Hi all,

I just got Vista and am still learning how it works, so please forgive
me if this is a simple question.

I noticed today when installing some of my software that my [Username]
folder does not show up when browsing in C:\Users\[Username]. The only
folders there are Default and Public. My [Username] folder is accessible
under "Desktop" in the Explore menu, but it is not in C:\Users. Why not,
and how do I put it back?

Yes, I have "show hidden files and folders" turned on. Yes, if I type
"C:\Users\[Username]" into the address bar, it goes there correctly.
However, if I open an explorer window, click on C:\ and then click on
the Users folder, the only two things that show up are Default and
Public.

Is this something as simple as Microsoft trying to make a user's
[Username] folder more accessible and not so hidden? Am I just supposed
to access it by clicking on the folder in "Desktop"? Why does this
folder not show up when browsing C:\Users?

Thanks very much in advance!


--
yopumpkinhead

"yopumpkinhead" wrote in message
...

Hi all,

I just got Vista and am still learning how it works, so please forgive
me if this is a simple question.

I noticed today when installing some of my software that my [Username]
folder does not show up when browsing in C:\Users\[Username]. The only
folders there are Default and Public. My [Username] folder is accessible
under "Desktop" in the Explore menu, but it is not in C:\Users. Why not,
and how do I put it back?

Yes, I have "show hidden files and folders" turned on. Yes, if I type
"C:\Users\[Username]" into the address bar, it goes there correctly.
However, if I open an explorer window, click on C:\ and then click on
the Users folder, the only two things that show up are Default and
Public.

Is this something as simple as Microsoft trying to make a user's
[Username] folder more accessible and not so hidden? Am I just supposed
to access it by clicking on the folder in "Desktop"? Why does this
folder not show up when browsing C:\Users?

Thanks very much in advance!


--
yopumpkinhead


You or someone might have changed the user name.

It sounds like originally the user name was Default then the user name was
changed through User Accounts in Control Panel.

Changing the user name doesn't change the name of the folder.

Explorer does display the new name in places like the Start menu.

"yopumpkinhead" wrote in message
...

Hi all,

I just got Vista and am still learning how it works, so please forgive
me if this is a simple question.

I noticed today when installing some of my software that my [Username]
folder does not show up when browsing in C:\Users\[Username]. The only
folders there are Default and Public. My [Username] folder is accessible
under "Desktop" in the Explore menu, but it is not in C:\Users. Why not,
and how do I put it back?

Yes, I have "show hidden files and folders" turned on. Yes, if I type
"C:\Users\[Username]" into the address bar, it goes there correctly.
However, if I open an explorer window, click on C:\ and then click on
the Users folder, the only two things that show up are Default and
Public.

Is this something as simple as Microsoft trying to make a user's
[Username] folder more accessible and not so hidden? Am I just supposed
to access it by clicking on the folder in "Desktop"? Why does this
folder not show up when browsing C:\Users?

Thanks very much in advance!


--
yopumpkinhead


You or someone might have changed the user name.

It sounds like originally the user name was Default then the user name was
changed through User Accounts in Control Panel.

Changing the user name doesn't change the name of the folder.

Explorer does display the new name in places like the Start menu.

Tae Song wrote:


"yopumpkinhead" wrote in message
...

Hi all,

I just got Vista and am still learning how it works, so please forgive
me if this is a simple question.

I noticed today when installing some of my software that my [Username]
folder does not show up when browsing in C:\Users\[Username]. The only
folders there are Default and Public. My [Username] folder is accessible
under "Desktop" in the Explore menu, but it is not in C:\Users. Why not,
and how do I put it back?

Yes, I have "show hidden files and folders" turned on. Yes, if I type
"C:\Users\[Username]" into the address bar, it goes there correctly.
However, if I open an explorer window, click on C:\ and then click on
the Users folder, the only two things that show up are Default and
Public.

Is this something as simple as Microsoft trying to make a user's
[Username] folder more accessible and not so hidden? Am I just supposed
to access it by clicking on the folder in "Desktop"? Why does this
folder not show up when browsing C:\Users?

You or someone might have changed the user name.

It sounds like originally the user name was Default then the user name was
changed through User Accounts in Control Panel.

This is not possible. "Default" in Windows Vista/7 is the template for all
new users. It is equivalent to "Default User" in Windows XP. So the original
user name could not have been "Default".

To the OP: Please give some description of your computer. Home machine?
Corporate workstation? Offhand, it sounds as though someone attempted to move
your user profile to a different location such as a secondary hard drive or
server and didn't realize you couldn't move the entire profile but could only
move the individual directories (Documents, Pictures, etc.). In addition,
tell us what version of Vista you are using and when you go to Control
PanelUser Accounts what you see.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Tae Song wrote:


"yopumpkinhead" wrote in message
...

Hi all,

I just got Vista and am still learning how it works, so please forgive
me if this is a simple question.

I noticed today when installing some of my software that my [Username]
folder does not show up when browsing in C:\Users\[Username]. The only
folders there are Default and Public. My [Username] folder is accessible
under "Desktop" in the Explore menu, but it is not in C:\Users. Why not,
and how do I put it back?

Yes, I have "show hidden files and folders" turned on. Yes, if I type
"C:\Users\[Username]" into the address bar, it goes there correctly.
However, if I open an explorer window, click on C:\ and then click on
the Users folder, the only two things that show up are Default and
Public.

Is this something as simple as Microsoft trying to make a user's
[Username] folder more accessible and not so hidden? Am I just supposed
to access it by clicking on the folder in "Desktop"? Why does this
folder not show up when browsing C:\Users?

You or someone might have changed the user name.

It sounds like originally the user name was Default then the user name was
changed through User Accounts in Control Panel.

This is not possible. "Default" in Windows Vista/7 is the template for all
new users. It is equivalent to "Default User" in Windows XP. So the original
user name could not have been "Default".

To the OP: Please give some description of your computer. Home machine?
Corporate workstation? Offhand, it sounds as though someone attempted to move
your user profile to a different location such as a secondary hard drive or
server and didn't realize you couldn't move the entire profile but could only
move the individual directories (Documents, Pictures, etc.). In addition,
tell us what version of Vista you are using and when you go to Control
PanelUser Accounts what you see.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Malke;1156819 Wrote:
Tae Song wrote:
To the OP: Please give some description of your computer. Home
machine?
Corporate workstation? Offhand, it sounds as though someone attempted
to move
your user profile to a different location such as a secondary hard
drive or
server and didn't realize you couldn't move the entire profile but
could only
move the individual directories (Documents, Pictures, etc.). In
addition,
tell us what version of Vista you are using and when you go to Control
PanelUser Accounts what you see.

It's a home-use machine, running Vista x64 Ultimate. I've had it for
one week now and not a lot of time to fiddle outside of setting it up.
My username is the only one on the computer, I'm the only one who uses
it, and I have not moved any of the default folders or changed any
profile settings (that I know of). All I have done so far is install
protection software, Microsoft critical updates, a few games, and
Firefox; and used Microsoft's backup utility to copy over folders from
my old XP machine into my "Documents" folder. I also uninstalled the
extraneous Dell "bonus" sidebar (dashboard?) which puts flashy icons for
the recycle bin, IE, Outlook, etc in a toolbar on top of the screen, and
for which I have no use. (I don't remember what it's called; I
uninstalled it first thing as it was annoying.)

When I go to Control Panel - User Accounts, I see my account (my name)
listed as Administrator. The only other account is Guest, and that is
turned off.


--
yopumpkinhead

Malke;1156819 Wrote:
Tae Song wrote:
To the OP: Please give some description of your computer. Home
machine?
Corporate workstation? Offhand, it sounds as though someone attempted
to move
your user profile to a different location such as a secondary hard
drive or
server and didn't realize you couldn't move the entire profile but
could only
move the individual directories (Documents, Pictures, etc.). In
addition,
tell us what version of Vista you are using and when you go to Control
PanelUser Accounts what you see.

It's a home-use machine, running Vista x64 Ultimate. I've had it for
one week now and not a lot of time to fiddle outside of setting it up.
My username is the only one on the computer, I'm the only one who uses
it, and I have not moved any of the default folders or changed any
profile settings (that I know of). All I have done so far is install
protection software, Microsoft critical updates, a few games, and
Firefox; and used Microsoft's backup utility to copy over folders from
my old XP machine into my "Documents" folder. I also uninstalled the
extraneous Dell "bonus" sidebar (dashboard?) which puts flashy icons for
the recycle bin, IE, Outlook, etc in a toolbar on top of the screen, and
for which I have no use. (I don't remember what it's called; I
uninstalled it first thing as it was annoying.)

When I go to Control Panel - User Accounts, I see my account (my name)
listed as Administrator. The only other account is Guest, and that is
turned off.


--
yopumpkinhead

yopumpkinhead wrote:


It's a home-use machine, running Vista x64 Ultimate. I've had it for
one week now and not a lot of time to fiddle outside of setting it up.
My username is the only one on the computer, I'm the only one who uses
it, and I have not moved any of the default folders or changed any
profile settings (that I know of). All I have done so far is install
protection software, Microsoft critical updates, a few games, and
Firefox; and used Microsoft's backup utility to copy over folders from
my old XP machine into my "Documents" folder. I also uninstalled the
extraneous Dell "bonus" sidebar (dashboard?) which puts flashy icons for
the recycle bin, IE, Outlook, etc in a toolbar on top of the screen, and
for which I have no use. (I don't remember what it's called; I
uninstalled it first thing as it was annoying.)

When I go to Control Panel - User Accounts, I see my account (my name)
listed as Administrator. The only other account is Guest, and that is
turned off.

OK, I don't know why you aren't seeing your user account under C:\Users.
However, you don't have your machine set up in the best way for Vista. It is
never best practice to run as "root" ("Administrator" in the Windows world).
Although this was of course also true with XP, from a practical standpoint
it wasn't workable since so many programs designed for that operating system
didn't understand the necessity of running under a Standard user. In Vista,
you can run as Standard and should.

You particularly don't want only one user account with administrative
privileges on Vista because the built-in Administrator account (normally
only used in emergencies) is disabled by default. If you're running as
Administrator for your daily work and that account gets corrupted, things
will be Difficult. It isn't impossible to activate the built-in Administrator
to rescue things, but it will require third-party tools and working outside
the operating system.

The user account that is for your daily work should be a Standard user, with
the extra administrative user (call it something like "CompAdmin" or "Tech"
or the like) only there for elevation purposes. After you create
"CompAdmin", log into it and change your regular user account to Standard.
Then log back into your regular account.

If you want to go directly to the Desktop and skip the Welcome Screen with
the icons of user accounts, you can do this:

Start OrbSearch boxtype: netplwiz [enter]
Click on Continue (or supply an administrator's password) when prompted by
UAC

Uncheck the option "Users must enter a user name and password to use this
computer". Select a user account to automatically log on by clicking on the
desired account to highlight it and then hit OK. Enter the correct password
for that user account (if there is one) when prompted. Leave it blank if
there is no password (null).

So go ahead and make the above changes and see what shows up under C:\Users
now.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

yopumpkinhead wrote:


It's a home-use machine, running Vista x64 Ultimate. I've had it for
one week now and not a lot of time to fiddle outside of setting it up.
My username is the only one on the computer, I'm the only one who uses
it, and I have not moved any of the default folders or changed any
profile settings (that I know of). All I have done so far is install
protection software, Microsoft critical updates, a few games, and
Firefox; and used Microsoft's backup utility to copy over folders from
my old XP machine into my "Documents" folder. I also uninstalled the
extraneous Dell "bonus" sidebar (dashboard?) which puts flashy icons for
the recycle bin, IE, Outlook, etc in a toolbar on top of the screen, and
for which I have no use. (I don't remember what it's called; I
uninstalled it first thing as it was annoying.)

When I go to Control Panel - User Accounts, I see my account (my name)
listed as Administrator. The only other account is Guest, and that is
turned off.

OK, I don't know why you aren't seeing your user account under C:\Users.
However, you don't have your machine set up in the best way for Vista. It is
never best practice to run as "root" ("Administrator" in the Windows world).
Although this was of course also true with XP, from a practical standpoint
it wasn't workable since so many programs designed for that operating system
didn't understand the necessity of running under a Standard user. In Vista,
you can run as Standard and should.

You particularly don't want only one user account with administrative
privileges on Vista because the built-in Administrator account (normally
only used in emergencies) is disabled by default. If you're running as
Administrator for your daily work and that account gets corrupted, things
will be Difficult. It isn't impossible to activate the built-in Administrator
to rescue things, but it will require third-party tools and working outside
the operating system.

The user account that is for your daily work should be a Standard user, with
the extra administrative user (call it something like "CompAdmin" or "Tech"
or the like) only there for elevation purposes. After you create
"CompAdmin", log into it and change your regular user account to Standard.
Then log back into your regular account.

If you want to go directly to the Desktop and skip the Welcome Screen with
the icons of user accounts, you can do this:

Start OrbSearch boxtype: netplwiz [enter]
Click on Continue (or supply an administrator's password) when prompted by
UAC

Uncheck the option "Users must enter a user name and password to use this
computer". Select a user account to automatically log on by clicking on the
desired account to highlight it and then hit OK. Enter the correct password
for that user account (if there is one) when prompted. Leave it blank if
there is no password (null).

So go ahead and make the above changes and see what shows up under C:\Users
now.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Malke;1157684 Wrote:
yopumpkinhead wrote:
OK, I don't know why you aren't seeing your user account under
C:\Users.
However, you don't have your machine set up in the best way for Vista.
It is
never best practice to run as "root" ("Administrator" in the Windows
world).
Although this was of course also true with XP, from a practical
standpoint
it wasn't workable since so many programs designed for that operating
system
didn't understand the necessity of running under a Standard user. In
Vista,
you can run as Standard and should.

You particularly don't want only one user account with administrative
privileges on Vista because the built-in Administrator account
(normally
only used in emergencies) is disabled by default. If you're running as
Administrator for your daily work and that account gets corrupted,
things
will be Difficult. It isn't impossible to activate the built-in
Administrator
to rescue things, but it will require third-party tools and working
outside
the operating system.

The user account that is for your daily work should be a Standard user,
with
the extra administrative user (call it something like "CompAdmin" or
"Tech"
or the like) only there for elevation purposes. After you create
"CompAdmin", log into it and change your regular user account to
Standard.
Then log back into your regular account.

If you want to go directly to the Desktop and skip the Welcome Screen
with
the icons of user accounts, you can do this:

Start OrbSearch boxtype: netplwiz [enter]
Click on Continue (or supply an administrator's password) when prompted
by
UAC

Uncheck the option "Users must enter a user name and password to use
this
computer". Select a user account to automatically log on by clicking on
the
desired account to highlight it and then hit OK. Enter the correct
password
for that user account (if there is one) when prompted. Leave it blank
if
there is no password (null).

So go ahead and make the above changes and see what shows up under
C:\Users
now.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
'index' (http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ)

Heh, I know it's bad policy to run as Admin all the time... I had set
up Vista using almost all default settings, and didn't realize this made
my personal user account the default Admin until it was too late. I'd
meant to go back and fix it but hadn't got around to it yet. (Also, I
take it that this is not normal Vista behaviour? I was sort of hoping
that it would be a dumb question and my User folder isn't supposed to
show up, but ah well - all the more reason to upgrade to Windows 7 ASAP,
I suppose....)

I created a separate Admin account and turned off the welcome screen,
as you recommended. Out of curiosity, I tried naming the new account
"Administrator", and it told me that there is already an account named
"Administrator." I don't know if it's referencing the hidden, built-in
Admin account you mentioned, or if Vista decided to make the default
Admin account *my* account, and just changed the display name when I
went through Setup.

After adding the new Admin account, it shows up in C:\Users, but my
personal Username folder still does not. So, my current C:\Users has
Default, Public, and now Admin... but is still missing my normal
account.

If Setup did, in fact, rename the built-in Administrator account to my
personal account, is it possible to move all my documents and settings
to a new, non-Admin account, and restore the built-in account to its
proper status? If I have to, since the computer's only a week old, I can
restore everything to factory defaults and start over, but I'd rather
not as setting it up the first time was frustrating enough....


--
yopumpkinhead