Solved Files not located where Windows Explorer says they are

I have a folder with 50-ish photos. If you right-click on any of them in Windows Explorer and then select Properties, it lists the file location as a folder that doesn't seem to exist. If you right-click again on the file again and then select Open File Location, it opens the folder where they actually reside. Puzzling.

FWIW, I found these photos yesterday in a folder that I'd apparently named "Needs Action". There were the only contents of that folder. I created the folder where they now reside and moved them to it. I then deleted the "Needs Action" folder. And no, the location that Windows Explorer lists as the file location is not "Needs Action", it's yet another folder (not the one I created yesterday) with a name that is completely consistent with my naming convention for saving photos. But, like I said above, that folder doesn't appear to exist.

I haven't rebooted since all this started. I suppose it's possible that might resolve things, but I'm holding off a bit.

Open file explorer. Right click on 'pictures folder' select properties, location tab
Please post a screenshot of the results

Buddy said:

it's yet another folder (not the one I created yesterday) with a name that is completely consistent with my naming convention for saving photos.

Click to expand...

Then do the same thing as above on this other folder.
I want to compare the two.

Buddy said:

I have a folder with 50-ish photos

Click to expand...

What is the folder path?

Buddy said:

it lists the file location as a folder that doesn't seem to exist

Click to expand...

What is the folder path?


Screenshots would help because we cannot see over your shoulder from here.
Upload and Attach Images and Files in Post - ElevenForumTutorials


All the best,
Denis

Path where properties for the files say they are:
C:\Users\buddy\Pictures\Personal\120721 PBHS Cajuns Wharf\Little Rock 2012
This folder does not exist, or at least isn't shown in Explorer.

Path where Windows Explorer shows the files:
C:\Users\buddy\Pictures\Personal\PBHS\Little Rock 2012

Significant note: If you right-click on this folder in the tree and select "Copy as path", the "120721" path goes into the clipboard, not the other one. Same if you right-click on the folder and select properties. Well...

@glasskuter I can't get you the second screen shot that you requested. That folder doesn't appear to exist. If I ask Explorer to search for "120721" inside the photos library, it points me to the second path listed above.

Here's the properties for the Pictures folder. There isn't a Location tab - do I need to do something differently?



And here's the properties for the folder where the files appear to actually reside.

And, I think, if you paste
C:\Users\buddy\Pictures\Personal\120721 PBHS Cajuns Wharf\Little Rock 2012
into File explorer's Address bar then it takes you to
C:\Users\buddy\Pictures\Personal\PBHS\Little Rock 2012
and, I think, if you click in an empty part of the File explorer Address bar [some where towards its right-hand side] then it displays
C:\Users\buddy\Pictures\Personal\PBHS\Little Rock 2012
as
C:\Users\buddy\Pictures\Personal\120721 PBHS Cajuns Wharf\Little Rock 2012


It seems to me as though you have had an error when "relocating" your user folders.
Please run RegEdit & post screenshots of the Registry Keys
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
and
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders
Do make sure you drag around the column dividers so all the text can be seen. You can crop off unused space at the right & bottom to make the screenshot easier to see.
- These screenshots will allow diagnosis.
- You might see differences in opinion in later posts about how best to remedy matters.

An additional effect of that same error is that there is no Location tab in your Pictures folder properties and resolving that will form part of the same overall remedy.


All the best,
Denis

I'm a little puzzled. Both of these show stuff located on OneDrive that is actually located in users/buddy. (Pictures and documents). When I was initially setting the computer up, it defaulted to storing on OneDrive. After I moved some of my documents and pictures to it, I realized that was what it was doing and changed the location of those, plus music and videos, to the local drive. I can confirm that my files aren't in users/buddy/OneDrive, as it's empty except for some minor debris. They are not being synched to the cloud. My OneDrive cloud storage is empty. I don't know if this has a bearing on what's happening with this one folder, or if it's a separate situation.

Make a new system image before doing any of this.

I suggest you go to
and
If, as I think you are saying, those OneDrive folder paths do not exist then manually edit the four Registry User shell folders entries that mention OneDrive to point them where you want.
[Just User shell folders - there is no need to alter Shell folders as it will simply fall in line later.]
There is no logical reason to expect these changes to solve the main problem but I have seen some bizarre symptoms caused by the non-existence of a specified Pictures folder path.

If the problem remains then please do these checks.

Try3 said:

And, I think, if you paste​

C:\Users\buddy\Pictures\Personal\120721 PBHS Cajuns Wharf\Little Rock 2012​

into File explorer's Address bar then it takes you to​

C:\Users\buddy\Pictures\Personal\PBHS\Little Rock 2012​

and, I think, if you click in an empty part of the File explorer Address bar [some where towards its right-hand side] then it displays​

C:\Users\buddy\Pictures\Personal\PBHS\Little Rock 2012​

as​

C:\Users\buddy\Pictures\Personal\120721 PBHS Cajuns Wharf\Little Rock 2012​

​

Click to expand...

You haven't been playing around with MkLink commands have you? Check for any relevant redirection using this guidance
Find All Symbolic Links and Junction Points - ElevenForumTutorials


Denis

OneDrive what a pain. I would store your photos in a custom folder outside the users folder and set up a library(s) to view them all. Think the folder hierarchy length is also possibly causing problems. If you create for example C:\myphotos\ this at least cuts the folder hierarchy length by half.

Thanks, @Try3.

It will probably be early next week before I can get back to this. I've got a significant road trip next the rest of this week and won't be able to focus on this. I'll post when I get back into it.

Best I recall, when I set this PC up in January, I installed a few programs as a test. That's when I discovered that everything was defaulting to using OneDrive for file locations. I then set about disabling, but not uninstalling, OneDrive. At that point, I hadn't worked out the backup solution that I'm now using and very happy with - a combination of FreeFileSync and Google Drive. And I wasn't informed enough about OneDrive to make that decision.

More recently, I've been of a mind to completely uninstall OneDrive, but mainly just "leaving well enough alone". Now wondering if I should go ahead, either before or (more likely) after the cleanup work in the registry.

One of my nightly FreeFileSync backups tells me it can't find the folder with the name beginning 120721.

No, I haven't played with MkLink. Don't even know it exists or what it does.

@Try3 I'm back from my trip.

I just looked at properties for /OneDrive/Pictures and /OneDrive/documents and they do have both have location tabs and both point to their displayed location as subdirectories of OneDrive. I'm a little reticent to just change those paths to the local ones used by 95% of my programs, because there is a small amount of data there for two programs that were installed early and aren't offering the option to specify where their files are located. Yeah, I know, that's cheesy. Can't give either one up, both do unique and essential things for me. Your thoughts?

Back to the original issue...

I've wondered if I should just copy all the photos to a new directory somewhere, then delete them all from the "new" directory (the one which references the original directory as its location), delete the "new" directory, and finally delete it from the recycle bin. All this would be in hopes to clear the corrupted entries from the directory tree. Your thoughts about doing this?

And finally, when I was setting up the PC, I didn't uninstall OneDrive because I hadn't yet had time to see if my FreeFileSync and Macrium backup regimen would prove robust. It has, so I don't feel any need to keep OneDrive. So...

Do you think uninstalling OneDrive would clear this up, or if (as I suspect) that's a separate issue? And same question as above about sequence.

Buddy said:

I just looked at properties for /OneDrive/Pictures and /OneDrive/documents and they do have both have location tabs and both point to their displayed location as subdirectories of OneDrive. I'm a little reticent to just change those paths to the local ones used by 95% of my programs, because there is a small amount of data there for two programs that were installed early and aren't offering the option to specify where their files are located. Yeah, I know, that's cheesy. Can't give either one up, both do unique and essential things for me. Your thoughts?

Click to expand...

Actually, I was expecting you to say that those folders did not exist - I thought you had said that there was just a bit of debris in /OneDrive.
But since they do exist, you can use their location tabs to relocate them.
Whenever I do this,
- I make a new system image first so I am protected if it all goes wrong.
- I manually move all the files & subfolders from the original [unwanted] folder myself rather than let the relocation job do it for me. The relocation job only went wrong for me once [about a decade ago] but I still feel safer doing the move manually first.

I expect your special programs will adjust to the new locations without any complaints.
They ought to be referring to the Registry entries to find out where to create their own folders so they ought to read the new entries after the relocation has been done.
I have some old programs that do the same.
- It's annoying that they interpret My documents to mean Their documents.
- I have never found a single file useful that a program has created in its subfolder of Documents. Their files are just clutter to me.
- Fewer programs seem to do this nowadays. It used to be so commonplace that I relocated my Documents folder to somewhere out of the way and used an entirely different folder to save my files in.

Buddy said:

I've wondered if I should just copy all the photos to a new directory somewhere, then delete them all from the "new" directory (the one which references the original directory as its location), delete the "new" directory,

Click to expand...

I cannot follow every part of this para but
- I agree that moving the files from /OneDrive/Pictures etc yourself first is a good, safety-first approach.
- I agree that putting them back in the new Pictures folder afterwards is a good idea. You can actually stick them whereever you want. I do.

Buddy said:

finally delete it from the recycle bin

Click to expand...

I do not see any point in doing this.

Buddy said:

Do you think uninstalling OneDrive would clear this up

Click to expand...

I think uninstalling OneDrive should wait until all the file locations have been sorted out. Doing it before then might cause some files to be permanently lost.
Check that Registry Key again when you think the job is completed and only then consider uninstalling OneDrive.


All the best,
Denis

glasskuter said:

https://www.elevenforum.com/t/turn-on-or-off-onedrive-folder-backup-syncing-across-windows-11-devices.4321/

Click to expand...

Already did that a long time ago. I'm now considering uninstalling it altogether.

@Try3 I wasn't clear on two points. Trying to say things a little bit differently...
First, there are only some bits of debris in users\buddy\OneDrive\Documents and users\buddy\OneDrive\Pictures. When I look at those two directories, they do have a location tab and are correctly pointed. And the "debris" bits are the sort of thing that would have been in an *.ini file in the old days, so I'm inclined to leave them alone, so as not to mess up the function of the programs that use them. The photo directories that prompted this whole discussion are NOT located in users\buddy\OneDrive\Pictures, nor are they uploaded to the OneDrive cloud site. They are in users\buddy\Pictures

Second, what I was proposing was to create a directory for the photos and move them there. Then delete the directory where they are now stored, and finally delete the current directory from the recycle bin. All in hopes that deleting the current directory would eliminate the confusion over its location and name.

Alright then, to move forward now that is all hopefully more clear.

I think I have two problems, which may or may not be related. First, a directory that has location data pointed at the incorrect name. Second, libraries that point at users/buddy/OneDrive when in fact they are located directly under users/buddy.

Buddy said:

First, a directory that has location data pointed at the incorrect name

Click to expand...

Relocate it where you want it.

Buddy said:

Second, libraries that point at users/buddy/OneDrive when in fact they are located directly under users/buddy

Click to expand...

Please post screenshots to show where the library item is that you are clicking on and where it takes you.
I expect to suggest that you finish relocating Documents & Pictures and then take another look at the Registry User shell folders & Shell folders for any entries that point to the wrong place.
And please drag around the column dividing lines in the Registry so that all the text can be read. It's just like dragging around column dividers in File explorer.
I suspect it will be that one beginning 0DD... that will look wrong but I need to search for its full name in my notes if I am to make any useful suggestions.

Your system image remains an important precursor to resolving matters.


All the best,
Denis

Your C:/Uers/Buddy/Pictures is the Default location for all pictures and is a part of Windows, Deleting it will have disastrous affects on your system.
.inf files are not stored in OneDrive and will have no effect if moved.
If you go to the OneDrive/Pictures and Documents and go to the Location Tab, and press Move and choose the Default location of that folder (ie) OneDrive/Pictures moves to Buddy/Pictures. It will not affect the files that are located in the Default location now.
Then Disable OneDrive from Syncing automatically with those folders.

I can't see what Spunk has spotted but it is correct that you should only ever relocate the Pictures folder that has a Location tab not delete it.
Amongst the side-effects of deleting it would be the inability to take screenshots [Well, that was a symptom in Windows 10. I have not tested it in Windows 11.]


Denis

Well, this beats all. (smacks forehead with palm of hand)

I selected the offending folder \users\buddy\pictures\personal\PBHS\Little Rock 2012 in Explorer. Did a drag and drop to directly under Personal. So now it's shown by Explorer at \users\buddy\pictures\personal\Little Rock 2012. And (drum roll) that's where properties of both the folder and files in it show it. Before the drag and drop, the location shown in properties not only didn't match the location in Explorer, it didn't exist.

The problem with this folder would appear to be solved.

And I will probably leave well enough alone for the library locations. Despite their properties showing their location as being under OneDrive, everything is saving correctly in \users\buddy\documents and \users\buddy\pictures.

Buddy said:

I will probably leave well enough alone for the library locations. Despite their properties showing their location as being under OneDrive, everything is saving correctly in \users\buddy\documents and \users\buddy\pictures.

Click to expand...

Correction - The registry shows OD, not properties. But still likely to leave them be.