Know Folders (Documents, Pictures etc) management

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Know Folders (Documents, Pictures etc) management

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To create more space on my C drive, I transferred Desktop, Documents, Pictures and Videos onto my D drive (I think I used Properties>Location). However, Videos became merged with D drive itself. Then I had OneDrive sync Desktop, Documents and Pictures.

Later I wanted to move those three folders out of the OneDrive folder and sync them with another cloud backup. However while I was able to change the location on the Desktop folder, there was some error when I tried to relocate Documents.

The result of some attempts to get the situation back to what it was (and involving Microsoft Customer Service) is that my Videos folder has disappeared, although I do have a Movies folder on D drive. Also the OneDrive folder in D has become merged with Desktop, which is syncing with OneDrive, and contains Documents and Pictures.

Apparently its not possible to create another Videos "Known Folder", and I'm not sure how to separate Documents, Desktop and Pictures within OneDrive...

Would creating a new local user profile with those folders set up by default, relocating them to D drive, and moving my files into them, deleting my Microsoft user account, and then linking the new account to my Microsoft account again, be the best option?

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Answer 1

EmilyS726 223K Independent Advisor

Please type regedit in the search on the taskbar to launch registry editor, and go to this path, then take a screenshot and share in your reply.

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

SHV 120 Reputation points

2026-03-16T07:42:10.1433333+00:00

Hello Emily

Thanks in advance for your insight and advice.

Stephen.
EmilyS726 223K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-03-16T14:31:26.7366667+00:00

Yikes.. it is indeed quite a mess.

If you are not using OneDrive anymore, please make sure OneDrive is uninstall first.

Then do the following:

Delete all of the highlighted yellow ones.

Then for the blue ones.. right click, modify and then change its value data accordingly.

For Desktop, change to %USERPROFILE%\Desktop

My Pictures, change to %USERPROFILE%\Pictures

Video, change to %USERPROFILE%\Videos

This will correct all of them back to your C:\users\your username folder, assuming that's the location you want? if not, correct me and I can rewrite those values.
SHV 120 Reputation points

2026-03-17T03:57:58.56+00:00
Hi Emily,

I do still have my OneDrive syncing Desktop, Documents and Pictures. And I wanted these important folders on my D drive (for space reasons). Apparently, this is best practise to do so. Also, I have compared the Registry view of my user account on a brand new notebook computer, and can see how the paths there start with %USERPROFILE...

I think I did have a session with Microsoft Support and they tried to restore my folders to their default location (possibly through Properties>Location rather than Registry Editor), but ran into some kind of error (possibly lack of space on the C drive). They then attempted to create a new user profile, but we lost contact through Quick Assist).

I've got a 200 GB C drive with 60 GB free, so not enough for my 85 GB of Documents and Pictures.

When it comes to restoring the default location of My Video folder, it's Known Folder icon has disappeared (deleted), and the OneDrive folder and Desktop folders have become merged, so I'm not sure how to get them back to their default locations.

Questions:

I have never used Registry Editor before, and would you suggest creating a Restore Point before attempted those changes you recommend?

What do you think of the option of creating a test local profile, transferring my known folder contents to it (not sure how), delinking my current Microsoft Account, and then linking it to the new one?

On my new notebook would you recommend creating a D drive?

I note by the way that your above answer seems to align with the AI answer below (and MS Support).

Thanks.

Stephen.
EmilyS726 223K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-03-17T12:15:23.62+00:00
If you want your data in D drive, no problem, we can change the edits to the following. Please make sure these folders exist in D drive directly, if not, create them first.

For Desktop, change to D:\Desktop

My Pictures, change to D:\Pictures

Video, change to D:\Video
Personal, change to D:\Documents

After these changes are done, restart the computer, and you need to go to D:\OneDrive\Documents, copy the data out to D:\Documents, and the same for the rest.

As for your questions -

You can do a registry backup instead. see Windows - Backing up the Registry https://support.microsoft.com/topic/how-to-back-up-and-restore-the-registry-in-windows-855140ad-e318-2a13-2829-d428a2ab0692#ID0EBD=Windows_10) before attempting any changes.

I don't think we need to create a new profile yet at this point, we can still try to fix it.

If your C drive has enough room, no need to do so.
SHV 120 Reputation points

2026-03-18T03:09:12.8233333+00:00

To clarify, you mean do these changes in Registry Editor?

Those changes would place my Known Folders outside of the OneDrive folder wouldn't they?

Currently My Video folder is the whole of the D drive, is that right? And you recommend changing the location to D:\My Video, right?

Thanks.
EmilyS726 223K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-03-18T12:16:10.2266667+00:00

Yes, you can modify them in Registry Editor, right click > Modify, change the value data.

By the way, it is D:\Video, not D:\My Video.

By doing the above, it will set all of the user shell folders to where you want them be.

But you still have to manually move files from their old location folder to these new locations we set up.
SHV 120 Reputation points

2026-03-18T12:36:16.3833333+00:00

To follow up, I do see "My Video" at D:\ in the Registry view, but not in File Explorer. Do you agree?

Do you recommend disconnecting OneDrive and asking it to create a new folder in D drive when it reconnects?

Many thanks.
EmilyS726 223K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-03-18T12:51:40.53+00:00

You mean this?

"My Video" is the label in registry, but when it comes to value data, you want to change it to D:\Video, Not D:

As for OneDrive.. Do you want these folders to sync to OneDrive? Sorry if I misunderstood you, I thought you didn't want that?

Answer 2

Do not create a new Windows user just to fix this. The existing profile can be repaired by restoring the default locations for the known folders and then re‑configuring OneDrive.

Follow these steps in order.

Restore default locations for the known folders

This fixes Desktop/Documents/Pictures/Videos being pointed to the wrong place.

Press Windows + R, type regedit.exe, press Enter, and approve UAC.
Go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
In the right pane, set these values back to their defaults (edit each entry and replace the current path):
- Desktop → %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
- Personal (Documents) → %USERPROFILE%\Documents
- My Pictures → %USERPROFILE%\Pictures
- My Video (Videos) → %USERPROFILE%\Videos
This recreates the proper “known folder” locations, including Videos, in the current profile.
Restart Explorer so the changes take effect:
- Either sign out and sign back in, or restart the PC.

After restart, Desktop, Documents, Pictures, and Videos should appear again under “This PC” pointing to the default locations on C:.

Move the personal folders to D: (optional)

If the goal is to keep data on D:, move each personal folder cleanly using the supported method:

In File Explorer, right‑click each folder (Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Videos) under “This PC” → Properties → Location tab.
Select Move…, choose or create the target folder on D: (for example D:\Users\<name>\Documents), and select OK.
When prompted, allow Windows to move the files.

Repeat for each folder that should live on D:. This keeps them as proper known folders, just with a D: path.

Separate the folders from OneDrive

If Desktop/Documents/Pictures are currently inside the OneDrive folder and you want them independent of OneDrive:

First, ensure their Locations (step 2) point to non‑OneDrive paths on D:.
Move any remaining data out of the OneDrive subfolders (Desktop/Documents/Pictures) into the new D: locations.
In OneDrive settings, turn off folder backup (Known Folder protection) so OneDrive no longer tries to capture Desktop/Documents/Pictures.

If OneDrive is still mis‑mapped or merged with Desktop, unlink and re‑link it:

Select the OneDrive cloud icon → Help & Settings → Settings → Account tab → Unlink this PC → Unlink account.
Optionally delete %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\settings\PreSignInSettingsConfig.json to clear cached sign‑in settings.
Start OneDrive again and sign in.
When prompted that a OneDrive folder already exists on D:, choose Use this folder (or Choose new folder if a different path is preferred).
After sync completes, use Choose folders in OneDrive settings to control which OneDrive folders sync locally.

This approach restores the missing Videos known folder, separates Desktop/Documents/Pictures from OneDrive, and keeps the current Windows account. Creating a new local profile and deleting the Microsoft‑connected one is unnecessary.

References:

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Know Folders (Documents, Pictures etc) management

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