Today we are going to talk about Windows Libraries and exactly what they are. If you are using a Windows 7 computer in all likelihood you have seen a category in your Windows Explorer called Libraries. Most people who look at it simply think that they are their main folders just like in Windows XP. I think Microsoft made these just to be confusing. The far truth is that they are not folders at all. A Library is actually a compilation of folders that are located on your computer. It is a collected view of several folders all put together. The Library allows you to organize your folders by date, type or last modified.
If you go into your Windows Explorer, you will see various entries under the Library category including Music, Documents, Pictures and Videos. If you right click on nay of the Library entries and then choose Properties, you will see a list of what actual folders are included in that entry. Depending on how many folders you created under a specific category will determine how many folders are included in the Library. I will repeat again that a Library is not a folder. Confused yet? It gets worse. Lets say that under Documents you have two folders that you have created. One is called New and the other is called Old. Lets say you create two different text files and you name one widgets.txt and the other widgets2, txt. When you open the Documents library, you will see the two files listed. No real confusion here. Ok, let us say you are going to create a text file called nowidgets.txt but you want to place that same file in both folders. Now when you open up the Documents Library you are going to see what looks like 2 files exactly the same in the same location. The truth is that the files are in two totally different folders but it appears that the file is listed twice in the same place. See the confusion? If you do not understand how a Library works, it is probably best to avoid them like the plaque.
We have seen many cases where a Library gets corrupted and will not open. We see this happen quite frequently. The fix is fairly simple, just right click on the main Libraries folder and choose restore default Libraries. This will usually fix a corrupted item but it will not affect any of your folders. Your Library will be repaired and should now open normally. Sometimes this can happen from a virus infection so getting the computer cleaned might be a good idea if you experience this type of problem.
Author: Joe Zelenak, Staff Writer
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