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Windows 7 "Libraries" - How do you back them up?

Windows 7 "Libraries" - How do you back them up?

I recently upgraded to Windows 7 which seems to want us to organize our files into "libraries" which are independent from the physical folder where the files are stored.

Asked by: Guest | Views: 370
Total answers/comments: 2
Guest [Entry]

"The other answers suppose you want to backup the content of the libraries, themselves having files stored eventually in several directories, maybe stored on different harddisks.

I understood that you want to backup the list of folders that are defined in each library, not the content of these folders. Who is right?

If I am, here is my answer:

The configuration of the Libraries is stored in the following directory:

c:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Libraries\

For each library defined on your system, there is a file with extension .library-ms .

The path to this directory is defined at

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

value name is ""{1B3EA5DC-B587-4786-B4EF-BD1DC332AEAE}"".

Edit: In this question, I just found a mention to a new tool that can certainly be useful: Win7 Library Tool

Add network (UNC or mapped drive) and any other un-indexed folders to libraries.
Backup library configuration, such that a saved set of libraries can be instantly restored at any point (like after a re-install of the OS or for transfer between multiple computers).
Create a mirror of all libraries (using symbolic links) in [SystemDrive]:\libraries. This means you can reference all your files using a much shorter path, and also provides another entry-point to your files in many places in the Operating System (e.g. file open/save dialogs)."
Guest [Entry]

"Libraries are nothing more than a logical folder redirecting to 1 or more physical folders.

This being said, it's easy to keep your data intact. As long as your library is pointing to a folder on your data drive, you only need to change the directory the library points to after you reinstall windows."