While browsing my User folder (where hidden/system files are visible) I noticed a number of shortcut-like folders e.g. Application Data, Cookies, Local Settings, My Documents, etc. Clicking on any of those gave me a dialog: Title: "Location is not available" Message: %% access to the specific folder was denied. Icon: Critical I clicked some of the others and the result was the same... I noticed that the creation time/date of all was the same (about 4 years ago). I checked their properties and I didn't find anything out of the ordinary. That caused me to think that they were corrupted links that were created 4 years ago when I was messing around with the User Accounts of my new (then) computer on a new (then) operating system. So I thought I... should delete them! I deleted one of them ("My Documents") and then I thought... why don't I Google the problem and see if someone else had the same experience. What I've found terrified me! For the uninformed (like me): Junction Points: They are hard links to folders for backward compatibility on (NTFS) Win7 to older OSs. They are not accessible in Windows Explorer and do not permit listing of files/folders of the target folders. (Hence the denial of access). So... Now what? My first reaction was... well it should be in the Recycle Bin... And luckily it was! And luckily it restored! And luckily... Nope... Luck stopped there! Long story... short: Even though the Junction Point named "My Documents" has restored to its original location there is something "wrong" with it: While before (similar to all the other junction points) when I clicked on it, it would say "Location is not available" (and Access is denied) now I get a new message saying: Title: "My Documents" Message: "You don't currently have permission to access the folder. Click Continue to permanently get access to this folder" Buttons: "Continue" and "Cancel" Icon: Exclamation When I click "Continue" I get a new dialog: Title: "My Documents" Message: "You have been denied permission to access this folder. To gain access to this folder you will need to use the security tab" Button: "Close" Icon: Exclamation I checked the security permissions of the "folder" (both basic and advanced) and compared them with those of the other junction points. They are the same. I compared the ACLs of this junction point to the others. They are the same. I tried finding a way to restore the original junction point and there doesn't seem to be a way other than creating a new user account. Big question: Is there a way to make this junction point (the restored one) react the same way as it used to do (or as the others do?) i.e. to respond with a "Location is not available" dialog? (I promise no poems to anyone. Last time I did it took me forever to come up with one!!!)
Junction Points - Learning continues I don't really approve everything Microsoft does but to be honest I'm not a Microsoft-phobic either. I think that they have offered some decent stuff. That does not mean I condone their monopoly tactics but hey... everybody is in for the money! Thank you very much for the links you have unearthed for me. I went through them and they added to the crash course on Junction Points I had yesterday. I'm afraid I haven't found an answer to the question that bothers me: Why the rest of the junction points (created by the system) show a "Location is not available" dialog while the one I messed up with does not? (And though I know that a restore would solve my problem, restore is not what I want to do. It's the knowledge that interests me more and the challenge to find how it is done. ) A more generic question would be: How can one create a junction point (for that I know the answer) AND set it up in such a way that when one clicks on it the system responds with a "Location is not available" dialog.