Right click on the downloaded .reg file and click on Merge.​

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5. Click on the Run button in the Security Warning pop-up.​

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6. Click on Continue (UAC-Vista) or Yes (UAC-Windows 7), Yes, and then OK when prompted.​

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7. Restart the computer to apply the restoration.​

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8. When done, you can delete the .reg file (on Desktop).​

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That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Fix New Folder in Vista
• How to Pin a Folder to the Start Menu in Vista
• How to Repair and Verify the Integrity of Vista System Files with System File Checker
• How to Restore Previous Versions of a File and Folder in Vista
• How to Open and Change Folder Options in Vista
• How To Perform a Repair Installation For Vista
• How to Do a System Restore in Vista
• How to Take Ownership of a Item in Vista
• How to Set and Unset the Read-only File and Folder Attribute in Vista
• How to Fix Game Shortcut Links in Vista Games Explorer

 

[luster3]

thank guys! u r the best

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Luster, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Shawn

 

[londonguy28]

no they wont 14 day exchange period at futureshop and acers fixmyacer.com doesnt work right and yeah i am really pissed off

 

[Brink]

Sorry to hear that. I guess the only option is to reinstall.

 

[Jeffer03]

Thanks for the post and to everyone for this discussion. I'm a reasonably seasoned IT guy and worked with NT file permissions for..oh..10 years almost. I tried everything I could think of. Checked the permissions and found was set to Read Only so unchecked that, click OK. Still could not rename, checked perms and was STILL set to Read Only. Found setting for the folder to inherit perms from Parent set it to not inherit - but that did not solve it. Tried to reset the Ownership and even file share to everyone with Full Perms - no luck.. (I did other things but to save time here not going to post my entire frustrating experience)
In short I tried everything I could possibly think of which usually would have worked in the past with any other MS OS.
I finally got it to work I think after installing the Unlock program posted in an earlier part of this thread, although I don't get a pop-up as the Read Me says when the file or folder is locked, it just lets me rename it. It's possible that finally after changing the perms, security, and Ownership, and restarting Windows Explorer may have been what fixed it. That's the problem with doing 2 things at once. You don't know which one actually fixed it.
I did download this fix which Brink provided for future reference or in case I need it.
Summary:
Being in technology I decided it would be a good idea to take the plunge and get Vista. I've gone from initially liking it, some cool UI features and effects, to HATING due to not being able to do things I needed to do, to liking again after figuring them out, to now HATING again after it took me over 1 hour to find out how to RENAME a folder. AND having to install a 3rd party solution to do it. I mean HELLO Microsoft!!!
That is TOTALLY ridiculous. How do I know I wasn't install some malware. I had to take that chance. A bug like this should NEVER exist or been allowed to exist for this long. Microsoft should have provided this fix in an Update and downloaded it a long time ago.
My only recommendation at this point is for anyone considering Vista -DON'T. Especially if your skill or technical level is not at least a 3 on the 1 - 5 scale. If you hear the word Vista mentioned by anyone trying to sell you a computer - RUN away as fast as you can.

 

[obbob]

Thank you Brink, this fixed my issues perfectly. Have you ever considered how many people you helped with your fixing history for a very user infriendly system?

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Obbob, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Thank you, but no I have not even considered that. I had just been to busy helping to notice. Vista is not so bad once you get the hang of the ins and outs of it though.

Shawn

 

[eric33]

Does not work for me. I apply this one and the new folder fix. The same problem

Now when i want to add/rename a new folder on network, i do it first on my local disk and copy then the new folder on network....

 

[Brink]

Hello Eric, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Do you get any error messages?

You might see if this link I found can help you.
http://www.vistax64.com/vista-netwo...ut-paste-move-rename-folder-file-network.html


Have you already tried to take ownership of it?
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/67717-take-ownership-file.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[eric33]

Hi
THe one with formatdatabase i already test it, no success.
I do not have enough rights to change ownershihp. I can only write in directory, cannot change ownersihp.
THanks

 

[vistabjfehr]

wow, this is crazy - can someone please help me? I can't rename, move, or create a new folder in vista. I've tried the new folder fix zip file and the rename new folder zip file to update and merge into the registry. nothing seems to work!

 

[Brink]

Hello Vistabjfehr, and welcome to Vista Forums.

You might try doing a repair (upgrade) install to fix the problem.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/88236-repair-install-vista.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[vistabjfehr]

thanks for your reply - however, I don't have a DVD. it didn't come with my sony vaio. the tech support guy said that there is a recovery partition on my hard disk - but I can't seem to access that either because when I click on the start icon => Help and Support, I get an error message from internet explorer. Also, I don't want to lose any of the programs i've bought over the last year. And there are no system restore points. I'm still looking for a way to do a system recovery and still keep my purchased programs

 

[Brink]

That's ok Vistabjfehr,

You can create a Recovery Disc from using this tutorial below to use to do a System Restore with. This is not the same as the one from your Recovery Partition. You will not lose any of your programs.

Recovery Disc:
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/141820-create-recovery-disc.html

System Restore (Method Two):
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[srirambs7]

awesome fix ,successful,thanks all!!! great work!!!

 

[farooq95]

thanks it work

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Srirambs7 and Farooq95, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Shawn

 

[Deenario]

HI Shawn ...........

Thanks alot ......... am so happy that you are here for us .... my problem is solved and am so happy thanks alot .....

bye from, Deenario DD

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Deenario, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Shawn

 

[cherokee]

Brink

I have a similar problem with Vista Ultimate 64 bit when trying to rename a folder located on a shared drive on a SBS 2003 server.

I get an error message stating that the parent directory is not found do you want to create it.

Do you have any suggestions

thanks

Michael

UPDATE:

I was a bit impatient there.

I have found the solution to my problem, it also seems to have fixed my offline folder problem as well

Error message in Windows Vista when you try to rename a new subfolder in a shared folder on the network: "The <SharedFolderName> folder does not exist"

thanks

Michael