How To: Add Custom Folder to My Computer or the Desktop That Can Not Be Deleted Or Renamed
You can easily create your own custom system folders in Windows Vista or in XP, like “My Documents” or “My Computer”, that can not be deleted or renamed and place it on the desktop and My Computer.
- Create the following series of keys and values in the Windows registry at [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID] or [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID]. The GUID, globally unique identifier, can be a random number, in this example “FD4DF9E0-E3DE-11CE-BFCF-ABCD1DE12345″ is used.
- Create a new registry subkey called [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FD4DF9E0-E3DE-11CE-BFCF-ABCD1DE12345}] and set (Default) to equal the name of the folder e.g. “My Folder”(or any name you like).
- Create a new sub-key under the main key called “DefaultIcon” (i.e. [HKEY_CLASSES...ABCD1DE12345}\DefaultIcon]) and set (Default) to equal the file name for the icon you want to display e.g. “c:\windows\myicon.ico”.
- Create a new sub-key under the main key called “InProcServer32″ (i.e. [HKEY_CLASSES...ABCD1DE12345}\InProcServer32]) and set (Default) to equal “shell32.dll”, also create a new String value called “ThreadingModel” and set it to “Apartment”.
- Create a set of sub-keys starting at the main key “Shell\Open My Menu\Command” (i.e.[HKEY_CLASSES...ABCD1DE12345}\Shell\Open My Folder\Command]) and set (Default) to equal the command to execute when clicked, in this case explorer, e.g. “explorer /root,c:\MyFolder”.
- Create a set of sub-keys starting at the main key “ShellEx\PropertySheetHandlers\{FD4DF9E0-E3DE-11CE-BFCF-ABCD1DE12345}”(i.e. [HKEY_CLASSES...ABCD1DE12345}\ShellEx\PropertySheetHandlers\{FD4DF9E0-E3DE-11CE-BFCF-ABCD1DE12345}])
- Create a new sub-key under the main key called “ShellFolder” (i.e. [HKEY_CLASSES...ABCD1DE12345}\ShellFolder]) and create a new Binary value called “Attributes” and set it to “00 00 00 00″.
Note:
- To place the folder on the desktop add the following key:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{FD4DF9E0-E3DE-11CE-BFCF-ABCD1DE12345}]
- To place the folder in My Computer add the following key:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{FD4DF9E0-E3DE-11CE-BFCF-ABCD1DE12345}]
Now the folder cannot be deleted from the desktop or My Computer, nor can it be renamed other than removing the CLSID and the entries under NAME SPACE.To remove this special folder just delete above created keys and refresh your desktop.
Tips:
A Class ID or GUID is a global unique ID which is used to represent unique COM objects. Following are some CLSID which are left free for user and are not used by most of the software.
{25892e17-80f6-415f-9c65-7395632f0223}
{a53e98e4-0197-4513-be6d-49836e406aaa}
{e33898de-6302-4756-8f0c-5f6c5218e02e}
{3a768eea-cbda-4926-a82d-831cb89092aa}
{cd171f7c-560d-4a62-8d65-16b87419a58c}
{17084b40-08f5-4bcd-a739-c0d08c176bad}
{d63a8ffd-bdac-498c-b861-a53e11989cef}
{11cdd494-de5b-460e-9ddf-4e84bad6f596}
{deb17e15-d47c-449f-b1b0-4d55247d153f}
{30a7e1b3-e763-4789-a54d-fcc53dcf973a}
Warning: Modifying the Windows registry can cause serious damage to your Windows Operating System.It is better to backup your Windows registry data before making any changes. Tomstricks.com is not responsible for any changes you may make to your system.
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Written by Tony on March 2nd, 2009 with
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