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Resolved Duplicate File question.

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by OLDSALTY, 2004/07/25.

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  1. 2004/07/25
    OLDSALTY Lifetime Subscription

    OLDSALTY Inactive Thread Starter

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    I ran a duplicate file program and came up with a lot of duplicates. One 'desktop.ini' had 125 on the same drive. Are all these necessary or can one run the desktop. I am the only user on the computer. There is only one login, and I have set it to automatically logon. Why would I need more than one desktop.ini as I only have one desktop?

    I just rechecked the list and there are 39 'Desktop.ini' also. That is a total of 164 files with the same name.
     
    OLDSALTY,
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  2. 2004/07/25
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    I think that You should leave them alone. "desktop.ini" has information on how the folder is displayed. Shell Folders and User Shell Folders look different than other folders and that information is contained within desktop.ini. This means that it is not multiple instances of the same file but different files under the same name which are used by the desktop to display the item correctly.

    There are other files with a common name but they are different. Do a search for "thumbs.db" which are in folders containing pictures.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
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  4. 2004/07/25
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Second Christer's post.
     
    PeteC,
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  5. 2004/07/25
    charlesvar

    charlesvar Inactive Alumni

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    Hello OLDSALTY,

    I'll add to the cautionary posts by Pete and Christer.

    If you don't want to leave them alone, create a manual System Restore point prior to any deletion - you can get back to where you are now.

    Regards - Charles
     
    charlesvar,
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  6. 2004/07/25
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    "Most" files are there for a reason. When in doubt, either leave them alone or rename them and let em sit for a few weeks to see if it messes anything up.
     
    Steve R Jones,
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  7. 2004/07/25
    Welshjim

    Welshjim Inactive

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    OLDSALTY--I only have 15. (I'm jealous.)
    Some are in Temporary Internet Files, so I assume they will be deleted when I clean my cache.
    It seems clear that others are necessary for certain files and folders to do their jobs.
     
    Welshjim,
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  8. 2004/07/25
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    I create backups manually of my user data by simply copying the folders to the backup drive. When I did that the first time (still on WinME), I copied the complete "My documents" folder and didn't notice that I made a mess of things.
    With two desktop.ini for the "My documents" folder on the system, all of a sudden it decided to default to the backup.

    After learning that lesson, I created a "Documents backup" folder, a "Pictures backup" folder and one backup folder for each user shell folder. I exclude all desktop.ini files in the user shell folders from the backups since they are likely to mess things up if duplicated. When copied, I search the backups for desktop.ini (if any should have been copied by mistake) and thumbs.db and delete all found.

    The system warns me for deleting system files and rightly so but I don't delete them in the active folder, I delete them from the backups of my user files where they have nothing to do.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #7
  9. 2004/07/26
    Johanna

    Johanna Inactive Alumni

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    I routinely delete thumbs db from "My Pics ", especially after I've moved a bunch of stuff around because it makes my thumbnail pics load a fraction of a second faster... Yes, there is a warning, and I ignore it. XP will recreate them. There is no harm leaving them alone, or deleting them. Desktop ini files should be left alone, but if you suspect one is causing problems, you can delete it without worry.

    Johanna
     
    Johanna,
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  10. 2004/09/09
    Blackbird244

    Blackbird244 Inactive

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    I'd really recommend leaving them alone....

    I just took them out of a client's start menu and when I try to log in it shows the desktop picture and then goes back to the welcome screen.
     
    Blackbird244,
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  11. 2004/09/09
    WhitPhil

    WhitPhil Inactive

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    If you do this, the restore point only contains system folders, not "private" folders, so any restore would not bring back those "private" files.
     
    WhitPhil,
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  12. 2004/09/11
    Blackbird244

    Blackbird244 Inactive

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    Please disregard my previous post...
    Turns out that I removed some spyware at the same time as deleting those files and that was what caused my problems.
    Windows replaced those files automatically.
    My apologies for sowing the seeds of confusion.
     
    Blackbird244,
    #11
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