Fix merged user folders in Windows 11 and Windows 10
This article discusses a weird problem when moving your user folders like Desktop, Downloads, Documents, etc., to any other drive on your computer. When you do that, accidentally, it ends up to merge your user folders and the path shows identically the same in the Quick Access pane of the Explorer, like the following:
Reset the user profile folders manually.
The location of every folder path is stored in the Registry. Hence, we can undo the change in Registry to correct the anomaly by replacing the path value with the correct path of the folder. To do that, follow the steps below:
First, in the Start Menu/Search, type regedit.exe and press enter to open the Registry Editor. Press Yes when prompted.
Go to the following path :
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
On the right side, the Name corresponds to the folder name, and the Data Value corresponds to the path of the folder. Additionally, If you look closely, you will see an incorrect value against the problematic folder right now, like the Downloads in the screenshot above. Consequently, to fix it, you need to change the Data value beside it, to resolve the merging problem. Additionally, the screenshot below indicates the default values from a fresh Windows Installation where Onedrive is enabled.
Note: {374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B} GUID is for Downloads folder.
Consequently, double-click the value to change it and change the path using the screenshot as a reference to resolve the problem. Some additional GUIDs are given below, which might be there on your installation, which you can safely delete.
| Registry Value | Corrsponding Path |
| {7D83EE9B-2244-4E70-B1F5-5393042AF1E4} | Local Downloads i.e. %userprofile%\Downloads. |
| {F42EE2D3-909F-4907-8871-4C22FC0BF756} | Local Documents i.e. %userprofile%\Documents |
| {0DDD015D-B06C-45D5-8C4C-F59713854639} | = Local Pictures i.e. %userprofile%\Pictures |
| {35286a68-3c57-41a1-bbb1-0eae73d76c95} | Local Videos |
| {B7BEDE81-DF94-4682-A7D8-57A52620B86F} | Screenshots |
| {AB5FB87B-7CE2-4F83-915D-550846C9537B} | Camera Roll |
Default Values for user folders
Additionally, the default required values are as under:
| Folder | Path Value |
| Desktop | %USERPROFILE%\Desktop |
| Music | %USERPROFILE%\Music |
| Video | %USERPROFILE%\Videos |
| Documents | %USERPROFILE%\Documents |
| {374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B} | %USERPROFILE%\Downloads |
Finally, Restart your computer for the changes to take effect. To conclude, this article helps you to resolve if the user folders get merged and you cannot undo the changes from This PC.
Additionally, Also read:
Install and configure Android apps in Windows 11 – Your Windows Guide
Fix Lost Administrator rights in Windows 11 and Windows 10 – Your Windows Guide