Solved Unable to save to desktop. No desktop option in user account menu.


But i'm quite certain this behavior is new behavior from microsoft
No it's not, it has/will always happen when you do a clean install, use an MS account and let OneDrive have its unfettered way, as is Microsoft's wont
I have a suspicion that this is all tied to them trying to force people into using onedrive
Absolutely, and that's why it's imperative that the user take control

Clean install, no internet, no user account
When complete, before connecting internet, exit/close OneDrive (running in SysTray), and also stop it from starting up again (Task Manager > Startup > Disable)
Connect internet
Uninstall OneDrive using RevoUninstaller (freeware) - also use Advanced option to remove all left over files/folders/registry entries
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 2xH2 (latest update ... forever anal)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Slim S01
    CPU
    Intel i5-12400
    Memory
    8GB
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    NVIDIA GeForce GT730
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    OOBE
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    Acer 32"
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    1920x1080
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    512GB KIOXIA NVMe
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    OOBE
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    OOBE
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    OOBE
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    BT
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    BT
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    Brave FFox Chrome Opera
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    KIS
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 2xH2 (latest update ... 4ever anal)
    Computer type
    Laptop
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    HP Pavillion 15
    CPU
    i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
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    Samsung NVMe 512GB
    + numerous/multiple SSD Type C USB enclosures
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    NBN FTTN 50
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
Absolutely, and that's why it's imperative that the user take control


Yep. That's why I "took control" by just removing all that MS junk... with REVO Uninstaller free. :-)

00000 REVO Junk Removal.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26100.2161 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
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    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
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    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
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    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
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    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
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    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
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    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
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    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
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    300/300
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    Firefox (latest)
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    Bitdefender Internet Security
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    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
No it's not, it has/will always happen when you do a clean install, use an MS account and let OneDrive have its unfettered way, as is Microsoft's wont

Absolutely, and that's why it's imperative that the user take control

Clean install, no internet, no user account
When complete, before connecting internet, exit/close OneDrive (running in SysTray), and also stop it from starting up again (Task Manager > Startup > Disable)
Connect internet
Uninstall OneDrive using RevoUninstaller (freeware) - also use Advanced option to remove all left over files/folders/registry entries
There's not many people who you'll run into who have done more windows installs than I have and who don't work in IT. This has never has happened to me before, so I can categorically state that something has changed recently.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Clean install, no internet, no user account
That was the first thing I looked for, trying to install without creating an account. But exiting that part of the setup meant exiting the install. On my fresh os install from Microsoft that I put on my usb drive, there is no ability to do this.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
The EASIEST way...use a local account from the get-go and not get into the Onedrive trap..

100% this. No Microsoft account, they cannot force the machine to use OneDrive - which requires a Microsoft account login. :lmao:

I use a local login for Windows even though I actually *do* use OneDrive to save folders I want to backup. In fact, I use what resident guru @Kari calls a
hybrid setup, where I use the local login, but then after setup, add my Microsoft account to the system - and manually set up everything, including OneDrive.

For the Desktop folder with OneDrive enabled during setup, you'll need to open the OneDrive folder, then see if it is there. It should be *somewhere* under OneDrive.

Once you find it, pin the folder to the nav bar and it will start showing up in most apps when you go to save files and such.

If you don't want to cleanly install yet again, follow the two posts you plan to spend time researching from @glasskuter and @Ghot - and check out the list of tutorials that @antspants posted earlier that he uses to 'attack' Windows Explorer.

However, after doing a good bit of research, I think you will be well served with arming yourself with the knowledge on how to perform a clean install with local login only, and perform one final clean install, - because it is a lot easier if you keep control of the installation process (and thus the ubiquitous automatic folder mapping and backups) when setting up OneDrive specifically.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
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    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
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    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
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    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
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    3x 3840 x 2160
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    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 RGB + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
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    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
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    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
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    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
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    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge , Arc
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
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    Dell
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    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
Hello @JRT10, :alien:

If your Desktop folder is missing or no longer at its default location, then you could see if option three in the tutorial below may fix it for you.

 

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  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
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    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
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    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
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    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
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    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
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    Corsair Hydro H115i
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    Logitech wireless K800
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    Logitech MX Master 3
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    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
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    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
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    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
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    Windows 11 Pro
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    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
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    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
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    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
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    15" HDR
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    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender

Follow steps 1-10, reboot and check again
I tried to do this just now, but i'd already disabled onedrive, and the icon isn't in the toolbar. I clicked on the onedrive entry in my startup menu, and it gives me a popup to start onedrive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Hello @JRT10, :alien:

If your Desktop folder is missing or no longer at its default location, then you could see if option three in the tutorial below may fix it for you.

Hey man, nice to see you in this thread. I've been using your forums since windows 7 days.
I'll give this a try now and report back.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
1724949568353.png
right click on your desktop > new > text document
right click that text document > properties

where does it say its stored?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
Ive already ran into a jam, Win + E opens a the "Home" header.

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
yeah you're logged in with a Microsoft account and onedrive was storing your Pictures and Desktop folders based on your earlier C: screenshot. launch onedrive, re-enable it/login. then follow those steps 1-10 to disable syncing. then disable onedrive again.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
yeah you're logged in with a Microsoft account and onedrive was storing your Pictures and Desktop folders based on your earlier C: screenshot. launch onedrive, re-enable it/login. then follow those steps 1-10 to disable syncing. then disable onedrive again.
lol this feels like i'm about to make a deal with the devil.

i'll try this and report back when i'm done.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
click the 3 dots > options > choose This PC from the dropdown
Got it, this takes me to my "this pc" location. I didn't realize I was looking for the C drive.
I'll give the 10 steps a shot now.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
if you want it to launch to c:\ (like where your earlier screenshot showed), it can be done as well... but This PC is pretty standard for most users as you can access all drives from there
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
if you want it to launch to c:\ (like where your earlier screenshot showed), it can be done as well... but This PC is pretty standard for most users as you can access all drives from there
nah, i'm used to going to this pc then selecting c drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Unfortunately I couldn't get the 10 point walkthrough to work. I'm getting items that show onedrive in the address. Onedrive clearly is hooked too far into this build, and it's not worth this much trouble to fix it.
So i'm giving up on this install and starting over again. This will be well beyond the 10th attempt at this in 5 days on this new build.

So I would like to change directions of this thread and ask for a step by step method of installing windows without OnePlus ruining everything. Not using network install I assume.
I'll take a photo on my phone of the walkthrough and reboot into the install.
If this fails, i'm just going to take the pc to microcenter and pay the hundred bucks to have them do it. I should have done that in the first place. ugh.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
yeah you're logged in with a Microsoft account and onedrive was storing your Pictures and Desktop folders based on your earlier C: screenshot. launch onedrive, re-enable it/login. then follow those steps 1-10 to disable syncing. then disable onedrive again.
Pause on that idea, I just now made the connection that I didn't re-enable onedrive.
I'll try that right now and see how this goes. Thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11

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