Windows 10: External backup can't see Desktop

OK I will work on this list of stuff and get back to you ASAP

 

simrick, Everything that was in your list that is missing from this below is Uninstalled


Dell VideoStage CyberLink Corp. 3/9/2011 31.0 MB 1.1.0.1011 InstallShield: Error!! The product definition file lost

Get Office Microsoft Corporation 3/18/2016 17.6811.23771.0 Can’t figure out where to get this
Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1 Professional Microsoft Corporation 9/6/2011 146 MB 9.00.3821 I use this version sometimes


Get Skype Skype 3/10/2016 3.2.1.0 Upgraded Skype to 4/28/2015 7.22.109

Nitro Reader 3 Nitro 4/5/2013 203 MB 3.5.2.10 Upgraded to 4/28/2016 5.5.6.21

Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.1.4 Oracle Corporation 10/28/2011 154 MB 4.1.4 Updated to 5.0518 but I question whether I need this now. I believe I got this to try to run that CAD program on WinXP
(update as this is old- it's on v5 now)

Palm Desktop by ACCESS Palm, Inc. 3/28/2011 140 MB 6.4.0.0 Can’t get to their website, but I will try and migrate all of the data to another program like Google. This is a phone log and todo list only now but it has a lot of data on it.


Skype Toolbars Skype Technologies S.A. 3/9/2011 10.7 MB 1.0.4051
Software Updater Upgraded with Skype to 4/28/2015 1.0.4051


Tthe following two are no longer supported by MS not sure why they are on the system? MSXML 4 is at Service Pack 3 now; MSXML itself is supported by MS at v5 now. Are they needed perhaps for the old version of QuickBooks? This page shows a list of MSXMLs and what programs they come with.
Manual updates can be found here.

MSXML 4.0 SP2 (KB954430) Microsoft Corporation 3/17/2011 2.55 MB 4.20.9870.0
MSXML 4.0 SP2 (KB973688) Microsoft Corporation 3/17/2011 2.67 MB 4.20.9876.0

Not sure I would uninstall them, but instead try to update. Can’t update them, so deleted

 

As I suspected. That helps to know.

Even better!

*Roflmao2 Then you can come collect me as well!

(Not sure who Noomi is... *Smile ) But I will try my best. This is a difficult one, and will require quite a bit of work. I hope you are up to the challenge. Still, there's no guarantee we will succeed, and a clean install (which is also a lot of work, re-installing programs, etc.), may be the final option in the end. So, we could be looking at "a lot of work" or "a lot of work x 2".

Just thinking out loud for the option of repairing things:
We can't just delete the XP partition and be done with it, as it will certainly mess up the boot loader, and you won't be able to boot at all. We'll need to first make an image of your entire hard drive (all partitions) and bootable rescue media, so you'll need empty, writable CDs or flash drives, plus room on your exHDD for the image. An in-place repair install will eventually be needed, in the hopes that this will correct the Desktop location. I am also afraid that some files/folders may "disappear", or some programs may cease to function, once that XP partition is gone.

I am thinking I'd also want to manually copy your personal files to your external hard drive, (exHDD), so they can be copied back into the correct libraries if necessary; at least those on your Cookies\Desktop, if everything else is already backed-up in normal format, meaning not compressed. How are you doing your backups anyway? Using WD software? Is it a simple copy operation? In other words, if you went into the WD backup, can you open files from it? -i.e. the *.doc files actually show as *.doc files and they will open from the backup location? The reason I ask, is because some backup software will compress the backed-up files, and so they must be "restored" before they are usable.

A clean install will require a flash drive minimum 8GB in size, a (free) download of the current W10 ISO, and installation media of all required programs (with keycodes, if necessary).

How big is your exHDD and how much room do you have available on it?
Can you provide me with a screen shot of Disk Management please?
Do you have your W7 keycode handy, and keys for any paid software?
Do you have the install media for your paid software?
Do you know if your BIOS has options for UEFI and Secure Boot?
Is the BIOS up-to-date? (Check support.dell.com using your service tag.)
Your system is able to boot from a USB flash drive, right? (It should be - it's only 5 years old.) And do you know how to do that in your BIOS?

No rush. I have to leave around 3 and will be unavailable for a few hours.

Now, I don't want to put you off the repair, but I do want you to understand the complexity of it all and the chances of succeeding, because now would be a good time to make a decision to just bit the bullet and do the clean install. I always appreciated it when people would give me the whole picture, and not feed me bits and pieces; I hope you understand. I have noticed that Windows 7 upgrades tend to be a bit buggy, and run much better with a clean install (more so than Windows 8 upgrades). We'll be booting into C prompt in a recovery console, using DISKPART commands, boot & MBR repair commands for the boot issues that will be created, etc. If you do not have a second computer, or another way to access this thread, it may become extremely tricky. A clean install will be a lot less work for you, the system will run much better, and you will probably avoid complications which might arise when the W10 1yr. anniversary upgrade comes out in July.

Allons-y! *Wink

 

OK, simrick, time to take a break, catch our breaths, and think about alternatives, but as I was thinking about what you wrote, and playing with ideas I opened up C:>Users>Me>Documents and saw that there is a Cookies folder above it now. It has a shortcut arrow and a "Location is not available Access Denied" popup came up. I do still have all hidden files showing. Not sure if this means anything to you, but I have to leave soon and want to get this down.

First, Noomi Rapace played Lisbeth Salander, Goth? computer hacker extraordinaire, in the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Second, this has somewhat preempted my life. Yours too, unless this is your job (PAID). Do you get paid by TenForums? If not, then I have a question about whether this is worth all this time and energy for both of us, esp. since I con find a work around (see 1st alternative below) and you probably have many less computer savvy people to help, much as it is nice meeting you day to day. (Does your Sig Other know we keep meeting like this? LOL Actually, my wife says that I'm spending too much time with a younger woman and it's not age appropriate. LOL) But seriously, this is all because I'm lazy and not willing to file things properly, and if I got my act together, I'd have a clean desktop like my wife does - she's a librarian and they are good at putting things in their proper places.

Also, what you are proposing is massive and will be much more time consuming, and I have been able to push things aside for a while, but the calendar for me coming up is getting crowded, which means that this would be strung out over a period of days. Plus will I be able to use the computer as much as I am wont to do when we start? I often work for 6-7 hours in the morning on it, and then use it in the evenings as well for email et al. In any case, let me put down my thoughts before I have to leave for the evening.

Here are some of my thoughts of alternatives:

• Copy/move all of the files and maybe even the shortcuts from the desktop into document folders and stop using the desktop as a lazy way to keep things except temporarily. This surely would eliminate the problem of the ext. backup not being able to see the things I have there. I have the same problem with my physical desk which is always a cluttered mess.
• Swap everything into 's user folders and delete my user after changing admin priviledges to (I can do that right?) I'm sure you would know a relatively easy way to do that, since you migrated stuff to an alternative drive. We know this computer is clean, and since the user is functioning properly wouldn't this work.
• Revert back to Win 7 and try a Win10 install again. This seems kind of clunky to me.

Those seem like simpler ways of dealing with this. Again, I appreciate all that you have done and give you a virtual Hug for sticking with this. Will check in when I can. G-

 

Hmmm..... It's a shortcut? Hmmm....

Oh! I may have to add that to my KODI "watch list". *Wink

Gomer, you're killing me! *Roflmao2

Yes, massive is one way to describe it. *Wink Although a clean install is really not as bad as it sounds. Here's a quick way to install some commonly-used applications automatically:
Ninite - Install or Update Multiple Apps at Once
Aside from that, you'd have to install your printers, Office 2007, (and I would not advise putting O2000 back on), Amazon Kindle, Apple programs, camera/mouse/Answerworks/Listen+Write/Quicken/WD software. You could then use your WD software to "restore" your data to the proper locations. When I had to unexpectedly clean install my main rig because of a failed HDD with no warning, and had no time to be out of commission, I just installed the programs as I found I needed to use them.

Copy (not Move). Sometimes the Move process will fail, and you can lose files that way. Once everything is successfully copied, then you can delete the originals. Note: To be quite honest, I would not recommend this, as you have a problem with this user account. Do not move shortcuts - you'll need to make new ones.

If you go into the Gomer account, and put a file on the desktop, is the path to that file then correct? No Cookies folder? If so, then that user account *should* be okay.

Go into Settings>Accounts>Family & other people>Click on Gomer, and select Change account type to make it an administrator.
Then:
a. Copy (not move) all files from the corrupt user to the Gomer user. Log out of the corrupt account, log in to the Gomer administrative account, and using the procedure in bold above, select the corrupted account and select Remove; delete all files when it asks you if you want to keep them or not.
-or-
b. Instead of copying all the files before deleting the corrupted account, you could select to keep the files when you delete the corrupted account. Then, Windows will put a file folder on the desktop of Gomer containing all the user files from the corrupted account, and you can then copy/paste to the proper locations, and delete that folder when finished. Note, however, it's quite possible that the data in Cookies\Desktop may not be captured doing it this way. And....it may transfer that dang Cookies problem with it!

Absolutely not necessary, and not recommended. Firstly, if you have had W10 on there for more than a month, your "revert files" are gone. Some reverts have been unsuccessful, and so unless you have an image made to re-image your HDD with, it's risky.

Secondly, too many carry-over problems come from an upgrade from W7.

Thirdly, a clean install of W10 would really be less work than a revert+upgrade, and would solve the corruption problems, whereas a revert+upgrade would not.

Fourthly, once W10 has been installed and activated on a system, it can be clean installed as often as you like/need. No key is necessary. The activation for that particular system resides on the MS servers, and your clean install will be activated within minutes, or after a couple of boots. The system will run better, and future upgrades will be less likely to have complications.

Thanks Gomer. It's up to you. Perhaps moving to the new Gomer user account for now would be a temporary solution, until you have the time to properly fix things. And, I honestly think the clean install is the best way to do it. It's your call.

 

Just keeping you in the loop, G-

 

Hmmm....I'm not sure I understand that one. Office software has nothing to do with setting up a dual-boot system.

So, you never, ever had an actual dual-boot system working? Yet, you still have an option for different OSs at boot?

Um, I don't think so, but I am not sure I understand what you first did to begin with. Office software has nothing to do with setting up a dual-boot system.

Run>msconfig
Select the non-working OS in this box, and click Delete. Hopefully this will not prevent you from booting! Use at your own risk! This is not the way to remove an OS from a dual-boot system, if that is indeed what you have/had.





I would still like to have a screenshot of your Disk Management, to see what partitions reside on your disk, and the layout.

I have my OS on an SSD and several internal "spinners" in my system, one of which holds my data. Then, an external backup for my data, plus an off-site backup. Partitioning a drive for data files doesn't protect you if the drive fails (if that's what you're thinking). It's quite common for a drive failure to detrimentally affect all partitions, so that nothing can be recovered. The SSD is small, (but FAST!), so it holds only OS and programs, and is quick to image.

Naw, that's nothing - no time at all! *Wink

Excellent. So the data will now be backed up by the WD software, but the problems in the system still exist. *Sad (And could be amplified by the time the 1yr. anniversary upgrade comes out in July.)

Yes, putting them in a "pointer" is not correct. You need to put them in C:\Users\Gomer\[wherever they go.]

No "Cookies" anywhere.

I am proud of you too! *Smile But your issue remains. After you've recovered, I suggest a clean install. Seriously.

But, I want to see them in the C:\Users\Gomer\[Desktop, Documents, Pictures etc. folders]. No rush. I just want to determine if that account is corrupted as well. Putting something in the Public folder won't answer that question. No rush.

Thanks! Have a nice weekend.

 

Thanks

 

Okay, you can try this - it won't harm anything:

Right-click the Start button and select System>Advanced system settings

In the Advanced tab, select Startup and Recovery - click Settings

Select your default OS as W10, then change the time to display list of operating systems to 0 seconds.

 

Yes, please, I would uninstall O2000, as it could be the reason for your junctions. O2007 is fine and still supported.

Okay, I *think* if you make the settings change I posted above, for now, that may hide the dual-boot you see.

But, maybe the change I proposed won't do anything if you used a 3rd-party boot manager.

Honestly Gomer, I think you've just got way too much carry-over baggage on your system and a clean install is the only complete resolution. You will be much happier with it, and reinstalling your programs is really not that bad. Think about it. Maybe target the 1 yr. anniversary update that's due in July.

 

Hey, You're supposed to be having a nice weekend. What are you doing here? My excuse is that it is cold and rainy and I can't be fooling with the bees as I was planning.

Select your default OS as W10, then change the time to display list of operating systems to 0 seconds.
Beat ya to it. Did that at restart. *Smile

Also, I copied a file from my user account to s user account, desktop and documents. Logged in as and looked at the Paths for the desktop file and the documents file.
ALL ARE NORMAL WITH NO COOKIES INVOLVED, BUT
as I was about to log out and back into this account, I saw the Cookie Monster hiding, so I'll keep an eye open.

Now, what would be the simplest way to transfer program settings, and can you point me to ini files for my start menu or whatever it's called in Win10. Backup you said would be fine for doc and pictures? (Rather than retype, just point out what you wrote in what entry ## in the 7 screens we have filled and I'll go back to it.)
Is it safe to save everything into backup and then restore them to ?
Do I have to download all my email/browser/everything else downloadable?
I obviously don't have the equipment (SSD/spinners) that you have for doing the perfect set up, but I don't have that much time in life left and am simplifying to finish what I've already started, so just want to have a safe system.
And you told me to delete AVG, so I am functioning on Defender, but you said that it is not enough. Since another AV program will shut off Defender, what would make it "enough"?
And don't you answer this today. Sundays are for fun, unless you are a member of certain religious cults that see Sundays as days to suffer in front of a preacher. Hmmm, guess not or you would be there already.
Anyway take your dog for a long walk or your cat. My cat Cricket is sleeping just below my cursor, making it hard to see the bottom of this screen. (If necessary I move it to the other monitor, but there she sees it and wants to catch the cursor. She does that with birds on tv too, which is why she has never been allowed outside. Sneaky and those long claws make her a very good hunter.)
OK, I know I'm just blabbering on wasting your time. Hugs, R- (Oh, I hug everyone but is that allowed on this website? [I'm so old that PC means Prince Charming.])

 

OK simrick, I've uninstalled O2K, but one reason I hesitated is that it Enterpirse 2007 works differently in Excel and especially in Access, and I'm really lousy at VB. We'll see how this works. OTOH, I still have an old computer running XP and perhaps I could get by with O2K on it.

I shorten the display time to 5 sec. before I saw your message and that works fine. Just curious, when Win10 installed wasn't it a clean install? How will I get the installation to do so?

 

We have another beekeeper here on the forums! I had to stop in and check this morning on things before the day got too busy. *Wink

All looked normal for the paths to the documents in both locations? That's a good thing. But, where did you see Cookie? In the Gomer account somewhere?

Please specify what programs in particular and what settings and I will see what I can do.

The Start menu should already be the same for all accounts on the system. It resides here:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

A simple "copy-type" backup would be fine. How are you doing your backups? Using WD software? Is it a simple copy operation? In other words, if you went into the WD backup, can you open files directly from it? -i.e. the *.doc files actually show as *.doc files and they will open from the backup location? The reason I ask, is because some backup software will compress the backed-up files, and so they must be "restored" before they are usable. If it is a simple copy function, then they can be copied from your WD drive back to the Gomer account, to the proper locations.

Only data, not programs, if that's what you mean. And, I don't want to see a "restore" operation to put them back into Gomer - I would like to see a simple "copy" operation, to be sure the "Cookies" problem is not carried over.

Please explain how you handle email: Do you get it online, using a browser? Do you use an email client? If an email client, which one, and is it setup as POP3 or IMAP?

Browsers are different; I'll need to know which you use.

Defender should be good, if you add Malwarebytes Antimalware (Free or paid - paid is better, of course), SuperAntiSpyware (Free), and Malwarebytes AntiExploit (Free). This gives you a more layered approach.

That's funny about your cat! I think hugs are permitted. *Wink

 

The W10 was an upgraded W7 installation, right? You retained all your programs and data when you upgraded. So, *no*, that is not a clean install, that is an upgrade install. And, an upgrade install is where carryover baggage can sometimes muddy up the waters. A clean install would completely wipe your hard drive and install fresh.

Additionally, a repair install can remedy many problems evident on an upgrade, and it's something we could try once you have everything - and I mean everything - backed up. (I think I mentioned a repair install a page or two ago.)

Monday is a busy day for me. I will check in when I can.

 

Good, cuz even fiercely independent Geeks need Hugs (the male ones especially). Hugs, G-