Unable to add files/folders to Quick Access on Windows 10: "Unspecified Error"

I am unable to add files or folders to the "Quick Access" folder in the File Manager on Windows 10. If I drag files or folders there nothing will happen but if I right click and select "Pin to Quick Access" I will get a non-descriptive popup stating Unspecified Error.

Image showing the error:

1

3 Answers

To fix this issue go to these two folders:

• %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations
• %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations

Then delete all the files in those folders. This should fix the issue without any further action.

Source: SinsOfRube on Reddit

6

Turning off the automated features of quick access fixed my problem:

In Windows Explorer, on the tool-ribbon, in the View tab, under options, select "Change Folder and Search Options," In the Folder Options dialog, in the Privacy section at the bottom:

• uncheck "Show recently used files in Quick access"
• uncheck "Show frequently used folders in Quick access"

Once I did this, I was able to drag a folder to Quick Access which had only give me the red "forbidden" circle before.

P.S. Even with all the "show" options in the Folder Options View tab turned on and all the "hide" options turned off, I still do not see %appdata%\microsoft\windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations\ in Windows explorer unless I paste the full path in the explorer address bar. Instead, I see %appdata%\microsoft\windows\Recent Items, which appears to be a "virtual" (fake) file.

From Martin's comment:

For fixing Quick Access it should be sufficient to delete %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations\f01b4d95cf55d32a.automaticDestinations-ms. – Martin Sep 23 '17 at 11:12

For me, this fixed it--but it restored Quick access to a much earlier version. I'm not sure where it rebuilds it from.