Renaming any folder produces "Could not find this item". Clicking "Try Again" always works. Why?

Anonymous
2009-11-11T13:37:01+00:00

This is not the same issue as similar postings that have to do inability to delete folders that contain zero byte files. 

If I try to rename any folder in my system, I get "Could not find this item" with the choices "Try Again" and "Cancel". When I click "Try Again", it always succeeds. So - my system isn't crippled - but it is so totally annoying. I can even right-click on my desktop, and choose "New...  Folder" and type in a name, and I get "Could not find this item". The interesting thing is that the item's name does change even before I click "Try Again". 

If I have a folder named "Folder1" and I rename it to "Folder2", I get the error that "Folder1" Could not be found - which is actually true, as it is already renamed to "Folder2".

Why is Windows 7 looking for the old folder name after renaming? I've also disabled AVG's live scanner to no avail.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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Anonymous
2010-04-29T20:39:55+00:00

I finally got it.

I used the same solution for the similar issue in Windows Vista. Once i got to my company laptop, i exported this 2 registry keys.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderDescriptions

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\FolderDescriptions

Merged into my pc and voilà !!

The 'shell' command also works again (ex: shell:personal brings up the account folder)

I uploaded the reg file and you can get it here http://cid-fb5a28bc4a1cc9b6.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Public/Folder%5E_fix%5E_win7%5E_x64/FolderDescriptions.rar

This is for Win7 x64. Use it at your own risk.

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-05-22T21:58:29+00:00

    Thanks!

    Works like a charm!

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-05-17T07:08:40+00:00

    varredor's Windows 7 x64 keys worked for me, thanks!

    Also har386, he posted two whole keys, which have a lot of individual values in them. It's not surprising they're so long. I looked through the first one (not the x86 one) and they all went into one of the two FolderDescriptions keys as advertised. If he can manage to do damage with keys put in those two places... well, he's pretty crafty. :)

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  3. Anonymous
    2010-05-08T15:45:39+00:00

    I also have this same problem on an up to date system. I am running Windows 7 32-bit.

    If you are having/had this problem as well, you have probably come across mention of the kb940408 that seemed to have caused this issue for some in the past. However, on my recent Win 7 build with integrated updates (latest updates of which kb940408 is NOT a part as it has been superseded) I am experiencing the "Item not found" problem. It happens across partitions, and happens when I want to rename a folder, or delete it. Like others have mentioned it will give you the "Try again" option, and when I try again it will work.

    One person mentioned that in his case the problem came about because of a registry tweak he applied beforehand that removes the Libraries in Windows 7 (http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-CA/w7itproui/thread/2ca522e9-f46c-4e88-9ea0-3c93359e878e), but I did not remove the Libraries so the cause is different. Or is it? I ask that because Varredor's fix did work for me: but it also uses a technique similar to restoring the Libraries that that person in the linked thread mentioned. Namely, "NameSpace" and "FolderDescriptions". So the reason the 'restore Libraries" reg tweak may have worked for that user is for the same reason Varredor's tweaks works, in that it writes FolderDescriptions that are somehow lacking.

    About the KB940408 issue, like I said it doesn't apply to my problem directly as I don't have it installed. But, here is the thing. A friend of mine who has in-depth knowledge of updates/hotfixes and compares them against each other and know which ones supersede older ones, etc., told me that the KB940408 update has been superseded. This is what he told me:

    "KB980408 is shell32.dll (and LSA component update). So yes shell32.dll can cause this issue; it's not on the [current] list because it's (kinda) very old update and gets superseded by KB981506 and KB982405."

    So it stand to reason that one of these 2 updates is causing this issue again. A Win 7 build I did a month before did not have at least 1 of these updates and I did not have this problem. However, my problem has been verified on two different (recent) builds that included these updates. The first time it happened was when I applied (live, from within Windows) a couple of the most recent updates. The latter of the 2 updates mentioned is KB982405, which I applied 'live'. I think it is then that I started experiencing my problem.

    So, to summarize, I think KB940408 can still be causing this issue for some (if they have it installed). For people who hunt for the latest updates they may have come across KB981506 and KB982405 which may be causing their issue. The main culprit of these 2, to me, would be KB982405 as it was made available to me on the 29th of April which is around the time I installed it live and my problems began. After this, I made a Win 7 image with integrated updates, including the KB982405. Upon fresh install, I had this "Item not found" problem again. Since this latter update supersedes KB940408 (which already had been superseded but other KB's in the past) , KB940408 was not part of my latest build.

    I hope this is clear and may shed some light on this issue. Although I am still in the dark myself having to deal with a crippled build right now. MS, fix this issue please!

    By the way, there appears to be yet another 'fix' to this problem posted by a user called "HellGates". Follow the link: http://www.overclock.net/windows/721973-msupdate-kb980408-warning-all-win7-x64-2.html

    PS: Some new updates/hotfixes came my way. When I build a new Win7 image I will test and see if this problem has been resolved. I will post there what my findings are.

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  4. Anonymous
    2010-05-06T17:13:26+00:00

    The x86 registry fix works for sure. Many thanks!

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