Unable to rename or move folders in Windows Vista
Symptoms
When you use Windows Explorer to rename folders on a Windows Vista-based computer, one of the following happens:
- Nothing happens
- The following error is displayed:
The file or folder does not exist
In addition, the following symptoms may be observed:
- Unable to move folders to a different location, nor be able to restore deleted items from the Recycle Bin.
- Unable to launch special folders using the Shell: command. For example, when you run the command shell:My Music, you may receive the following error:
Windows cannot find ’shell:My Music’. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.
Resolution
The problems 1 & 2 mentioned in the Symptoms section above, were first reported on MSFN forums and a registry fix was posted in that page. These problems occur if the following registry branch is completely missing:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ FolderDescriptions
To resolve the problem, use these steps:
- Download folder_desc.zip and save it to Desktop
- Unzip and extract the archive to a folder of your choice
- Then right-click folder_desc.reg and choose Merge
- Logoff and login back for the change to take effect.
Related article
Error message when you use Windows Explorer to rename folders on a Windows Vista-based computer
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