Reset the Shell Folders paths to defaults

Introduction
Windows stores the location of per-user special folders under the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ User Shell Folders

When you redirect special folders using Tweak UI or by moving the folder to another location,
the User Shell Folder registry path is modified accordingly. To reset the User Shell Folders
values to defaults, try this:

Resetting the special folder paths to defaults

Open Registry Editor and navigate to this location:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ User Shell Folders

Backup the above branch to a .REG file.

In the right-pane, change the Shell Folder path accordingly. The default values are mentioned in the table
below for reference:

Shell Folder

Path

AppData

%USERPROFILE%\Application Data

Cache

%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files

Cookies

%USERPROFILE%\Cookies

Desktop

%USERPROFILE%\Desktop

Favorites

%USERPROFILE%\Favorites

History

%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\History

Local AppData

%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data

Local Settings

%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings

My Music

%USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Music

My Pictures

%USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Pictures

Nethood

%USERPROFILE%\NetHood

Personal [My Documents]

%USERPROFILE%\My Documents

PrintHood

%USERPROFILE%\PrintHood

Programs

%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs

SendTo

%USERPROFILE%\SendTo

Start Menu

%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu

Startup

%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Templates

%USERPROFILE%\Templates

Note: You can automate the above using the FolderRedirector utility, or using TweakUI Powertoy.

You may also this REG fix to reset the User Shell Folders values to Windows XP defaults, for the
current user profile.
To reset the per-machine shell folder paths, navigate to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ User Shell Folders

Refer the following table for the default values:

Shell Folder

Path

Common AppData

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data

Common Desktop

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Desktop

Common Documents

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Documents

Common Programs

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs

Common Start Menu

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu

Common Startup

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Common Templates

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Templates

NOTE: After the Shell Folders values are updated, you need to move your files manually from the old path to the new.