Personal User Shell Folders

Brink · Jan 30, 2009

You're welcome OldGrantonian.

Chronia · Feb 23, 2009

Hi There, So I followed these instructions accordingly to fix my music folder. However, when I copied the desktop.ini file I downloaded from above into my user folder I didn't get a message warning me that the file already existed and asking me if I wanted to overwrite it. It just copied straight and simple. I rebooted my computer and unfortunately my music folder is still a yellow folder. All my other user folders have the appropriate green icons and work fine. My music folder works fine too but it just doesn't have the green icon and it looks funny. What else can I do to fix this?

Brink · Feb 23, 2009

Hello Chronia, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Double check, using Option Three in the tutorial below, to make sure that your Music folder has the default location set for it.

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

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Chronia · Feb 23, 2009

Shawn,

Hi. I tried option 3 of the tutorial link you provided. I tried both methods listed. It has the default location set for it. My icon is still a yellow folder. What can I try next?

Brink · Feb 23, 2009

Did you apply the attrib +r %USERPROFILE%\Music command when using the instructions in this tutorial?

Chronia · Feb 24, 2009

Hi Shawn,

Yes, I did apply the attrib +r %USERPROFILE%\Music function from step 2 step 10 of this tutorial. Still a yellow music folder

((Guess I edited this a little late :P))

Brink · Feb 24, 2009

Chronia,

In Step Two (OPTION TWO) of the tutorial on the first page here you will need to also do the steps from step 8 on with this command to get the correct icon back.

Chronia · Feb 24, 2009

Shawn,

Wow your quick lol. Had to edit my last post cuz I misunderstood what you meant through you referring to the link in your previous post and by the time I'd edited it initially you'd already replied again :P But yes I did apply step ten of step two initially but still ended up witha yellow folder.

Brink · Feb 24, 2009

LOL.

Using step 5 (OPTION ONE) as a guide, right click on the C:\Users\(user name)\Music folder and click on Properties and the Customize tab to see if you can manually select to change the icon to the default music folder.

Chronia · Feb 24, 2009

Shawn,

Unfortunately, since this technically a system folder (even if it's a user folder) there is no change icon button. I can do it with sub folders in the music folder or with other folders I create myself but not with the music folder itself. On the customize tab there is a choose folder button and a restore default button. When I click the restore default button, it doesn't do anything and I'm left with the same yellow folder icon. When I click the choose folder button it lets me choose a picture image to be displayed on the yellow folder icon like *.jpg, *.gif etc. The default system icons, I discovered, are stored in C:\Windows\system32\imageres.dll and since this is a *.dll file I can access them via the choose folder button since it only let me select image files. I found out that the default system icons were stored here by trying to change the icon of a shortcut on my desktop.

Not sure what to do next.

Brink · Feb 24, 2009

Chronia,

You should see this when you right click on the C:\Users\(user name)\Music folder and click on Properties and Customize tab.

Then browse to the imageres.dll file and select the music folder icon.

Chronia · Feb 25, 2009

Shawn,

I have opened that window but it doesn't give me the third option, just as I've said. It doesn't display the 3rd section with the change icon button. It only displays as far as the previous section with the restore default and choose folder buttons. There is no section on the customize tab for the music folder nor for any f the other "system" folders in my user folder (documents, pictures, favourites,etc.).

This is the image I see:

It is the same for all the other green folders (which do have their appropriate icons).

So I'm kinda stumped. I don't know if this helps any but I use a classic style desktop them with custom colours and the classic windows look. I manually changed the theme using destop personalize features. I doubt this would affect anything but I thought I should mention it.

Brink · Feb 25, 2009

Chronia,

Strange, I have the same 3rd Folder icons section when using Windows Classic to. I'm not sure why you do not have it. You might see if doing a System Restore using a restore point dated when it displayed properly can fix it for you.

Chronia · Feb 26, 2009

Shawn,

It's been happening since I got my new computer and used Windows Easy Transfer to copy my files over from my old XP computer. That was about a month ago. I don't actually have a restore point old enough to go back to before this happened without doing a complete system recovery and losing all my files. I do not want to do this. Is there any other way? Could I try maybe making a new folder changing it's icon, moving my files from the current music folder, delete the old music folder and rename the new folder to music? Would that work maybe or would that just cause me unforeseen problems?

Brink · Feb 26, 2009

Chronia,

You can try deleting the Music folder, restart the computer, type shell:my music in the Start menu search line and press Enter, then restart the computer again to see if Vista will automatically replace it with one that has the green icon afterwards. Just be sure to save the contents of the Music folder somewhere else temporarily so they are not deleted to.

Chronia · Feb 27, 2009

Shawn,

Moving all my music files to a new folder and deleting my old music folder, rebooting and using the shell:my music command seems to have worked. I have my music folder back with it's appropriate icon and have moved my music files back into the folder. Thanks so much for all you help and commitment to helping! It was GREATLY appreciated! You don't know how many other technical forums I've visited for various problems where people have given up on helping solve my problems, so it's nice to finally have found a forum site where that is not the case.

Again, Thank You so much!!!!

Brink · Feb 27, 2009

You're most welcome Chronia. I'm happy to hear that you have the correct icon for the Music folder back now.

Chronia · Feb 27, 2009

*Sigh* Well it was fixed this morning when I last posted, but since then it's gone and changed itself back to the plain yellow folder. I haven't tinkered with any settings or anything like that. Any thoughts as to why it would keep changing itself back to an ugly yellow folder?

Brink · Feb 27, 2009

Well, that stinks.

Usually it displyas a yellow folder sometimes if the folder does not have it's default location, desktop.ini file has been changed or missing, the folder is not the original but a renamed new folder instead, interference from some program, etc....

I suppose check everything again, to see if one of those items may be it this time.

Chronia · Feb 28, 2009

Shawn,

I followed all the steps in option 2 of this tutorial again and, for the moment, it has changed my icon it's default green one. I hesitate to say it's fixed becasue last time I said it was fixed the problem re-occurred a few hours later so I'll see how it goes and if I find it's changed back again later I will post again and see what more we can't figure out to from there.

Cheers,

Chronia

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