In Vista(never had this issue in any pervious Windows versions) it seems that I have the same files in two places. The local settings folder that was in XP is now also present in Vista by the same name and place. But Vista uses the AppData folder instead, but it seems to keep the same copies of files in both folders. The same is true for the My Documents folder that was used in XP and the Document folder in Vista. Here is the thing, this is a native Vista install, with no prior OSes. So it is not left over files from XP, it just maintains the folders that XP used. And I am scared to erase one or the other for fear of messing up both. So what I have is this : C:\Users\Administrator\Documents & and a shortcut called "My Documents" in C:\Users\Administrator\ And it takes me to : C:\Users\Administrator\My Documents of which there is no actual folder in C:\Users\Administrator\ but the address bar says there is. And the exact same is true for AppData and Local Settings, a link to Local Settings is in the C:\Users\Administrator\ folder. And before you say they are just links, I made sure the files take up space. SpaceMonger confirms this and both locations as being doubled, and are very close in size. So what can I do so that Vista will maintain only one copy of the folder as opposed to two?

You say this is a native install, did you install the operating system or was it pre-installed? It sounds alomost as if Vista was an upgrade version which would explain the dual file location.

This might have something to do with shadow copies

I have a full version that I installed on an empty drive, the files are the exact same in both folders. So they are both being update. In regards to the shadow copies, I do not have system restore enabled on my system or any of the features. I double checked the folder and the settings and it did not say that anything was being protected in that manner. The Ghacks.net is not working for me right now but I will try it a tad later. I will also look into the whole shadow copy thing, it looks like it might be the thing. Thanks for that tip.

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