Solved Application Data folder inside Application Data folder

BlessYahowah

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I am running Windows 8 Pro 64-bit. In the hidden folder "All Users" is a folder named "Application Data". Inside it is a folder named "Application Data". Inside that is yet another folder named "Application Data". This nonsense repeats itself to a depth of 16 folders, all named "Application Data". I cannot remove them. Windows tells me that I have to have permission from myself.

Norton 360 finds no risks or suspicious files on my computer.

Has anyone else had this idiotic problem? What causes it? More importantly, how do I get rid of that "All Users" directory tree altogether? I am the only user on my computer, so I don't need templates or anything else like that.

Thank you in advance for your helpful responses.

Richard
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro 64-Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hand built
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X2
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4A89GTD PRO
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon 6870
    Browser
    Firefox 22.0
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
Never seen that before!! judging by the lack of response sounds like its a new one! :)

It does definatly sound virus related in some way.

Malwarebytes in Safemode would find anything there, but wont undo the damaged caused assuming it is a virus of course. The folders would still be there!!

Suppose only way to fully sort that would be a refresh/reset.

Refresh - Maybe
Reset - Defo!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 5750
    CPU
    i3
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HD
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    750GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
Application Data is a Junction or Hard Link. It points to AppData. Trying to view it just takes you in a spiral down to nowhere.

This started with Vista ad continues through Windows 8.1 Preview.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
Yes, the links are made to support some older stuff, I think.

Here is an example of the issue:

Code:
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.2.9200]
(c) 2012 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.


C:\Windows\system32>streams /?


Streams v1.56 - Enumerate alternate NTFS data streams
Copyright (C) 1999-2007 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com


usage: streams [-s] [-d] <file or directory>
-s     Recurse subdirectories
-d     Delete streams




C:\Windows\system32>streams -s -d c:\Users\jim\.


Streams v1.56 - Enumerate alternate NTFS data streams
Copyright (C) 1999-2007 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com


Error opening c:\Users\jim\AppData\Local\Temporary Internet Files:
The system cannot find the file specified.


Error opening c:\Users\jim\AppData\Local\Application Data\Temporary Internet Files:
The system cannot find the file specified.


Error opening c:\Users\jim\AppData\Local\Application Data\Application Data\Temporary Internet Files:
The system cannot find the file specified.


Error opening c:\Users\jim\AppData\Local\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Temporary Internet Files:
The system cannot find the file specified.


Error opening c:\Users\jim\AppData\Local\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Temporary I
nternet Files:
The system cannot find the file specified.

...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center (64-bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-build
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-2600K @ 4.3 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 PRO Rev 3.0
    Memory
    16 GB G.SKILL Ripjaws X DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (4 banks 4GB DIMM DDR3 8-8-8-24 5-32-12-7 1T 1.5V)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 440
    Sound Card
    Firewire Focusrite Saffire Pro 14
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG W2353V
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2 of Seagate Barracuda XT ST32000641AS (2TB ea.);
    1 of Seagate Barracuda Green ST2000DL003 (2TB);
    1 of Hitachi Deskstar HDS722020ALA330 (2TB);
    2 of Seagate Desktop ST4000DM000-1F2168 (4TB)
    PSU
    Corsair AX850 Gold
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced
    Cooling
    ThermalTake Silent 1156
    Keyboard
    Logitech K520
    Mouse
    Logitech M310
    Internet Speed
    7Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky
    Other Info
    Event Studio Precision 6 powered audio monitors;
    Boston Acoustics CS Sub 10 Powered Subwoofer;
    NI Kore controller;
    NI Maschine controller;
    M-Audio Axiom 61 keyboard controller; expression pedal; sustain pedal;

    ... and tons of audio software ...

    I also keep two USB 3 thumb drives (A: and B:) attached with boot recovery and security stuff that I can boot into from BIOS in case of emergency
Jim, that is exactly what I encountered! Moreover, I was unable to delete anything in the bottom-most directory because the path name was too long for Windows.

So here is what I did to resolve the problem:

  • [*=1]Beginning with the first "Application Data" sub-directory, I renamed it "1"
    [*=1]I renamed the next "Application Data" sub-directory below that "2"
    [*=1]Continuing that process, I renamed all the "Application Data" sub-directories
    [*=1]Now Windows could swallow the path without throwing up all over itself
    [*=1]I opened the bottom-most directory, "16", reset all the file attributes, and deleted all the files
    [*=1]I moved up a directory and removed the now empty "16" subdirectory
    [*=1]I continued doing that until all the offending directories were gone
Problem solved!

Thank you guys for pitching in! Yahowah bless you.

Richard
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro 64-Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hand built
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X2
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4A89GTD PRO
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon 6870
    Browser
    Firefox 22.0
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
Well, I don't think I would delete anything here.
The All Users application data is used when you add a new account and may be used by the current user account.
These junctions are a nuisance, but I think they are harmless.
Perhaps you can safely delete some of them if you are using all-new 64-bit apps, but if you are using a mix of old and newI would just leave this stuff alone.
As an example of something similar, Office 2010 still installs lots of things using the old 8.3 shortnames, for example, the ones that look like this 'C:\Proga~1\Name~2'.
I think when the new OS (ReFS) becomes more popular all these old relics will go away (because some of these are not supported).

When Windows 95 was released, and touted as a 32-bit OS, there was still quite a lot of 16-bit thunking going on.
We should all have 64-bit only apps in our 64-bit Windows, but take a look...

I'm not a Windows programmer, so I don't know how hard it is to port a 32-bit app to a 64-bit app, but I suppose there are a lot of issues...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center (64-bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-build
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-2600K @ 4.3 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 PRO Rev 3.0
    Memory
    16 GB G.SKILL Ripjaws X DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (4 banks 4GB DIMM DDR3 8-8-8-24 5-32-12-7 1T 1.5V)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 440
    Sound Card
    Firewire Focusrite Saffire Pro 14
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG W2353V
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2 of Seagate Barracuda XT ST32000641AS (2TB ea.);
    1 of Seagate Barracuda Green ST2000DL003 (2TB);
    1 of Hitachi Deskstar HDS722020ALA330 (2TB);
    2 of Seagate Desktop ST4000DM000-1F2168 (4TB)
    PSU
    Corsair AX850 Gold
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced
    Cooling
    ThermalTake Silent 1156
    Keyboard
    Logitech K520
    Mouse
    Logitech M310
    Internet Speed
    7Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky
    Other Info
    Event Studio Precision 6 powered audio monitors;
    Boston Acoustics CS Sub 10 Powered Subwoofer;
    NI Kore controller;
    NI Maschine controller;
    M-Audio Axiom 61 keyboard controller; expression pedal; sustain pedal;

    ... and tons of audio software ...

    I also keep two USB 3 thumb drives (A: and B:) attached with boot recovery and security stuff that I can boot into from BIOS in case of emergency
I suspect you will end up with problems at some point. As mentioned, Application Data is no longer directory structure (folder tree). Now it simply a link or junction to AppData.

Why do you feel the need to remove them? Ignore Application Data, look in AppData for things.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
I found this in Win 8.1. The system seems to install copies of program files at each "application data\". A new user profile is just over 2GB. After installing some programs it's over 70GB.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    hp
use
rmdir "Application Data"
it will remove the simlink/hardlink only and keep the original folder (appdata)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
This post is a little dated but putting this out again for clarity! Believe it or not the "infinite" recursion of Application Data folders are by design. They are not folders but junctions and should be left alone! This has being going on since Vista. It can be a nightmare when the permissions get changed. The JunctionBox application really works.
Here:
And here:
I wouldn't use that Softoxi site mentioned
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7 / 8.1 / Virtual 10 / MX-Linux / BSD's
I know this is old but I was searching on the same issue and came across this post. I pulled the drive from the bluescreening computer and was backing up the user profile when I saw this. Each Application Data folder had a Outlook.ost file. Seems more then just a junction. This was a hard drive that was pulled for data backup.
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Life is so much simpler, when y'all just stay out of the inner workings of Windows. Old saying: "if it's working, don't mess with it!"
Digging in to Windows, and trying to fix something that ain't broken will usually result in a broken OS.
Just believe, that the people who initially wrote Windows, actually knew what they were doing. I know.....sometimes it's hard to believe.

The things in Windows, that we can actually change, were put there on purpose, by the authors. Many fall under the heading of "Safe Defaults". Like, the 30 second delay in boot time. They left an opening (in MSCONFIG) where we can reduce that to just 3 seconds, for a faster boot-up.

Also by default, the registry is left on the hard drive, but, there is a Registry Tweak that will cause the registry to load into RAM on Boot, for a much faster and more efficient running PC. Not necessary if the HD is actually an SSD.

And, the list goes on.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-8.1/Pro/64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer X-1200
    CPU
    AMD 2 Core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    Crucial, 4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDEA GeForce 9200
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Acer
    Hard Drives
    Sandisk, SSD 500GB
    PSU
    Acer
    Case
    SFF Slimline
    Keyboard
    emachines 101 key
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    5 Meg
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Using Classic Shell on Win-8.1 /pro/64
Life is so much simpler, when y'all just stay out of the inner workings of Windows. Old saying: "if it's working, don't mess with it!"
Digging in to Windows, and trying to fix something that ain't broken will usually result in a broken OS.
Just believe, that the people who initially wrote Windows, actually knew what they were doing. I know.....sometimes it's hard to believe.

The things in Windows, that we can actually change, were put there on purpose, by the authors. Many fall under the heading of "Safe Defaults". Like, the 30 second delay in boot time. They left an opening (in MSCONFIG) where we can reduce that to just 3 seconds, for a faster boot-up.

Also by default, the registry is left on the hard drive, but, there is a Registry Tweak that will cause the registry to load into RAM on Boot, for a much faster and more efficient running PC. Not necessary if the HD is actually an SSD.

And, the list goes on.
Your post adds nothing of value but some random rambling.

Actually the system I was working on was broken. I didn't go in there looking to speed up or maximize performance. Those nestled application folders had ost files in them. They filled the drive and it crashed Windows.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
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