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How do I stop Windows Explorer persistently re-naming a folder?

Discussion in 'Legacy Windows' started by kosketus, 2014/08/18.

  1. 2014/08/18
    kosketus

    kosketus Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hi

    The "Recorded TV" library isn't among the four libraries installed by default in Win 8. It only gets created after (assuming one has opted for the Media Center add-on) one configures Media Center's "storage locations" - whereupon it gets automatically created and any live TV broadcasts thereafter recorded by MC are by default placed into a folder by that name included in that library .

    I already had a folder on my computer containing all the files (of broadcast video, true enough) I've accumulated over several years which I'm in the process of turning into DVDs. Since I installed MC that folder has been "taken over" and re-named "Recorded TV" in Windows Explorer, and there's nothing I've been able do to stop this happening. (I've a vague suspicion that I contributed to this mess by ill-advisedly at one point including my older folder in that library).

    An intensely annoying side-effect of this is that Windows Explorer seems incapable of consistently distinguishing between the pre-existing folder and the folders included in the library and is just as likely - depending on the operation being performed - to pick the wrong one as the right one.

    I've now "turned off" MC, but that hasn't removed the problem, so I infer that nothing short of a Registry edit will be likely to achieve that. I wonder if anyone knows what key or keys are involved, and how they would need to be changed?
     
  2. 2014/08/18
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Hi kosketus. What is the path of the folder that is being renamed in Windows Explorer? Do you have those videos saved in a Library location such as the Videos Library?
     

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  4. 2014/08/18
    kosketus

    kosketus Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hi Evan

    Thanks for responding.

    The path is:- G:\Video Workshop\DVB-T caps

    I should mention that it wasn't strictly correct to say that Explorer is changing that folder's name. But the Title Bar (I have 'Folder Options -> View -> Display the full path in title bar' enabled) when that folder is highlighted in Explorer's navigator pane says "G:\Recorded TV ".
    No, I don't - anymore, tho' as I said I believe I once may have had.
     
  5. 2014/08/18
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Right click the folder< and select properties< Customize tab and select optimize this folder for general items and press Ok.

    Is that the only folder that exhibits this behavior? Have you gone into the Libraries folder, and selected each folder's properties (Documents, Videos, Pictures, and Music) and verified that the DVB-T caps folder hasn't been added to any of the Libraries?
     
  6. 2014/08/19
    kosketus

    kosketus Inactive Thread Starter

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    Done.
    I've checked again, just to make sure, and it hadn't been added.
     
  7. 2014/08/19
    kosketus

    kosketus Inactive Thread Starter

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    Well, apparently it hasn't done the trick alas.

    Attached is a screenshot. You'll see that although Explorer's address-bar names the opened folder as "DVB-T caps" Explorer's title-bar still gives its file-path as G:\Recorded TV. In other words Explorer's behaviour is unchanged from before.

    Any ideas as to what else I might try?
     

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  8. 2014/08/19
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    It looks like Windows Media Center has taken over that folder based on that screenshot. You will need to re-enable Windows Media Center and change the directory where Recorded TV is saved so its not saving any recorded TV on your G drive. Take a look here, Set recording options in Windows Media Center.
     
  9. 2014/08/20
    kosketus

    kosketus Inactive Thread Starter

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    @Evan

    I've now remembered that at one stage when I was toying with the idea of having WMC as my media-server I set up (I think) a symbolic link of a network share on my NAS named "Recorded TV" with (possibly) the library 'Recorded TV' which WMC had created on my PC, this library containing the folder 'G:\Video Workshop\DVB-T caps'

    It was remiss of me not to have mentioned this before but because I believed I had successfully removed the symlink I forgot all about it (and I'm afraid I don't now remember its details very well either). Could the source of the problem I'm having with that folder-path be that I didn't succeed in removing all trace of the symlink, do you think? If so, are you able to suggest how I might probe this?

    EDIT
    I'm attaching a screenshot of the Registry entry where the location which WMC was recording-to appears. I'm not sure how much this tells us but I thought you might know.
     

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    Last edited: 2014/08/20
  10. 2014/08/20
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    In that registry editor screenshot, change the value of the LastRecordPathSet key to a different directory, reboot the computer and see if that solves the issue.
     
  11. 2014/08/21
    kosketus

    kosketus Inactive Thread Starter

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    Something weird is going on :eek:

    In the first place, the Registry entry had changed when I went back in with the intention of modifying it. I failed at first to notice the changes and only discovered them when I afterwards took another look at the screenshot attached to my last post; meanwhile I had changed the values of not just LastRecordPathSet but also RecordPath (which hadn't been there before) by removing the last part of the path (ie "Recorded TV "), then re-booted.

    That made no difference to the folder-path in Explorer.

    So next I restored the key (which I'd backed-up) to the way it had been before I modified it. It was only then that I became aware of the way it had changed; if you compare the attached with the previous screenshot you'll see what I mean.

    (EDIT It occurs to me that the explanation for this could simply be that I made the previous screenshot before I turned-on WMC again. I can't remember whether this was the case or not but it seems the most likely explanation.)

    Then out of curiosity I tried to take a look into the subsidiary key "Restricted" (which I don't remember being there before), and got the error-message you see in the screenshot. I've no idea what to make of this - have you?
     

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    Last edited: 2014/08/21
  12. 2014/08/21
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Did you change the recording directory IN Windows Media Center by following the instructions in the link that I posted earlier?
     
  13. 2014/08/22
    kosketus

    kosketus Inactive Thread Starter

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    @Evan

    I'm not sure :). So long as WMC is activated it will put any TV broadcast it records into the storage location selected in 'Settings > TV > Recorder > Recorder Storage' (and will also create the library "Recorded TV" containing a folder referencing those recordings). As storage location one can only choose between the drives which exist on the host computer, with C: as the default.

    In '> TV > Media Libraries > Recorded TV' one can add or remove to or from that library folders which WMC will search for recordings for playing-back (I probably chose at one point to add the folder with the path 'G: > Video workshop > DVB-T caps').

    As of now the Storage location is the default (C: drive) and no reference appears anywhere in 'Settings' to 'G:\Video workshop\DVB-T caps'. Also I'm not of course using WMC to do anything. I note too that just my turning it back on hasn't caused a 'Recorded TV' library to be created.

    (Although I also see that Windows Media Player provides for the existence of a 'Recorded TV' library it doesn't itself create one).
     
  14. 2014/08/22
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    I would still have your G drive active and plugged in to make sure Windows Media Center is not using the drive while you have Windows Media Center open.

    If the Recorded TV folder has now been set back to the default C drive then that should hopefully solve the issue but keep me posted if you are still encountering problems.
     
  15. 2014/08/24
    kosketus

    kosketus Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hi Evan

    Nothing worked.

    However the problem is solved:D I tried Googling again and this time struck gold. It turns out that the problem was due to an "object" name (as distinct from a folder name) having been changed. I have little idea what an "object" is and in what ways it's distinct. Anyway the reason it got changed was (I learn) that the 'desktop.ini' folder (a system file and thus hidden by default) of the 'Users > Public > Recorded TV' folder had got moved to the 'G:\Video workshop\DVB-T folder - presumably in connection with my messing around with library folders, symlinks, etc. Deleting it caused the file path to once again use the correct folder-name.

    Grateful thanks for your helpfulness and patience.
     
    Last edited: 2014/08/25
  16. 2014/08/24
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Excellent news. Thanks for posting back with a solution. :)
     

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