Why I cannot unpin some directories from file explorer in windows 10

Happen to me recently

All the pinned folder malfunction when clicked. I got a message saying that folders doesn't exist (even though they exist)

Also I can't delete those folders from the explorer pins

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For archive:

I got a much better description of what the problem is (and the solution) here:

http://www.tenforums.com/software-apps/14484-several-annoying-issues-explorer-can-someone-provide-assistance.html


Something you can try is re-pinning the folders. To do this, use the following instructions.

Removing Pinned Folders

First method:

1) Right click File Explorer

2) Find the item you wish to remove from the pinned section

3) Click the icon on the far right of this item. This will unpin it.

Second method:

1) Open File Explorer

2) Navigate to 'Quick Access'

3) Right click the item you wish to remove

4) Click 'Unpin from Quick Access'

Removing Recent Folders

These directions are for removing folders that aren't pinned, but appear in your shortcut menu (right clicking File Explorer)

1) Right click File Explorer

2) Right click the desired item

3) Click 'Remove from this list'

Now you need to pin these folders again. Most of them should be located under 'This PC' (Left Sidebar of File Explorer) or C:\Users\{username}

Pinning folders to Quick Access

1) Navigate to the desired folder

2) Right click the folder

3) Select 'Pin to Quick Access'

After this, the Quick Access menu should have the correct folders.

Hope this helps!


Go to the folder Right click on the folder you want to unpin. click on unpin. once you will click on unpin this will unpin it. How to pin or unpin a file


I would like to thank @Spencer4134 for his answer. It's not the answer. But it leads me to the answer.

As you may have noticed. This is some sort of "bug" in microsoft. So it's not like you can tell me what to do based on how windows normally behave.

However, I looked at pin to quick access thingy and I wonder what would happen if I pin to quick access some folder on the same drive.

The result is I got an error message. It says something about wrong parameter. I look that words up at google and I found this

http://www.tenforums.com/software-apps/14484-several-annoying-issues-explorer-can-someone-provide-assistance.html

That is the exact same problem I am having.

Following the instruction there, namely deleting all %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations\

solves the problem.

How I got into this problem in the first place is beyond me.