Windows 10: "Cannot create a file when that file already exists" error when creating an mklink

Hello, I've been trying to create an mklink so that anything inside of the documents folder on the C drive is actually stored on the F drive. Trouble I'm having is that it says it cannot create a file when that file already exists, which is confusing considering I have no files in that folder to begin with.

This is the command I'm using to get that error:

mklink /D "C:\Users\User\Documents" "F:\Documents"

If I swap the paths around, it then works, but the files are stored on the C drive regardless, which defeats the point of me doing all this in the first place.

I need to be able to store them on the F drive, but can able to access them via the C drive and file explorer shortcuts.

How do I go about doing that? Is it safe to delete the default documents folder perhaps?

submitted by /u/TurningRhyme467
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:)

 

Cannot create a file when that file already exists error message

I get this message when I try to change windows 10 update download location. The steps I performed were:


1. Stop wuauserv in Task Manager > Services tab.
2. Rename C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution to C:\Windows\OldSoftwareDistribution
3. Create new folder on external harddrive: D:\WindowsUpdateLocation
4. Open command prompt - Run as administrator and type in mklink /j c:\windows\softwaredistribution d:\WindowsUpdateDownload and hit enter.

I get 'Cannot create a file when that file already exists' . What am I doing wrong here? It should say Junction created for C:\Windows\OldSoftwareDistribution <<=>> D:\WindowsUpdateLocation but I get the error message instead.

 

Creating Shortcuts with Batch File

Hmm, I just tried it and it worked fine. Maybe try running the batch as administrator? Also, right click on the desktop after the shortcut is created and click Refresh.

If the file in the third parameter doesn't exist, it assumes the icon is in the application.

 

Creating Shortcuts with Batch File

I've created a Batch file which calls on the following VB Script to be able to create a shortcut to my desktop:

VB Script (named createLink.vbs):
Code: set objWSHShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell") set objFso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") ' command line arguments ' TODO: error checking sShortcut = objWSHShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings(WScript.Arguments.Item(0)) sTargetPath = objWSHShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings(WScript.Arguments.Item(1)) sWorkingDirectory = objFso.GetAbsolutePathName(sShortcut) set objSC = objWSHShell.CreateShortcut(sShortcut) objSC.TargetPath = sTargetPath objSC.WorkingDirectory = sWorkingDirectory objSC.Save[/quote] Batch File Example (for Windows Notepad):
Code: @echo off cscript createLink.vbs "C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\Notepad.lnk" "C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe"[/quote] But after creating the shortcut using this method, I'm not able to assign a custom icon for the shortcut. I get the following error message when trying to do so:





Any help and ideas on what I need to put into the VB Script and/or Batch File to be able to do this would be greatly appreciated! *Big Grin

Also, I know that I can simply do this by going to Start Menu\All Programs\Accessories\ right-clicking on Notepad and selecting Send to\Desktop (create shortcut). Easy enough for creating a single shortcut. But I need to create several multiple shortcuts and using this Batch/VBS method would really save me a lot of time in doing so.