Remove duplicate personal folders within Windows 2008 R2 when using folder redirection

When you are using folder redirection within Windows Server 2008 R2 to redirect some personal folders, you will see some duplicate folders when you are opening the Windows Explorer. One is the redirected folder to your network, the other is the orrigional folder. When opening the origioal folder, you will receive an error. The redirected folder works fine.

To resolve this duplicate folder issue, you have to add a registry key to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER environment. I have used RES Workspace Manager 2012 to deploy this registry key, but you can also use a loginscript or other third party software.

1.) Open the RES Workspace Manager 2012 Management Console
2.) Navigate to User Registry
3.) Create a New Registry, in my example “OS – Remove duplicate user personal folder”
4.) Add the following registry key
HEKY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum
5.) Create a REG_DWORD
{DFFACDC5-679F-4156-8947-C5C76BC0B67F}
6.) The REG_DWORD value should be 1 (0x00000001)
7.) Distribute this to all the users or just to a group of users

After login again, you will see that the duplicate folders are gone! This is much better for the user now.

       

       

How to: Remove the personal folder from the dekstop within Windows Server 2008 R2

Default within Windows Server 2008 R2 there’s a shortcut available on your desktop to the users personal folder. When you’re using a mandatory profile with folder redirection, the links to the personal folders are wrong and the users are getting an error message!

In this blogpost I’m using RES Workspace Manager 2012 to solve this problem. You can also use an script that changes the specific registry key.

1. ) Open the RES Workspace Manager 2012 Console
2.) Navigate to Composition / Actions By Type / User Registry
3.) Create a new Registry setting and import the right registry key.
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum]
“{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}”=dword:00000001
4.) Now logoff the user and login again. As you can see, the shortcut to the personal folder has gone.