Putting Back My Documents in Files Stored on This Computer

[lj50]

I opened My Computer and I noticed My Documents was missing from the Files Stored on This Computer section. Is there a way to get it back in there? I tried System Restore, unchecking and checking Files Stored on This Computer in Power Toys, and sfc /scannow. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[dparod]

Hi lj50,

I just discovered this happened to one of the users on my computer as well. I'm running Windows XP Pro. Here's what I figured out to fix it:

*Start Registry Editor (Start > run > regedit.exe)
*Go to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DocFolderPaths
*In the right window you should see a list of all the users who should have a folder listed under "Files Stored on This Computer" when you open up My Computer. (There may be a default string listed too)
*Right click in the right window and create a new string value.
*For the name, type the name of the user whose folder is missing, then hit enter. Ex: If you log on as lj50, type lj50 as the name.
*Right click on the string you just created and click Modify.
*For value data, type the address of where the missing user's My Documents folder is. Generally it is at C:\Documents and Settings\XXXXX\My Documents, where XXXXX is the user's name. So if the user name is lj50, type C:\Documents and Settings\lj50\My Documents.
*Click OK and close out of the Registry Editor. You may need to restart your computer for the change to take effect.

Keep in mind that changing the Registry is dangerous. You should probably create a restore point and/or back up the registry before you make any changes.

I hope this helps and good luck!

 

[lj50]

It worked like a charm. Thank you very much.

 

[alvian]

I found another solution which does not involve editing the registry. I hope it will work for you too.

Open "Windows Explorer", right-click "My Documents", choose "Properties". In the "Target" box try changing the target folder location (click "Apply" & choose "Yes" to create directory & move contents). Try the "Restore Default" button too.

When the "My Documents" target is changed, Windows seem to recreate the missing/corrupt registry entry.