{"id":1608,"date":"2016-02-10T11:51:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-10T06:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=1608"},"modified":"2022-01-02T21:54:26","modified_gmt":"2022-01-02T16:24:26","slug":"shell-folders-merged-music-videos-same-folder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/shell-folders-merged-music-videos-same-folder\/","title":{"rendered":"[Fix] Music, Pictures, Videos or Downloads Folders Merged Accidentally and Point to the Same Location"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post talks about a problem where two special folders such as Music, Pictures, Videos, or Documents get merged or combined and point to the same folder. Because the special or shell folders are merged, they show up with the same name but different icons.<\/p>\n

Additionally, restoring the default location via the Location tab for one of the folders would show a similar warning as below:<\/p>\n

Do you want to redirect folder \"Music\" into another system folder \"Videos\" located at \"c:\\users\\{username}\\videos\"?\r\n\r\nIf you proceed with redirection you will not be able to separate them or restore default location. Do you still want to proceed with redirection?<\/pre>\n
Or, the following error may occur:<\/p>\n
Can\u2019t move the folder because there is a folder in the same location that can\u2019t be redirected<\/pre>\n
\"special<\/p>\n
Since the special folders have merged, using the Restore Default<\/strong> or Move<\/strong> option does not help.<\/p>\n
This post tells you how to fix the user shell folder paths in the registry, if you’ve accidentally merged them.<\/p>\n
[Fix] Music, Pictures, Videos or Downloads Folders Merged Accidentally<\/h2>\n
To fix the accidental merge of two special folders (e.g., like Music<\/em> or Videos<\/em>), use one of the following methods.<\/p>\n
Method 1: Resetting the shell folder paths using a Registry fix<\/h3>\n
To reset the user shell folder registry values automatically to the factory default paths:<\/p>\n
    \n
  1. Download\u00a0w10_usf_clear_override_hkcu.zip<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  2. Unzip and run the enclosed registry file.<\/li>\n
  3. Logoff and log back in for the change to take effect.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    Method 2: Resetting the shell folder paths manually<\/h3>\n
    The issue can be easily resolved by deleting the overriding shell folder values in the user shell folders registry key:<\/p>\n
      \n
    1. First, create a System Restore point<\/a>.<\/li>\n
    2. Then, right-click Start, click Run.<\/li>\n
    3. Type Regedit.exe<\/b><\/code>\u00a0and click OK.<\/li>\n
    4. Go to the following (User Shell Folders<\/code>) registry key.\n
      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\User Shell Folders<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
    5. From the File menu, click Export and save the branch to a .reg file for backup.<\/li>\n
    6. Delete<\/strong> the appropriate registry values (depending upon which two folders are merged) mentioned in the table below:\n
      The following is the list of GUIDs that are don’t exist<\/u><\/b> by default in the User Shell Folders<\/code> key in a clean Windows 10 installation.<\/em><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Value Name (Overrides)<\/b><\/td>\nShell folder whose path is Overridden<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      {3B193882-D3AD-4EAB-965A-69829D1FB59F}<\/td>\nSaved Pictures<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      {AB5FB87B-7CE2-4F83-915D-550846C9537B}<\/td>\nCamera Roll<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      {B7BEDE81-DF94-4682-A7D8-57A52620B86F}<\/td>\nScreenshots<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      {F42EE2D3-909F-4907-8871-4C22FC0BF756}<\/td>\nLocal Documents<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      {7D83EE9B-2244-4E70-B1F5-5393042AF1E4}<\/td>\nLocal Downloads<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      {A0C69A99-21C8-4671-8703-7934162FCF1D}<\/td>\nLocal Music<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      {0DDD015D-B06C-45D5-8C4C-F59713854639}<\/td>\nLocal Pictures<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      {35286a68-3c57-41a1-bbb1-0eae73d76c95}<\/td>\nLocal Videos<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/li>\n
    7. Next, inspect and fix the data for the following values, after making sure that the registry value type is REG_EXPAND_SZ<\/strong> for each value listed below:
      \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Value<\/strong><\/td>\nData<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Desktop<\/td>\n%USERPROFILE%\\Desktop<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      My Music<\/td>\n%USERPROFILE%\\Music<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      My Pictures<\/td>\n%USERPROFILE%\\Pictures<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      My Video<\/td>\n%USERPROFILE%\\Videos<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Personal<\/td>\n%USERPROFILE%\\Documents<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      {374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B}<\/td>\n%USERPROFILE%\\Downloads<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
      \"Accidentally
      The default values for User Shell Folders in Windows 10.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
    8. Logoff and log back in. That should unmerge the two or more special folders in your user account.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      For the default values for all Shell folders in Windows 10, refer to the article Windows 10 Shell Folders Restore Default Paths<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
      This post talks about a problem where two special folders such as Music, Pictures, Videos, or Documents get merged or combined and point to the same folder. Because the special or shell folders are merged, they show up with the same name but different icons. Additionally, restoring the default location via the Location tab for … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[441],"class_list":["post-1608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows-10","tag-registry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":290,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/do-not-move-special-folders-to-the-root-drive\/","url_meta":{"origin":1608,"position":0},"title":"Fix: Accidentally Moved Videos or other Shell folders to D:\\ root","author":"Ramesh","date":"May 21, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"When you relocate a special folder: Music, Pictures, Videos, Downloads, or Documents to a different drive using the Location tab in the Property sheet, make sure you mention the complete target path where you want to relocate the folder. For example, to move the Videos folder of your user profile\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"accidentally moved special folder to the root drive","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/move-special-folder-location-from-root-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/move-special-folder-location-from-root-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/move-special-folder-location-from-root-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1592,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-10-shell-folders-paths-defaults-restore\/","url_meta":{"origin":1608,"position":1},"title":"Windows 10\/11 User Shell Folders Restore Default Paths","author":"Ramesh","date":"February 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This post provides you with the list of User Shell Folders in Windows 10\/11 and their default paths. If you've moved a shell folder earlier, you can restore it to the default location via the folder properties Location tab in most cases. However, there are situations where the Location tab\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"user shell folders - local machine","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/w10-11-user-shell-folders-system-registry-full.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/w10-11-user-shell-folders-system-registry-full.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/w10-11-user-shell-folders-system-registry-full.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/w10-11-user-shell-folders-system-registry-full.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1595,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/error-folder-cant-be-moved-here-documents-pictures-onedrive\/","url_meta":{"origin":1608,"position":2},"title":"Error “The folder can’t be moved here” Moving Documents\/Pictures, Caused by OneDrive","author":"Ramesh","date":"February 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"If you've OneDrive options set to save documents and pictures in OneDrive, instead of This PC, the shell folders Documents, Pictures, and its three sub-folders Saved Pictures, Camera Roll, and Screenshots, are redirected to the OneDrive folder. With this setting on, the user can't use the Location tab in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"onedrive manage folders","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/onedrive-manage-backup.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/onedrive-manage-backup.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/onedrive-manage-backup.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/onedrive-manage-backup.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9939,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/show-full-path-explorer-address-bar-special-folders-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":1608,"position":3},"title":"Show Full Path in the Address Bar for Special Folders in Windows 10","author":"Ramesh","date":"June 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Quick access contains links to Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos folders by default. 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