Windows 10: Unable to see folder C:\users\all users

Using win10 - 64bit
Logged into cmd prompt as admin.
Cannot see C:\users\all users with the following cmd's

Folder does not show in normal File Explorer window
Run TREE cmd and the All Users folder does not show.
Run DIR cmd for C:\users and All Users does not show
Run ATTRIB -s -h C:\users and still do not see All User folder appearing. Restart after running ATTRIB cmd, but does not trigger reload of folder.

BUT, when I
Run DIR cmd for "C:\users\all users" the folder and files show
Run ROBOCOPY and the All Users folder and its files transfer.

Somehow this folder has become hidden and I am unable to unhide or see it.

Any suggestions?

:)

 

Windows does not have a folder All users. It is a link to C:\ProgramData folder, in other words when you run command DIR "C:\Users\All Users", it lists the content of folder C:\ProgramData.

 

Thank you for your reply.
As you can see in this image, "All Users" does exist.
Also, where do you find C:\ProgramData, as it is not listed on my machine?

 

I got a new computer last week and the default setup does not include an All Users Folder. The one in your image shows the All Users Folder is dated a day after you set up your account, could a program you installed have done it for you? You show that All Users Folder inside a _C_Bakup Folder on a different drive [NAS??], it would be my guess that is what happened.

ProgramData may be Hidden but it usually exists just after the Folders called Program Files and Program Files (x86). Program Files (x86) exists on 64-bit versions of Windows to hold 32-bit programs when they are installed. Program Files exists on both 32-bit and 64-bit computers.

 

To show Hidden Files and Folders, in File Explorer go to View put a check box in Hidden Items.
You then should see C:\Program Data folder

 

There is no 'C:\Users\All Users' folder in my Windows 10 PC (upgraded from 7). There is a hidden shortcut called All Users in C:\Users that points to C:\ProgramData. Checking back on a Windows 7 machine, that too had the same shortcut, not a folder.

I have to go back to Windows XP to find an actual folder called All Users. It's C:\Documents and Settings\All Users. No doubt this is the reason the shortcut is included in later versions, for backward compatibility with software written in the XP era.

Your screenshot apparently shows a backup of your C: drive in an X: drive on your router, not the actual C: itself. It is likely that copying C: to C_Backup has followed the shortcut and copied the contents of C:\ProgramData to a folder it has created using the shortcut's name.

The reason you cannot see C:\ProgramData or the C:\Users\All Users shortcut on your actual C: drive is that you have 'Show hidden files, folders and drives' turned off in File Explorer. To turn it on use File>Options>View in File Explorer.

 

If you use NTFSLinksView from Nirsoft NTFSLinksView - View NTFS symbolic links and junction points You will see that it is a symbolic link to ProgramData.




The link has both Hidden & System attributes.

 

I have it, could be a leftover from W7/8.1 upgrade but it's there in full:

 

I think you will find that the contents are the ProgramData folder. All you have done is expand the symbolic link.

 

You're right, any file that shows in it points to Program Data folder.

 

That's the way Symbolic links and Junction points act in Explorer. They behave like a real folder rather than a shortcut.

 

Except the attributes are shared. If you change C:\ProgramData to not hidden for example the junction in C:\Users shows the same.

 

No it does not exist. it is not a folder. As you have already been told, it's just a link.

Exactly.

 

Thank you all. As Bree says, I knew I had seen it before, but did not realize it had been all the way back to XP. And then when robocopy copied the file it really became confusing,

Does anyone know why DIR or TREE do not show Symbolic Links?
I can't find an internal CMD, or internal program, which shows symbolic links. Thank you Kado897 for the link.

 

It does if you have authority (run as admin) and ask it to (add the /a switch).

Code: Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.14393] (c) 2016 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. C:\Windows\system32>dir c:\users /a Volume in drive C is Windows10 Volume Serial Number is 526E-E26D Directory of C:\users 17/11/2016 18:28 <DIR> . 17/11/2016 18:28 <DIR> .. 17/11/2016 12:06 <DIR> Hali 17/11/2016 18:28 <DIR> Administrator 16/07/2016 13:40 <SYMLINKD> All Users [C:\ProgramData] 06/08/2016 02:32 <DIR> Default 16/07/2016 13:40 <JUNCTION> Default User [C:\Users\Default] 16/07/2016 12:45 174 desktop.ini 06/08/2016 02:34 <DIR> Public 1 File(s) 174 bytes 8 Dir(s) 5,191,417,856 bytes free C:\Windows\system32>[/quote] You can type dir /? if you would like more details.