Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 16 of 26

Thread: New to Vista

  1. #1
    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    6,260
    Thanks
    1,618
    Thanked
    608 times in 518 posts
    • Phage's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Crosshair VIII
      • CPU:
      • 3800x
      • Memory:
      • 16Gb @ 3600Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 960 512Gb + 2Tb Samsung 860
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 1080ti
      • PSU:
      • BeQuiet 850w
      • Case:
      • Fractal Define 7
      • Operating System:
      • W10 64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Iiyama GB3461WQSU-B1

    New to Vista

    Hi All, now I've built my new system I have to get to grip with this newfangled Vista. Everything is working Ok except that I have a couple of issues with migrating apps and data from the old XP box.

    Individual accounts don't seem to have their own desktop. In XP I used to able to change each users desktop icons within explorer. In Vista, any apps installed create icons on all desktops. Deleteing or adding a shortcut on one desktop affects all of them, no matter which account I have logged in as, Admin or not. How do I create personalised desktops in Vista ?

    When migrating the kids games, how do I ensure that I bring across all their achievments and saved data ? Last night I re-installed FIFA 07 for example, and copied across his saved profile and data from his documents folder in XP to the same folder under his account in Vista. When the game is launched, however, it doesn't seem to see the saved profile...

    Any help much appreciated. Thanks.
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

  2. #2
    Does he need a reason? Funkstar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Aberdeen
    Posts
    19,874
    Thanks
    630
    Thanked
    965 times in 816 posts
    • Funkstar's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte EG45M-DS2H
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core2Quad Q9550 (2.83GHz)
      • Memory:
      • 8GB OCZ PC2-6400C5 800MHz Quad Channel
      • Storage:
      • 650GB Western Digital Caviar Blue
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 512MB ATI Radeon HD4550
      • PSU:
      • Antec 350W 80+ Efficient PSU
      • Case:
      • Antec NSK1480 Slim Mini Desktop Case
      • Operating System:
      • Vista Ultimate 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell 2407 + 2408 monitors
      • Internet:
      • Zen 8mb

    Re: New to Vista

    Vista has some different folder locations to XP.

    For the save games, launch FIFA 07 and save a game, see where it puts that data, then replace it with the XP save.

    Have the accounts you created been made as standard users or as administrators? Standard users should all have their own Desktop, Documents, profile etc. Administrators might be different though.

  3. Received thanks from:

    Phage (29-07-2009)

  4. #3
    Overclocking Since 1988 nightkhaos's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Sydney, AU
    Posts
    1,415
    Thanks
    93
    Thanked
    127 times in 106 posts

    Re: New to Vista

    Vista has shared desktops and start menu items. There are two folders that affect the desktop, the shared desktop folder, and the users own desktop folder. I can't remember the paths to either, but both are somewhere in Documents and Settings. When you delete an icon, depending on where it is, it will either delete it from all users, or just the current one. XP on the other hand only did this folder cominations for the Start Menu, and the desktop was independent for all users.

    Hope this helps.
    Desktop (Cy): Intel Core i7 920 D0 @ 3.6GHz, Prolimatech Megahalems, Gigabyte X58-UD5, Patriot Viper DDR3 6GiB @ 1440MHz 7-7-7-20 2T, EVGA NVIDIA GTX 295 Co-Op, Asus Xonar D2X, Hauppauge WinTV Nova TD-500, 2x WD Caviar Black 1TB in RAID 0, 4x Samsung EcoDrive 1.5TB F2s in RAID 5, Corsair HX 750W PSU, Coolermaster RC-1100 Cosmos Sport (Custom), 4x Noctua P12s, 6x Noctua S12Bs, Sony Optiarc DVD+/-RW, Windows 7 Professional Edition, Dell 2408WFP, Mirai 22" HDTV

    MacBook Pro (Voyager): Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.6GHz, 4GiB DDR2 RAM, 200GB 7200RPM HDD, NVIDIA 8600GTM 512MB, SuperDrive, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, 15.4" Matte Display

    HTPC (Delta-Flyer): Intel Core 2 Q8200 @ 2.33GHz, Zotec GeForce 9300-ITX, 2GiB of DDR2 Corsair XMS2 RAM, KWorld PE355-2T, Samsung EcoDrive F2 1.5TB, In-Win BP655, Noctua NF-R8, LiteOn BluRay ROM Drive, Windows 7 Home Premium, 42" Sony 1080p Television

    i7 (Bloomfield) Overclocking Guide

    Quote Originally Posted by Spock
    I am not our father.

  5. Received thanks from:

    Phage (29-07-2009)

  6. #4
    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    6,260
    Thanks
    1,618
    Thanked
    608 times in 518 posts
    • Phage's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Crosshair VIII
      • CPU:
      • 3800x
      • Memory:
      • 16Gb @ 3600Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 960 512Gb + 2Tb Samsung 860
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 1080ti
      • PSU:
      • BeQuiet 850w
      • Case:
      • Fractal Define 7
      • Operating System:
      • W10 64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Iiyama GB3461WQSU-B1

    Re: New to Vista

    Quote Originally Posted by Funkstar View Post
    Vista has some different folder locations to XP.

    For the save games, launch FIFA 07 and save a game, see where it puts that data, then replace it with the XP save.

    Have the accounts you created been made as standard users or as administrators? Standard users should all have their own Desktop, Documents, profile etc. Administrators might be different though.
    Good call on the FIFA save method, I'll try that.
    All accounts other than mine are standard users, and appear to have their own desktop in explorer. But when I select a desktop under that user name, and delete a shortcut, it deletes it from all desktops.
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

  7. #5
    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    6,260
    Thanks
    1,618
    Thanked
    608 times in 518 posts
    • Phage's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Crosshair VIII
      • CPU:
      • 3800x
      • Memory:
      • 16Gb @ 3600Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 960 512Gb + 2Tb Samsung 860
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 1080ti
      • PSU:
      • BeQuiet 850w
      • Case:
      • Fractal Define 7
      • Operating System:
      • W10 64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Iiyama GB3461WQSU-B1

    Re: New to Vista

    Quote Originally Posted by nightkhaos View Post
    Vista has shared desktops and start menu items. There are two folders that affect the desktop, the shared desktop folder, and the users own desktop folder. I can't remember the paths to either, but both are somewhere in Documents and Settings. When you delete an icon, depending on where it is, it will either delete it from all users, or just the current one. XP on the other hand only did this folder cominations for the Start Menu, and the desktop was independent for all users.

    Hope this helps.
    Thanks I'll have another look, but I'm rather limited to my investigation of the directory structure as there are no Vista machines at work.
    So, there should be a user directory for their desktop under user\docs and settings\desktop ? I'm fairly sure that's the one I'm trying to delete icons from...I'll try again tonight.

    This is the trouble caused when I skip a generation of OS !
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

  8. #6
    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    6,260
    Thanks
    1,618
    Thanked
    608 times in 518 posts
    • Phage's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Crosshair VIII
      • CPU:
      • 3800x
      • Memory:
      • 16Gb @ 3600Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 960 512Gb + 2Tb Samsung 860
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 1080ti
      • PSU:
      • BeQuiet 850w
      • Case:
      • Fractal Define 7
      • Operating System:
      • W10 64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Iiyama GB3461WQSU-B1

    Re: New to Vista

    I don't suppose someone could post a shot of the directory structure I should be looking for ?
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

  9. #7
    Overclocking Since 1988 nightkhaos's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Sydney, AU
    Posts
    1,415
    Thanks
    93
    Thanked
    127 times in 106 posts

    Re: New to Vista

    Now that I think about it... it could be /Users/Username/Desktop for and /Users/Shared Folders/Desktop iirc. Or that might be Windows 7... argh! To many OSes.
    Desktop (Cy): Intel Core i7 920 D0 @ 3.6GHz, Prolimatech Megahalems, Gigabyte X58-UD5, Patriot Viper DDR3 6GiB @ 1440MHz 7-7-7-20 2T, EVGA NVIDIA GTX 295 Co-Op, Asus Xonar D2X, Hauppauge WinTV Nova TD-500, 2x WD Caviar Black 1TB in RAID 0, 4x Samsung EcoDrive 1.5TB F2s in RAID 5, Corsair HX 750W PSU, Coolermaster RC-1100 Cosmos Sport (Custom), 4x Noctua P12s, 6x Noctua S12Bs, Sony Optiarc DVD+/-RW, Windows 7 Professional Edition, Dell 2408WFP, Mirai 22" HDTV

    MacBook Pro (Voyager): Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.6GHz, 4GiB DDR2 RAM, 200GB 7200RPM HDD, NVIDIA 8600GTM 512MB, SuperDrive, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, 15.4" Matte Display

    HTPC (Delta-Flyer): Intel Core 2 Q8200 @ 2.33GHz, Zotec GeForce 9300-ITX, 2GiB of DDR2 Corsair XMS2 RAM, KWorld PE355-2T, Samsung EcoDrive F2 1.5TB, In-Win BP655, Noctua NF-R8, LiteOn BluRay ROM Drive, Windows 7 Home Premium, 42" Sony 1080p Television

    i7 (Bloomfield) Overclocking Guide

    Quote Originally Posted by Spock
    I am not our father.

  10. #8
    Does he need a reason? Funkstar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Aberdeen
    Posts
    19,874
    Thanks
    630
    Thanked
    965 times in 816 posts
    • Funkstar's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte EG45M-DS2H
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core2Quad Q9550 (2.83GHz)
      • Memory:
      • 8GB OCZ PC2-6400C5 800MHz Quad Channel
      • Storage:
      • 650GB Western Digital Caviar Blue
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 512MB ATI Radeon HD4550
      • PSU:
      • Antec 350W 80+ Efficient PSU
      • Case:
      • Antec NSK1480 Slim Mini Desktop Case
      • Operating System:
      • Vista Ultimate 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell 2407 + 2408 monitors
      • Internet:
      • Zen 8mb

    Re: New to Vista

    I have three folders under \Users\, Default, Public and my UserName. All of them have a Desktop folder, but there are only files in UserName.

    Anything in Default will only appear on New users, the idea is thats a standardised template for new users to be created from. Anything in Public will appear on all desktops.

    Moving files between these three folders requires Administrator authorisation.

  11. Received thanks from:

    Phage (29-07-2009)

  12. #9
    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    6,260
    Thanks
    1,618
    Thanked
    608 times in 518 posts
    • Phage's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Crosshair VIII
      • CPU:
      • 3800x
      • Memory:
      • 16Gb @ 3600Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 960 512Gb + 2Tb Samsung 860
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 1080ti
      • PSU:
      • BeQuiet 850w
      • Case:
      • Fractal Define 7
      • Operating System:
      • W10 64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Iiyama GB3461WQSU-B1

    Re: New to Vista

    Quote Originally Posted by Funkstar View Post
    I have three folders under \Users\, Default, Public and my UserName. All of them have a Desktop folder, but there are only files in UserName.

    Anything in Default will only appear on New users, the idea is thats a standardised template for new users to be created from. Anything in Public will appear on all desktops.

    Moving files between these three folders requires Administrator authorisation.
    No problem. I'm the Admin account.
    If I read that correctly, I should have the following desktop folders.

    Docs&Settings\users\default\desktop - should be system icons only
    Docs&Settings\users\public\desktop - should be any shared icons
    Docs&Settings\users\Phage\desktop - personal icons

    Is that right ? All your help is much appreciated.
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

  13. #10
    Does he need a reason? Funkstar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Aberdeen
    Posts
    19,874
    Thanks
    630
    Thanked
    965 times in 816 posts
    • Funkstar's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte EG45M-DS2H
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core2Quad Q9550 (2.83GHz)
      • Memory:
      • 8GB OCZ PC2-6400C5 800MHz Quad Channel
      • Storage:
      • 650GB Western Digital Caviar Blue
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 512MB ATI Radeon HD4550
      • PSU:
      • Antec 350W 80+ Efficient PSU
      • Case:
      • Antec NSK1480 Slim Mini Desktop Case
      • Operating System:
      • Vista Ultimate 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell 2407 + 2408 monitors
      • Internet:
      • Zen 8mb

    Re: New to Vista

    Docs&Settings\users\default\desktop - Nothing in this should show up, but anything in here will be copied to MrsPhage when that account is created.

    I happened to have the explorer window for Docs&Settings\users\public\desktop open when I did a repair install or Opera a couple of minutes ago (Opera 10 Beta 2 stole the default browser association) and it put it's shortcut in Public as it is available to all users. Opera 10 however, just installed for the active user, me.

    So really it's all down to how the app installs itself for you. Apps that do things the way MS and Vista want them to do it, will only put their icon on the active Users desktop, unless told specifically to do otherwise. Generally, installers that require admin authorisation to run will put their icon in Public, otherwise it will go in the correct Users.

  14. Received thanks from:

    Phage (29-07-2009)

  15. #11
    One Great Ordeal!
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Posts
    1,764
    Thanks
    201
    Thanked
    56 times in 49 posts

    Re: New to Vista

    I was under the impression that icons are installed either to the application directory or to windows\system\ and not to the specific user folder? Shortcuts would then to be in place in the relevant user\desktop folder?

  16. #12
    Does he need a reason? Funkstar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Aberdeen
    Posts
    19,874
    Thanks
    630
    Thanked
    965 times in 816 posts
    • Funkstar's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte EG45M-DS2H
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core2Quad Q9550 (2.83GHz)
      • Memory:
      • 8GB OCZ PC2-6400C5 800MHz Quad Channel
      • Storage:
      • 650GB Western Digital Caviar Blue
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 512MB ATI Radeon HD4550
      • PSU:
      • Antec 350W 80+ Efficient PSU
      • Case:
      • Antec NSK1480 Slim Mini Desktop Case
      • Operating System:
      • Vista Ultimate 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell 2407 + 2408 monitors
      • Internet:
      • Zen 8mb

    Re: New to Vista

    Quote Originally Posted by digit View Post
    Hmmm ... I was under the impression that icons are installed to the application directory and not to the specific user folder?
    The actual icon data is part of the .exe in the apps folder, however the shortcut (or .lnk file) have to live somewhere in someones Desktop or Start Menu folder.

    edit until this thread, I didn't realise there was a Public folder that all users inherited files from. But then I only ever have a single user on my systems. Me.

  17. #13
    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    6,260
    Thanks
    1,618
    Thanked
    608 times in 518 posts
    • Phage's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Crosshair VIII
      • CPU:
      • 3800x
      • Memory:
      • 16Gb @ 3600Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 960 512Gb + 2Tb Samsung 860
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 1080ti
      • PSU:
      • BeQuiet 850w
      • Case:
      • Fractal Define 7
      • Operating System:
      • W10 64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Iiyama GB3461WQSU-B1

    Re: New to Vista

    Quote Originally Posted by digit View Post
    I was under the impression that icons are installed either to the application directory or to windows\system\ and not to the specific user folder? Shortcuts would then to be in place in the relevant user\desktop folder?
    You're quite right. It's my sloppy use of the Queen's English.
    I should be referring to shortcuts for the desktop in each users directory.
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

  18. #14
    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    6,260
    Thanks
    1,618
    Thanked
    608 times in 518 posts
    • Phage's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Crosshair VIII
      • CPU:
      • 3800x
      • Memory:
      • 16Gb @ 3600Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 960 512Gb + 2Tb Samsung 860
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 1080ti
      • PSU:
      • BeQuiet 850w
      • Case:
      • Fractal Define 7
      • Operating System:
      • W10 64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Iiyama GB3461WQSU-B1

    Re: New to Vista

    Bah.
    Now at home and I don't have a default directory.
    The structure is c:\users\Name\desktop
    How do I do this ?
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

  19. #15
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    London
    Posts
    1,197
    Thanks
    26
    Thanked
    79 times in 70 posts

    Re: New to Vista

    Be careful, games like cod4, the save game location changes if you turn off uac, making it look like youve lost the save if you turn off uac.

  20. #16
    Senior Member watercooled's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    11,459
    Thanks
    1,539
    Thanked
    1,022 times in 868 posts

    Re: New to Vista

    Just leave UAC on - It's there for a reason. It might be a bit annoying while you're setting up your PC/installing programs etc but it shouldn't show itself very often in day-to-day use.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. XP or Vista for new PC?
    By Ellen2 in forum Software
    Replies: 27
    Last Post: 14-12-2008, 02:00 PM
  2. Replies: 4
    Last Post: 03-12-2008, 06:57 PM
  3. Home Networking Vista & XP
    By cotswoldcs in forum Help! Quick Relief From Tech Headaches
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 03-06-2007, 10:16 PM
  4. Abit BE7 and Vista
    By tonymarcus in forum abit.care@HEXUS
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 29-01-2007, 10:58 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •