So I broke my computer. Anyone know much about junction links?

[BigFatStupidHead]

My computer setup is a little odd. I dual-boot windows and linux, and have both their core programs on a SSD. The SSD is very small, though, so I had managed to set up Windows to use the main drive for much of its storage; directories like Program Files made their way there, connected to C: with Junction links. It was never wise to my clever trick.

But now, trying to install a newer version of .net, I needed it to see more space on C:. I tried moving Users to the data drive and linking it up like I had done before, but I botched the job and now can't log in. Safe mode works for logging in (with some small issues) and I have tried moving everything back to where it should be, but no luck yet.

As I mentioned, I have access to Linux, and full use of ln there, and I can see in Windows (using a program called Junction Link Magic) that many of the links that used to exist have vanished.

So, can anyone help me out here?

[Dman979]

Moving to the Lounge, as it's not about the KSP network.

 

I hope you can get help soon!

 

Edit: Doh! I thought this was in KSP network. My bad, it's staying right here.

Edited July 6, 2017 by Dman979
Dopeslap.

[Nuke]

i keep a lot of my files junctioned over to my d drive where they reside in perpetuity should the os need to be nuked from orbit. i use a batch script to re-establish the junction links when the os is re-installed. its just a list of path pairs (the permanent path and the path of the thing that is linked at that location) and shell commands. since im mostly a windows user the batch script is adequate, if i was doing something multi-platform i would just use lua or python (since im better with the former, id use that) to push the appropriate shell commands. this could detect platform and load paths from a manifest file. i dont junction the entire user folder, it tends to accumulate stuff i dont need, only select folders, like savegames. but the batch script works for me.

i think what you encounter is a chicken and the egg problem. you need to log into windows to junction over your user folder, but you need your user folder intact to log into windows. i presume you copied over your user folder (including system and hidden items) to the new location. thats the easy part. the ' mklink /j "linkPath" "realPath" '  command requires that the path you are linking be empty or non-existant (not sure exactly which) and it wont copy the data for you to the best of my knowledge. if you just wanted to junction a specific user, thats easy, simply make a fake user with admin rights, log in as that user, and do the link command from there and when you are done you can log back in as you (in theory) and remove the fake user. otherwise you might need to boot into recovery mode to gain access to the command line.

to get windows back you might have to copy your user directory back where it was and see if you can log back in. but in theory you should be able to create junction points in its place.

Edited July 6, 2017 by Nuke

[BigFatStupidHead]

Thanks, @Nuke; I'll try that out asap. Do you offhand know if a user can be made from the commandline? My Windows literacy has diminished somewhat.

 

@Dman979: Trying to give @sjwt a run for his title?

[pxi]

43 minutes ago, BigFatStupidHead said:

Do you offhand know if a user can be made from the commandline?

see: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc771865(v=ws.11).aspx

and: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc725622(v=ws.11).aspx

Running the following two commands from an administrative cmd prompt should do the trick:

Quote

net user /add [username] [password]

net localgroup administrators [username] /add

 

Edited July 7, 2017 by pxi

[BigFatStupidHead]

Awesome. I got a new user going, it works properly, and I should be able to repair my normal account using just a little more time than I have right now. Big thanks to you all!

[Nuke]

its probibly also a good idea to have a second backup should the commands go awry.

[sjwt]

On 07/07/2017 at 0:00 PM, BigFatStupidHead said:

Thanks, @Nuke; I'll try that out asap. Do you offhand know if a user can be made from the commandline? My Windows literacy has diminished somewhat.

 

@Dman979: Trying to give @sjwt a run for his title?

Not sure if this is a good thing or not