Messed up my Downloads folder. How to get it back?

Question

I've changed my Downloads folder location to D:\Test\Downloads. Then I accidentally set the Desktop folder to D:\Test.

After getting it back to C:\Users\MyName\Desktop, the D:\Test\Downloads is not marked as a user folder anymore, meaning that at properties, the Location option is not more available.

Trying to get it back, I've created a folder named Downloads at C:\Users\MyName\Downloads, but it also does not have the Location option.

When I run (Windows+R) shell:Downloads, windows cannot find it.

So, how can I get back the Downloads folder? 

OS: Windows 7 x64 Pro.

Answer 1

You'll need to point the Downloads library link back to D:\Test\Downloads.

You can do that through Right Click > Properties then selecting the Location tab.

• Restore - This will set the path back to default, as you see in the screenshot.
• Move... - This opens a window that will let you choose a new location for the downloads directory.
• Find Target... - This will open the directory where the currently set Downloads folder resides. In the example below: C:\Users\Michael\

Note: You can only get to the "correct" Downloads properties by entering from the \Users\Username\ folder directly. See the screenshot below:

If the above method doesn't work or the Location tab is completely gone, and you're not just looking in the wrong place. You may need to reset the Download folders registry link.

There are two locations that will need to be reset:

and