Windows 10: Navigating UP from my desktop folder puts me in another desktop folder

I have recently reinstalled windows and discovered a behaviour i dont like. This happens when in any any folder like documents, downloads or desktop.I press the up arrow and expect to be taken to my user folder, but instead it takes me to another "desktop" folder wich seem to contain folders like documents, pictures, this pc etc, but stangely also every folder/file on my actual desktop. On a previous install i tried deleting the desktop etc folders and creating new ones - they behaved like i wanted to, until i pinned them to quick access IIRC. Going to any of those folders by using quick acce

:)

 

Desktop and user folder merging

Hi,

There are different ways for you to recover the previous folder settings on your computer. One of these is by following the steps below to organize and relocate your desktop or user folder.

• Press Windows key + E to launch File Explorer.
• Right-click on the special folder that you want to restore (Desktop).
  
• Then select Properties.
• Navigate to the Location tab.
• Click Restore Default.
• Then click Apply to save the changes.

Let us know if you have any further questions.

 

Desktop Folder Destination bugged after WU

Hi

Thanks for your reply.

Regarding the encryption issue you're experiencing, it seems like there might be some lingering encryption settings causing new files to be automatically encrypted when saved to the desktop. To address this, you can try the following steps:

1. Check Current Encryption Status:
   
   • Right-click on your desktop and select "Properties."
     
   • In the "General" tab, check if there's a checkbox labeled "Encrypt contents to secure data." If it's checked, uncheck it.
     
2. Clear Encryption Attribute from Desktop:
   
   • Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
     
   • Navigate to your desktop directory by typing:
     
     cd C:\Users\<your_username>\Desktop
     
   • Run the command: This command will attempt to decrypt all files on the desktop.
     
     cipher /d /a /s:
     
3. Disabling Encryption on Desktop Folder:
   
   • If the above steps don't resolve the issue, try disabling encryption on the entire Desktop folder again.
     
   • Right-click on your desktop folder, select "Properties," go to the "General" tab, and click "Advanced."
     
   • Uncheck the "Encrypt contents to secure data" option, but this time, don't apply the changes to the subfolders and files. Leave it unchecked for now.
     

It's important to back up your important data before attempting any major changes.

 

Desktop folder moved

Normally you can right-click the folder that "is" the desktop (so the Dropbox folder in this case), go to properties, and use the Location tab to undo the mistake. However, since DropBox itself is already a special folder, I think you'll need to fix this
in the registry.

Don't worry, it's actually quite easy. Here's how:

• Make sure a Desktop folder exists in your user folder
  
  Go to C:\Users\YourName (your user folder) and make sure a folder named "Desktop" is there (even if it's not actually being used to store the desktop files at the moment). Create a folder named Desktop if it's not there.
  
• Open Registry Editor.
  
  Hold down the
  
  Windows Logo key and type
  R to open the Run box, type regedit, then click OK to open Registry Editor. Confirm the administrator prompt if required.
  
• Using the folders (keys) on the left side, navigate down to this path:
  
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
  
• On the right side, find Desktop and double-click it. Set it equal to
  %userprofile%\desktop and click OK.
  
  
  
  

After you're done, restart your computer and now the folder will be back to acting correctly.