Windows 10: Help in understanding the repetitive trees

I was under the mis-impression that Win10 would eliminate the redundancies of Win 7 etc., so can anyone explain to me why this repetition of the same thing over and over again. If not does anyone know of a tutorial, book, psychologist, witch, or FBI/CIA operative who can explain it to me?
Secondly, is there any way to winnow the redundancies down to one instance of each?
Thirdly, is there any way to make ALL folders views of Details without exceptions/templates/prayers to a higher power?

In case you don't understand what I'm writing about:

Explorer Tree: Quick Access: Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, etc
Desktop: One Drive, , This PC, Libraries, etc
: Desktop, Documents, Download, Favorites, etc
This PC: Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, etc
Libraries: Documents, Downloads, Music, etc

Thank you, and apologies if this is not the proper forum.

:)

 

I need a little help in understanding the Windows 10 transition.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPLY. Your answer was very helpful and appreciated.

-- Jonathan

 

I need a little help in understanding the Windows 10 transition.

Will upgrading from Windows 7 or later preserve my personal files, applications and settings?

Yes, upgrading from Windows 7 or a later version will preserve your personal files (documents, music, pictures, videos, downloads, favorites, contacts etc, applications (ie. Microsoft Office, Adobe applications etc), games and settings (ie. passwords, custom
dictionary, application settings).

Will my existing programs, hardware and drivers work on Windows 10?

Most applications and hardware drivers designed for Windows 7 or later should work with Windows 10. Of course, with significant changes expected in Windows 10, it is best you contact the software developer and hardware vendor to find out about support for
Windows 10. Windows 10 setup will keep, upgrade, replace and might require that you install new drivers through Windows Update or from the manufacturers website.

You can also download the Download the Windows 10 Reservation App and use it to check your system readiness.

How
to reserve your free upgrade to Windows 10



Click the hamburger menu at the upper left hand corner.

Click Check your PC

Backup your computer:

When making significant changes to your computer such as updating the operating system, you should always backup. See links to resources about backing up by clicking the link for the respective version of Windows you are running:

Windows XP,
Windows Vista,
Windows 7,
Windows 8/8.1

Also review:

How to: 10 Tips before
installing the latest Windows 10 build

How to: 10 things
to do if Windows 10 Setup fails.

Once you have installed these important updates and followed the prerequisite instructions, you should be ready to receive your
free update to Windows 10 this summer.

 

Hi, you can simplify what explorer displays a bit if you dig around in the options.

Conceptually the libraries (note they have a different icon to the actual folder of the same name) could have quite different names. It' just that MS's default is to have a Videos folder in a library called Videos. It didn't have to be like that- maybe it would have been clearer to call Videos (the library) Video Library, for example.

Desktop- well, what's there is your choice.

Here's my explorer with libraries not shown, and Quick Access collapsed.




And all my folders are in details view (unless, say, it's one that contains all mp3's).

Perhaps what you're referring to is the folder view not remaining consistent.. as you set it? If so, there are a couple of extremely lengthy threads on that sort of topic, which is an issue seen in earlier Windows editions by some.

 

Thanks for your reply, dalchina,

It's interesting in that your path shows "this PC/documents" but quick access is highlighted. How'd you do that? I can only get PC/documents when I click on the document folder which is then highlighted..

Also, you have gotten rid of both Desktop and whatever your User name is - in my case, is still there,.and Libraries too - below the various drives and above Network

Yes, I've set up the folder view to eliminate superfluous columns like the Type for example since one can see the type by the extension.and clicked on the setting that says make all folders the same details, but every folder comes up with the generic MS settings that MS thinks are important. It's driving me nuts to have to keep changing the columns - not to mention only being able to change one and the popup closes and I want to eliminate 3 and check others. Is there no central place to change and make one view the default?

I find Win10 to be a real time waster.

Again, thanks for your reply.

 

It's interesting in that your path shows "this PC/documents" but quick access is highlighted. How'd you do that? I can only get PC/documents when I click on the document folder which is then highlighted..
Odd I agree. Don't know.. not normal. But then, I fiddled with a couple of minor settings at the time to not show libraries for example..

Also, you have gotten rid of both Desktop and whatever your User name is - in my case, Gomer is still there,.and Libraries too - below the various drives and above Network
Desktop is there - libraries can be suppressed in the drop-down from Navigation Pane available if you click the View tab

Yes, I've set up the folder view to eliminate superfluous columns like the Type for example since one can see the type by the extension.and clicked on the setting that says make all folders the same details, but every folder comes up with the generic MS settings that MS thinks are important. It's driving me nuts to have to keep changing the columns - not to mention only being able to change one and the popup closes and I want to eliminate 3 and check others. Is there no central place to change and make one view the default?
Don't find this an issue. Occasionally I want some other column, but only very occasionally. My settings for explorer don't revert - are consistent. However, reversion to default configuration is reported in several threads here.

I find Win10 to be a real time waster.
Not in this respect, but with weird messages like 'Some settings are managed by your organisation', easily broken start menu, Cortana for some users (tho' not for me for many months), a useless start menu that does not properly or correctly express a folder based traditional start menu and does not offer the flexibility of traditional start menus (replace with Classic Shell- fixed), horrible default appearance (see how Qttabbar changes explorer- many options- and I've extended that to the rest with coloured title bars different for active and inactive Windows with Aeroglass), hard to change language settings needing multiple actions to align them to keep Cortana happy- yes, it demands far more attention than it should need. Hence my interest in this forum to stay aware!

Note: use system restore (disabled by default - why?) and disk imaging to secure and back up your PC and preserve your sanity. (e.g. Macrium Reflect (free) + boot medium + external storage)

 

Windows is based on various multiple redundancy systems: the registry, NTFS, WinSxS, and the user interface with various shells: Commandline: Command.com, CMD.exe, Powershell.exe, Graphical: Explorer.exe, Start, aka Modern aka Metro aka Immersive shell, and Mini systems: Bootmgr, WinPE, WinRE, to name but a few, and then there are redundant action pathways, multiple browsers, Image viewers, text editors, fonts, resource monitors and so on. And all that is before third party replacements and enhancements to system apps and utilities.

Given the long pedigree of Windows, and the resistance to change by users as evidenced by the deprecation of novel versions such as Windows 8, and Vista, Windows tries to satisfy everybody, and sometimes fails because the User population covers a wide spectrum of humanity, cultures, and experience.

Nobody will appreciate all the aspects of diversity that Windows offers, as perhaps the old mythical 80% rule of thumb shows - 80% of users never use 80% of the features available.

That makes 16% of features that perhaps 80% of users will agree are the most useful features of Windows, and 84% of features that 80% of users don't care or know about.

I'd just like to say to Gomer (Hi, Gomer, welcome to Tenforums *Smile), It won't get any better, unless you make your own OS that does just what you and only you want.

If you buy a suit off the peg, expect it not to fit perfectly, unless you have a perfect body.

 

Sorry, I wasn't clear about that. I have two Desktops, one just below Quick Access, which when contracted eliminates absolutely everything below it, and one which is like yours just below This PC, which expanded shows the things on the desktop. Also, if I mis-click on , it expands and yet another instance of Desktop, Documents, et al appears.

The columns that are relevant (used most frequently) to me are Date Modified, Size, Date Created, and occasionally Author. I'm assuming by your reply, that there is no way to modify what is in default, such as I have on my printer?

Oh yes, the list of frustrations is long. Explorer does not open when a disk or flash is inserted. Popups asking for one's input/choice (such as when one is copying a file from one place to another) do not pop up on top, forcing one to minimize anything hiding it before one can see it. Yes, the list is very long.

In any case dalchina, thanks for the tips. I'll try some.

 

1. Here I'm assuming you mean you select the columns in details view, then later find these have changed. But you also refer to default - don't understand the reference to printer, sorry.

If you search this forum for 'folder view' using the search box at the top you will get many results including these:
Folder View Settings - Reset to Default in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums
Windows 10 not saving my folder view options. - Windows 10 Forums
Folder Template - Change in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums
Folder view always reverts to 'details' - Windows 10 Forums

The tutorials are very good- do look thru the Tutorials section. Maybe sthg there that will help.

2. This is an autoplay issue. Again, an issue I once had long ago, and threads here about it including a registry fix:
Solved Autoplay won't open in Windows 10. - Windows 10 Forums

Search 'autoplay' for more.

3. I've sometimes seen this, maybe not exactly the one you mean. Occasionally I find a utility called Altdrag useful
AltDrag
This allows you to drag a window using any visible part of the window- not just the title bar.

Another thing I always have available is the ability to make windows topmost.. either by Filebox extender or Moo0 Window Menu Plus (freeware).

 

Please note that I have included comments within this quote. Still learning

And you in your hoodie speak to me of suits! While I do have a perfect body, I haven't bought a suit since 1964 while still in the military.

And by the by, I was quite impressed by the changes I saw last summer when my wife and I returned to Cornwall where I used to have a leather shop (Penzance) years ago. (My heart still lies west of the Tamar.) Of course, there were many of your countrymen and women who were ambivalent about some of the changes. Even though the roads are still as narrow and courtesy is still required when driving them, theirs and my tires didn't appreciate the new razor sharp curbstones recently installed, but the gentlemen at the garage appreciated the influx of capital.

My wife and I were both impressed as well by the number of windmills and PV panels on farms and buildings - astounding and commendable. Sadly, I struggle to convince my neighbors and politicians of the wisdom of using the sun's free energy. We have heated our home by the sun since building it 18 years ago, and now that the politicians have made it law that the power companies must accept our excess power, I'll be installing PV as well.

Mind you, the graciousness of the people was still the same. Just think if all the English speaking countries were homogenized into the American or Australian version as MS has done for computers. Wouldn't the world be a less enjoyable place? Cheers-

 

dalchina, thank you, but I tend to shy away from using 3rd party software if at all possible, because it demands resident space, slowing the computer and is just one other thing to cause problems or conflict with another program or AV program.

Again, thank you for taking the time to reply.

 

Firstly I apologise If I caused offence in my final sentence, I was making an analogy between the "fit" of Windows to an average user (the likes of which never existed), and the fit of a non-bespoke garment to an average body (also non-existent). I should not have used the word "you", and if, by that, I appeared to personalize the statement, it was not intended. Forgive me.

I too have been working with computers (and users thereof - without which the box with a screen would not do much at all) for 30+ years, and I have never considered them as a single tool, more as a toolkit with almost endless possibilities. I love the word "Spanmer", by the way, may I use it?

I agree totally, but sadly not limited to Windows, and the BBC is noticeably dumbed down and the King's English is no more (hurrah!) if one listens. Of East End lorry drivers I know nothing more than I suspect you do, but I would bet the majority of them are multilingual these days.

I don't understand this, as I worked with training users in WordPerfect, Lotus, Quattro Pro, AmiPro etc., and found the MS Office products more efficient and user friendly since they were much more integrated and used a common interface, but all the other "Office suite" offerings for Windows remained quirky and frankly buggy.

Its a rule of evolution - learn to change or become a fossil, or to put it another way: "Once you stop learning, you start dying" - Albert Einstein

Frankly, I have it both ways - I still use Office 97 in preference to Office 365, because it costs me nothing and is screamingly fast, and in the end, no one can tell a document printed from either apart. (and MS Office converter tools still work for docx etc.) Which all adds up to my response to your next statement:

Do it the old way if you want - it's all still there for you, nobody has made Windows 7 unavailable to you - yet.

Good for you, another one of us that is outside the box.

Your'e welcome

oops!

You mistake my avatar for my real nature or appearance, it is no more representative of me than the lack of an image on yours is representative of you. I do believe you when you admit to having a perfect body. So do I, and my suits all fit perfectly.

My wife and I both love Cornwall too.

Solar (heat and PV) is one (good) thing, but mechanical turbines are no less eyesores than pylons IMO, and fail more catastrophically.

I think you may be comparing apples and oranges (probably a bad choice of fruit) Microsoft has done an amazing equalizing act by making computing affordable to the masses, and on the shoulders of the computer industry, the mobile telephone revolution has done even more to make information and education and the ability to create wealth available to members of some of the poorest societies.

500 years ago, about the only place English was spoken was England, and then with about 200 (I am guessing here) dialects, and I'd bet there are even more today with the influx of new British residents from far flung places. The world would become a less enjoyable place if there were less choice available, not more. Which is kind-of in opposition to the grumble and sentiments I sense were expressed in your initial post. Don't worry about the quotes - I probably was the only one to read it anyway - there is a DR:TL tendency here *Smile

 

Well, Fafhrd, my guess is that you too are probably tiring of this long thread. I must say though that I have enjoyed the communication and the break on what was a dreary morning. It's afternoon and the sun is shining and my bees are calling. Be well, and thank you much for the interchange. Let me know if you come to Maine and I'll be glad to take you out for a beer.

 

Thanks for that. I cannot disagree about WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS, and the absolute control Reveal Codes gave the user, or Lotus123, or Clipper as a DBase Development system, but as DOS rapidly became sidelined in favour of graphical Windows, none of these sturdy old workhorses managed the switchover.

But yes , it's been a pleasant diversion. Enjoy the springtime, while it lasts.

 

A rather large number of years ago I was approached & asked to teach someone 'to use a computer'. This person insisted that he didn't want jargon or theory, his idea was that a computer was a tool like a hammer & I should be able to teach him how to use it as easily as a carpenter could teach him to use a hammer.

So I did. I didn't even charge him for it. I carefully told him to take the computer in his boat with him then, when he reached the spot at which he wanted to anchor, tie a rope to it & throw it overboard. He wasn't amused but I think I did get my point across-there's simply no such thing as 'using a computer'. What you use are the programs. The computer is simply a platform on which the programs run-but it's the programs that do the useful work (assuming any useful work is done at all).

I've since retired but my attitude is still the same-the computer, and the 'basic' OS, are simply a platform. I'm sure most of the people here will understand what I mean by a 'basic' OS. Most users don't-they don't even understand that 'format' is not part of the basic OS. Or at least it wasn't under MS-DOS. I haven't actually looked to see if it's part of the Windows OS.