5.59 FAQ-917 Origin 2018 No Longer Works Properly After Moving User Files Folder from Network Location

Last Update: 7/14/2018

Note: This FAQ is for Origin 2018 and 2018SR1 only (not 2018b or earlier/later versions).

If you experience problems with Origin after moving the Origin User Files folder from a network location to a local location on your PC, you may have to make some changes to certain folders Origin 2018 uses. For example, you may observe that Origin reports that a modified project file is Ready Only when you try to save it.

Origin 2018 creates 4 folders in addition to your User Files folder. Those folders are sibling folders to the User Files folder and are named Autosave, Unsaved, Backup, and TempSave. If Origin is misbehaving, it may be because one or more of those folders may still be in the network location and needs to be moved to a local location, preferably as siblings to the new User Files folder.

Modifying folder locations

After you have changed the User Files folder location, perform the steps outlined below.

The Autosave folder

  1. In Origin, from the Help menu, select Open Folder:User Files Folder.
  2. In the Windows File Explorer' window, navigate up one one level in the folder hierarchy.
  3. Does a folder named Autosave' already exist as a sibling of User Files folder?
  4. If not, create an empty folder named Autosave in that location.
  5. Back in Origin, select Options from the Tool menu.
  6. In the Options dialog, select the System Folders tab.
  7. Select the entry for Autosave and click the Change... button.
  8. In the Browse Folder dialog, navigate to the Autosave folder you created in Step 4 above and click OK.
  9. Back in the Options dialog, check that the listing for Autosave is correct and click the OK button.
  10. Shut down Origin.

The Unsaved, Backup, and TempSave folders

Part I

  1. In Windows File Explorer, navigate to the location of your newly created local User Files Folder.
  2. Navigate up one one level in the folder hierarchy
  3. Do any or all of the Unsaved, Backup, and TempSave folders already exist as a sibling of User Files folder?
  4. If not, create empty folders for the missing ones and name them Unsaved, Backup, or TempSave as necessary. Make note of the full paths to each of the folders.

Part II

  1. Open Registry Editor
    For Windows 10, type regedit into the Search box and press Enter.
    For prior version of Windows, click the Start button and in the Run box, type regedit and press Enter.
  2. Navigate to the following location in Registry Editor: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\OriginLab\Origin 9.5\International
  3. In the panel on the right side of the Registry Editor dialog, you will observe an entry for Autosave. You are going to create similar entries for Unsaved, Backup, and TempSave (or modify if they already exist).
  4. To create these entries, right click in the right side panel and select New:String Value.
  5. The new value will be named New Value #1. Double-click on it to change it's name to Unsaved, Backup, or TempSave (case is important).
  6. Right click on the entry and select Modify....
  7. In the New String dialog, enter the FULL path to the associated local folder. Please add a \ (backslash) character to the end of the path.
  8. Repeat Steps 4-7 for each of the Unsaved, Backup, and TempSave folders.
  9. Close Registry Editor.

Finally

Launch Origin and check if the previous improper behavior has been corrected. If not, you can contact OriginLab Technical support for additional help and guidance.

Keywords:User Files Folder, Network, Local, Problem, Project, Save, Saving, Not working

Minimum Origin Version Required: 2018 SR0
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