Professional Documents
Culture Documents
com]
-1-
© 2004-2010, bcdalai
bcdalai's Free Tech. Support Blog: [http://bcdalai.blogspot.com]
Special Folders
Where Windows Vista is installed, usually C: drive. Path: %systemdrive%
Table-1
Folder Description
\$Recycle.Bin Hidden by default, this folder contains files that have been deleted. You should never need
to directly interact with this folder. Instead, use the Recycle Bin object on the desktop and in
Explorer to recover or permanently delete files.
\Boot On BIOS-based computers, this folder contains the BCD registry file, BCD log files, the
Windows Memory Diagnostics file (Memtest.exe), and many subfolders containing regional
versions of Windows Boot Manager (Bootmgr.exe.mui) and Windows Memory Diagnostics
(Memtest.exe.mui). The \Boot\Fonts\ folder contains several TrueType fonts used during
startup. On EFI-based operating systems, the BCD registry file is located in the
\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\ folder on the EFI system partition.
\Documents and This junction point simply links to the \Users folder for backward compatibility with
Settings applications developed prior to Windows Vista. In Windows XP and earlier versions of
Windows, the \Documents and Settings folder was used to store user profiles.
\Program Files The standard location for installing application executable files. To help prevent standard
users from installing new applications, standard users can read files in this folder but cannot
write files to the folder.
\ProgramData The standard location for applications to store non-user-specific data, such as shared
settings that all users should be able to update.
\System Volume A system folder that stores information about the disk volume. You should never need to
Information directly access this folder.
\Users The folder used to store user files and documents. This folder contains a subfolder (the user
profile) for each user on the computer. Additionally, the \Users\Public folder contains
documents and settings available to all users of the computer.
\Windows This folder contains Windows system files, including drivers, log files, the registry, and more.
Read the next section for more information about the contents of this folder.
Windows Folders
Location of “Windows” folder, usually C:\Windows. Path: %systemroot%
Table-2
Folder Description
<language-region> Contains regional versions of some Windows tools. This folder is named using the
language-region format. For example, the \Windows\en-US folder contains United
States English-language version of Windows tools.
Addins ActiveX controls (.ocx) files.
AppPatch Application compatibility files.
Assembly Assembly files used for Microsoft .NET Framework–based applications
Boot Copies of files located in the \Boot folder
Branding Used by computer manufacturers that want to insert custom branding into the operating
system.
CSC Offline files that are used during client-side caching.
Cursors Cursor and icon files.
Debug Log files. Used for debugging purpose.
DigitalLocker Contains the Digital Locker Assistant, which facilitates downloading and purchasing
software.
Downloaded Downloaded program files.
Program Files
e-home Contains Windows Media Center files.
Fonts All font files.
-2-
© 2004-2010, bcdalai
bcdalai's Free Tech. Support Blog: [http://bcdalai.blogspot.com]
Globalization Contains globalization files, but might be empty, depending on the computer
configuration.
Help Help files.
IME Language files.
Inf Contains driver files.
L2Schemas Contains networking profiles.
LiveKernelReports A system folder used to store non-fatal error reports generated during the failure of a
kernel mode application or driver.
Logs Contains some Windows log files.
Media Sound and music files (for example, WAV and MIDI files) used by the operating system.
Microsoft.NET Contains files related to the .NET Framework, including XML-based configuration files.
Minidump Contains small memory dump files created after stop errors.
ModemLogs Contains modem log files.
MSAgent Microsoft Agent files. (Microsoft Agent is a set of programmable software services that
support the presentation of interactive animated characters within the Microsoft
Windows interface.)
Nap Contains files related to Network Access Protection (NAP).
Offline Web Pages Downloaded web pages for offline reading.
Panther Files related to Windows setup.
Performance Files related to Windows System Assessment (WinSAT).
PLA Performance logs and alerts information
PolicyDefinitions Contains .admx files for extending Group Policy.
Prefetch Data files related to enhancing the speed at which applications start.
Provisioning XML schema files related to authentication.
Registration COM+ files, which are enhancements to the Microsoft Component Object Model (COM).
rescache Resource cache folder.
Resources User interface files.
SchCache Schema cache folder.
Schemas XML schema files.
Security Log files, templates for snap-ins, and security database files.
ServiceProfiles Virtualized profile data for different classifications of services.
Servicing Installable Windows components.
Setup Dynamic Update storage location.
ShellNew Used to store document templates. This folder is provided to provide backwards
compatibility with earlier versions of Windows.
SoftwareDistribution Microsoft Update files.
Speech Speech synthesis files.
System Backward-compatibility files related to the System folder (for example, applications that
look for a System folder).
system32 Core operating system files.
Tapi Telephony Application Programming Interface (API) folders. This folder contains the
Tsec.ini file, which includes the list of users who are telephony administrators.
Tasks Scheduled Task files.
Temp Temporary files.
Tracing Stores Remote Access Services tracing files.
twain_32 Imaging files (for scanners).
Web Printer and wallpaper files.
Windows Mobile Files for connecting to Windows Mobile devices.
WinSxS Side by Side (shared components).
System32 Folders
Location of “System32” folder, usually C:\Windows\system32. Path: %systemroot%\system32
Table-3
Folder Description
#### (four numeric digits) Localization (language) files for a specific language, corresponding to the number
assigned to this folder.
<language-region> Contains regional versions of some Windows tools. This folder is named using the
language-region format. For example, the \Windows\System32\en-US folder
contains United States English-language version of Windows tools.
AdvancedInstallers DLL files used by application installation programs.
Boot Copies of files located in the \Boot folder.
Branding Used by computer manufacturers that want to insert custom branding into the
operating system.
-3-
© 2004-2010, bcdalai
bcdalai's Free Tech. Support Blog: [http://bcdalai.blogspot.com]
-4-
© 2004-2010, bcdalai
bcdalai's Free Tech. Support Blog: [http://bcdalai.blogspot.com]
Thank You
-5-
© 2004-2010, bcdalai