Messed with some Windows 10 options and now I want to revert back, how?

[Tommygunn]

I was messing with some options in Windows 10, thinking it would improve things, and now I have the 'WindowsApps' folder on my E: drive hard disk when it should be on my C: drive SSD as part of the operating system. I cannot access this folder it ('You don't currently have permission to access this folder'), delete it or anything.
Also, I was going post a screen grab of said folder and save it to my 'E' hard disk but now it prevents me from doing even that with the same above message.

I recall I was messing with Apps and where they should be saved etc, something like that, but I can't find my way back to correct the problem.

Can someone steer me in the right direction?

Cheers,
Tom.

 

[StrayKAT]

You must have relocated the Apps folder. Or at least some individual apps.

Settings > System > Storage > "Change where new content is saved"

See if it says if the default is still "C:\" .

If it's still C, then it means only some individual apps got relocated. You can go to Settings > Apps > then manually look through any "UWP"/Store type of apps you have there and click on them to see which one is relocated elsewhere than C:\

For example, my "Minecraft" is on C when I click "Move".. but I can relocate it. This only works for UWP apps.

 

[lexluthermiester]

@Tommygunn
In addition to what @StrayKAT mentioned, it is also possible that it is a system folder created for caching App data. I've seen this a few times. You shouldn't worry to much about it if the settings he mentioned above are pointing at the "C:" drive.

 

[StrayKAT]

@Tommygunn
In addition to what @StrayKAT mentioned, it is also possible that it is a system folder created for caching App data. I've seen this a few times. You shouldn't worry to much about it if the settings he mentioned above are pointing at the "C:" drive.

Yeah, come to think of it, I think I've seen that before. I forgot, since I usually and intentionally relocate apps.

 

[Tommygunn]

Thank you.
Yes, that was exactly where I was; 'Change where new content is saved' and I've reverted it all back to C:.
Many thanks to StrayKAT and Lex.

Tom.

 

[MrGenius]

This is what System Restore is for.

I literally can't count how times it's fixed some stupid thing I did and couldn't figure out how to undo.

 

[eidairaman1]

This is what System Restore is for.

I literally can't count how times it's fixed some stupid thing I did and couldn't figure out how to undo.

I use it for each driver install I do

 

[Bill_Bright]

Can someone steer me in the right direction?

I agree to try system restore. But let's address the elephant (or two) in the room.

1. Backup, backup, backup - especially before making changes to the system.

2. Contrary to what many want us to believe, the developers at Microsoft really are pretty sharp. I can't say the same thing about the marketing weenies or some of the executive decisions that have been made - that's for another discussion. But the folks in the trenches doing the real work are top notch. What that means is the default settings in Windows (especially Windows 10) are already set to optimize performance for the vast majority of users. It is highly unlikely your setup is so unique it requires tweaking.

I mean why would MS default to static (non-dynamic) settings that would degrade performance? So ensuring maximum performance without compromising security is a primary goal and the W10 developers have done an outstanding job to achieve that. So unless you really are a true expert Windows 10 and hardware professional (and by far, most of us are not), it is best to leave the defaults alone and just let Windows do it. Aesthetics? Sure. You can personalize them. And you can change most of the telemetry settings. But anything to do with performance should be left alone. If you still want to dink with them, see elephant #1.