Windows 10: Question About Folders and Files in File Exploer, esp. "ICloud Photos"

I recently acquired a new PC with Windows 11, and I'm still trying to sort out where everything is stored. I admit my file transfer was a bit chaotic, as I used/employed an external drive, OneDrive, and iCloud for various folders, and once the new system was up and running have been trying to place all the data on to the new machine in the same file structure I had on the old machine.In File Explorer, on the left hand sidebar, the first folder listed in Quick Access. Then follows "iClloud Photos," then One Drive, then "This PC." Properties for "iCloud Photos" show it is a subfolder under

:)

 

File exploer - why multiple public and documents folders




This is my file explorer tree. First question is, why is there a public folder under the PC name, and another one under Users. I think this was the same in Win 7. They are the same folder. It's confusing to have multiple public folders. Can I just delete Users\public?

Also note I have multiple Documents folders under PC name. How does this come about, and what can I do about it?





Similar problem on another computer. This was a Win 10 install over Win 7. Now I have two public folders.

 

Remove iCloud Photos from Devices and Drives View in File Explorer

thank you for this soln gogreen, much appreciated! Here is a quick summary for others if interested -

Reference:

• rANa'S Blog - How to remove iCloud Photo from My Computer (9/21/14)

Steps:

1. Open regedit (Win+R, "regedit")
2. Enter key in address bar
3. Deprecate key
   • Opt A. - delete
   • Opt B. - rename something different (e.g. prefix with "_")
4. Close and re-open to observe result

Key:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{F0D63F85-37EC-4097-B30D-61B4A8917118}

thanks!

 

remove old folder (icloud photos) from file explorer side bar

If one drive does not sync the pictures folder, the icloud photos folder will be inside the local version of the pictures folder. If you open icloud settings it will show the icloud photos folder inside the c:\users\(your username)\pictures\icloud photos

Everytime the computer starts, icloud signs in. If the icloud photos folder is sychronized by One Drive, in the location c:\users\(your user name)\onedrive\pictures\icloud photos. One Drive treats each icloud sign in as a new occurence of the icloud photos
folder and place another folder on the file explorer sidebar.

If the icloud photos inside the pictures folder is not synced with One Drive then the icloud app will always sign in to the same folder in the directory c:\users\(your username)\pictures. Icloud settings will recognize the folder as being the same upon
signing in every time the computer starts and icloud will always sync icloud photos to that specific location every single time. Therefore there will always be only one icloud photos icon on the file explorer sidebar if the pictures folder is not synced to
One Drive.

Bottom line iCloud and One Drive dont really work well together.