Restore Application Data shortcut

Question

I have to admit I did this one to myself.

On the user profile (C:\users\name) if you turn off the "Hide protected operating system files" setting, it displays a number of "shortcuts".  If these have been deleted, are there any way to restore them.  It seems they are not really shortcuts but junctions.

What happens if I install a program that is still looking for the %Application Data% variable, it will create a directory on c:\users\name\Application Data instead of placing it on c:\users\name\local\Roaming

Any help will be greatly appreciated to save me from myself.

Answer 1

I fixed the problem by using the Link Shell extension and created the Junctions.  This is using the MKLINK functionality in the back end

Answer 2

Good idea, but I made the changes too long ago.  It is not in shadow copy any more :(

Answer 3

First... yikes, be more careful!  Probably no bad harm done, but those things are important for compatibility.

You may be able to restore it from the shadow copy.

1 - Go to c:\users and right-click your user account, choose Restore Previous Versions.

2 - In the list that appears, right-click a version with a timestamp from before you deleted the junction, and choose Open.

3 - You should be able to copy the file from this window into the real one via drag and drop.

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