As the error complains about D:Pictures when the usual location is C:Pictures, I think the problem is due to a folder redirection. On a single disk (or partition) system, Windows locates everything on the C: drive. But on a bigger system with more than one disc or several partitions on several discs, mechanisms are needed to locate data in places other than the C: drive.

As C:Pictures is often stuffed full of thousands of multi-megabyte photographs, it's not unusual to install a second drive, usually D: and then to link the original C:Picture folder to D:Picture. Then when software writes photographs into C:, the operating system follows the link and writes them to the D: drive. Looks as if C: is being used, but actually the data is stored on a different drive.

Most applications don't know or care where the data is actually stored: they let the operating system sort it out. Unfortunately, not all software uses the standard operating system calls to read and write files. The usual reason for DIY file access is improved performance, as needed by file intensive programs like databases, image editors, and, er, CAD…

I can't remember off-hand how folder redirection is set up. There's a cmd.exe program that does it, and I vaguely recall doing it with the GUI from settings. I think it needs admin privilege. Perhaps a Windows expert can provide the detail, but I'd try:

1. Removing the redirection from C:Pictures to D:Pictures
2. Installing SE
3. Replacing the redirection after the install.

Might be bother later if SE is asked to save screenshots, but I think that's the only reason it uses the Pictures folder. May be possible to change an SE setting to send pictures elsewhere (like D:!)

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 09/03/2023 18:30:39

Graham,

I've installed the Solid Edge Community version on my PC and Laptop with no problems, the desktop running Win10 Home and the laptop running Win10 Professional. But the "Pictures" subdirectory on both my machines is not a folder in the root of the C:/ drive but is a sub-directory in the Users folders – i.e. C/Users/Jim/Pictures in my desktop. So presumably the installation software has searched for this sub-directory on both my PCs. I am no expert on the intricacies of the Win 10 setup so I've no idea why your installation is looking for a directory which doesn't exist on either of my machines.

Perhaps a question on the Siemens support forum might get a solution.

Siemens Solid Edge Community Forums

Jim.

As a Windows expert hasn't volunteered yet, let's see what a Linux fanboy can do!

I looked up 'folder redirection' last night and also found a mass of complicated advice! Microsoft's online help is particularly unhelpful, basically an overview of how redirection is managed on a server in combination with a bunch of other complicated set-ups rarely seen outside a corporate computer room. Full throttle system admin, using Group Policy and other big computer controls most Windows users don't need to know about.

After half an hour I learned redirection can be used to distribute files across discs and across the network in complicated ways, but couldn't find an example.

Having slept on it, I decided "it can't be that difficult", so here I am on Windows 10. Quite often file management stuff can be accessed using File Explorer to open a file's Properties, so I tried that first. Bingo, but it requires several steps and you may not feel it's worth the effort!

Open File Explorer:

Go to the Pictures folder (left ringed in red), and right click it. At the bottom of the pop-up list, left-click Properties, which will open the Pictures Properties dialogue. Left-click the 'Location' tab (red-ringed), and note what's is the lower text-box, also ringed in red. My computer is set to "C:UsersDavePictures", your's – if I'm on the right track – will be something like "D:UsersZanPictures".

If it is, IMPORTANT, take a backup copy of whatever is in the D: folder. Then delete the contents of the D:folder/

Back on the location screen, change the folder to "C:UsersZanPictures" and click the move button. This will move (transfer) the contents of the D:Pictures folders, to C: Won't take long because the D: folder is empty. After the move has finished, the C: folder is no longer redirected. Now install SE. Fingers crossed, now Pictures is just an ordinary folder, not redirected, SE will load.

Last step is to go back to the File Properties Location tab and redirect c: Pictures back to the D: drive, and then to finish off by restoring the backup taken earlier.

COMMENT.

I guess Zan's computer came with a small fast expensive SSD on which is stored the Windows operating system, and a much larger, inexpensive, but relatively slow Hard Disc Drive on which user data, like Pictures, is stored. This is a good arrangement, exploiting the virtues of both SSD and HDD to get high performance at reasonable cost. It's how my computer is set up, except I didn't redirect Windows Pictures to the Hard Drive because all my photos are managed by Linux.

May be a booby trap though! If the computer is bought to run CAD, or any other application that doesn't recognise redirection, the owner might find it can't install. It's a configuration problem, nothing wrong with Windows, SE, SSD or HDD other than they're combined in way that SE can't deal with. Not just SE – I found last night that the Autodesk website says none of their products support folder redirection.

Why is nothing ever easy?

With luck a Windows expert will know of an easier way of sorting this out. It's possible my answer isn't the best way of doing it, in particular I think a system admin would write a script to perform the actions rather than use the GUI. Though I'm sure they exist, I don't know what the commands are!

Dave

It does sound like a windows permissions issue

I have all my user folders referenced as d:/users/richard/… and have used this on many computers and it is the Microsoft recommended way of doing it.

I do not think the problem is with Solid Edge as, if you search for error 1606 during install, there are many references to problems with program installs and one of the main reasons seems to be corruption of the registry, especially if a program uninstall went wrong. There are various solutions including using compatibility mode to install the program and let it try to correct errors or use a PC optimisation tool to search for errors.

Richard

There seems to be misunderstanding as to how Windows uses standard user folders. These are all of the form c:/users/name/foldername where name is a user name, Default or Public and foldername is Documents, Pictures Video and Downloads. These folders are also Libraries which are virtual containers for user content. Any user created folder such as c:/pictures or D:/pictures is completely separate from the windows created default folders and could not be accessed by reference to the single name Pictures unless a location change has been performed as Dave has shown in the Picture-Properties-Location tab.

I also asked Solidedge to save a picture and it came up with a dialogue box that allowed you to select the file location. I selected Pictures and it saved it OK. It does not automatically store it in pictures.

Graham has said that he created the D:/pictures folder himself, not that it came with his PC.

As Solidedge does NOT automatically use the Pictures folder I suggest that there is a different reason for the install to fail.

No they're not. They are of the form c:usersnamefoldername (this is Windows).

Most download programs allow the user to specify the download location on the fly and D:pictures would be quite acceptable if it exists … and if it is input correctly – not

D; Pictures as the OP (mis) typed. (And not D:/Pictures either.)

Failing user input on the download location, the download agent (browser or download-manager) will save the file in whatever default location it has been set for.

Edited By Peter Greene 🇨🇦 on 11/03/2023 20:40:40

All very fine chaps but I don't see what this has to do with the OP's stated problem which concerned downloading the installation software in the first place … a Windows/Download-Client issue.

Nothing to do with SE's handling of folders, it's issues with the registry …. or anything else to do with SE come to that. He hasn't got to the installation yet.

At least, the way I read it (maybe it's just me).

That was what I thought originally, but gradually became convinced it was an installation issue. Then read the subtitle of the thread which confirmed it.

Rob