Redirected links from the Favorite Links list do not work correctly on a Windows Vista-based computer or on a Windows Server 2008-based computer

You use a new domain user account to log on to a Windows Vista-based computer or to a Windows Server 2008-based computer. However, the Favorite Links list (%Userprofile%\Links) is unexpectedly empty. Additionally, when you drag a folder into the Favorite Links list, a copy of the folder is created instead of a shortcut

This issue occurs when the following conditions are true:

• On a Windows Server 2008-based computer, the Windows Vista theme is enabled.
• The default user profile is customized by using the Copy To option before you create the new user account.
  
  Note The Copy To option is located under Advanced system information.
• The Links folder is redirected to a Network share.
• The Move the contents of Links to the new location option is disabled in the folder redirection Group Policy settings for the Links folder.

To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods.

Method 1

1. Enable the Move the contents of Links to the new location option for the Links folder.
2. Back up and then delete the local profile of the affected user. Also, back up and then delete the redirected Links folder on the network share.
   
   Important To delete a local profile, use one of the following methods:
   • Locate and then delete the whole folder of the local profile. Then, delete the following associated ProfileList subkey:
     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\<SID subkey>
     Note <SID subkey> is the ID of the local profile that you want to delete. The value of the ProfileImagePath entry under <SID subkey> indicates the user that the SID belongs to.
   • Use System Properties to delete the local profile. To do this, follow these steps:
     1. Click Start
        , type sysdm.cpl in the Start Search box, and then Press ENTER.
        
        If you are prompted for an administrator password, type your password. If you are prompted for confirmation, click Continue.
     2. On the Advanced tab, click Settings under User Profiles.
     3. Click the profile that you want to delete, and then click Delete.
        
        Note If you are prompted with a "Confirm Delete" message, click Yes.

The links in the Favorite Links list now appear when you use the affected domain user account to log back on to the affected computer. Additionally, you can drag a folder to the Favorite Links list to create a shortcut for the folder.

Method 2

1. Enable the Move the contents of Links to the new location option for the Links folder.
2. Create a new user account.
   
   Note The profile of the new user account is used as a template profile.
3. Customize the Links folder in the template profile as follows:
   1. Change the target location of the following shortcuts:
      • Document: Change the target location to %userprofile%\Document.
      • Music: Change the target location to %userprofile%\Music.
      • Pictures: Change the target location to %userprofile%\Pictures.
      • Public: Change the target location to %public%.
      • Recently Changed: Change the target location to %userprofile%\Recently Changed.search-ms.
      • Searches: Change the target location to %userprofile%\Document.
   2. Make sure that DefaultDropEffect is set to 4 in the Desktop.ini configuration settings file
4. Copy the following files from the Links folder in the template profile to the redirected Links folder of the affected user:
   • All the shortcuts
     
     Important If the template profile contains the Recycle Bin shortcut, do not copy it.
   • Desktop.ini configuration settings file
   Note If you are prompted about whether you want to replace an existing file, click Copy and Replace.

The links in the Favorite Links list now appear when you use the affected domain user account to log back on to the affected computer. Additionally, you can drag a folder to the Favorite Links list to create a shortcut for the folder.

Important Existing shortcuts in the Links folder are still available, and they link to their correct locations.

You cannot use the Copy To option to customize the default user profile in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2.

For more information about how to customize default user profiles in Windows 7, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: For more information about how to use the Copy Profile parameter to customize default user profiles, visit the following Microsoft Web site: