10 ms·

How does that even work? Does Windows not have proper hard/soft links? Don't you maybe have to do some weird things to get around them?

detaro 8y ago
Windows/NTFS has links, but they aren't used for this (and software support for them is ... iffy, which can be an issue with backup tools etc, for which they aren't just transparent). These "known folders" are roughly implemented as environmental variables containing paths to the configured folder.
- shawnz 8y ago
  They are used for the old "My Documents" folders though, right? So why not use them here too, just as a fallback?
  - detaro 8y ago
    I think that works through the same principle, not through links.
    - MikusR 8y ago
      My Documents, Application data and few others are links.
      - detaro 8y ago
        TIL, thanks!
- withinrafael 8y ago
  Soft and hard links are only supported on NTFS formatted disks.
  - vel0city 8y ago
    Soft links are supported on ReFS, but hard links are not.
    - withinrafael 8y ago
      True, but ReFS isn't supported in consumer versions of Windows so not really worth mentioning.
      - vel0city 8y ago
        Somehow I missed that Microsoft removed the ability to create new ReFS volumes in regular Windows 10 Pro. Quite frustrating, thanks for the heads up.
        hornetblack 8y ago
        I created a vhdx file on windows 2016 server, formatted it with ReFS and copied it to my PC. And I mount the vhdx as D:. It's such a silly way to do something.
chapium 8y ago
Links have been a feature since vista, at least
- jki275 8y ago
  Do they work though? I remember trying to use them in the past and never found them to function exactly right.
  - tjoff 8y ago
    I use them for tons of stuff. Such as moving spotify song cache (not the same as offline storage location that you can specify in settings) so that it wouldn't use precious SSD space for cache (which was quite the inconvenience back when SSDs were very small/expensive). It doesn't work well with applications that have a habit to remove and recreate the directory that you want to link though (for obvious reasons).
    - jki275 8y ago
      I guess I need to relook them then. Would definitely make a few things easier in my life. I really don't want my steam directory on my main machine, being able to hard link it to an iscsi drive would be nice if that's possible.
      - madhato 8y ago
        Steam has the option to use a different drive, no need for symlinks. https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7418-YUBN-8129 https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7418-YUB...
        jki275 8y ago
        Yeah, but not over the network. It specifically disallows UNC paths.
        8y ago
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

detaro 8y ago

Windows/NTFS has links, but they aren't used for this (and software support for them is ... iffy, which can be an issue with backup tools etc, for which they aren't just transparent). These "known folders" are roughly implemented as environmental variables containing paths to the configured folder.

shawnz 8y ago
They are used for the old "My Documents" folders though, right? So why not use them here too, just as a fallback?
- detaro 8y ago
  I think that works through the same principle, not through links.
  - MikusR 8y ago
    My Documents, Application data and few others are links.
    - detaro 8y ago
      TIL, thanks!
withinrafael 8y ago
Soft and hard links are only supported on NTFS formatted disks.
- vel0city 8y ago
  Soft links are supported on ReFS, but hard links are not.
  - withinrafael 8y ago
    True, but ReFS isn't supported in consumer versions of Windows so not really worth mentioning.
    - vel0city 8y ago
      Somehow I missed that Microsoft removed the ability to create new ReFS volumes in regular Windows 10 Pro. Quite frustrating, thanks for the heads up.
      - hornetblack 8y ago
        I created a vhdx file on windows 2016 server, formatted it with ReFS and copied it to my PC. And I mount the vhdx as D:. It's such a silly way to do something.

chapium 8y ago

Links have been a feature since vista, at least

jki275 8y ago
Do they work though? I remember trying to use them in the past and never found them to function exactly right.
- tjoff 8y ago
  I use them for tons of stuff. Such as moving spotify song cache (not the same as offline storage location that you can specify in settings) so that it wouldn't use precious SSD space for cache (which was quite the inconvenience back when SSDs were very small/expensive). It doesn't work well with applications that have a habit to remove and recreate the directory that you want to link though (for obvious reasons).
  - jki275 8y ago
    I guess I need to relook them then. Would definitely make a few things easier in my life. I really don't want my steam directory on my main machine, being able to hard link it to an iscsi drive would be nice if that's possible.
    - madhato 8y ago
      Steam has the option to use a different drive, no need for symlinks. https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7418-YUBN-8129 https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7418-YUB...
      - jki275 8y ago
        Yeah, but not over the network. It specifically disallows UNC paths.
        8y ago

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]