EDIT IMPORTANT (2009-01-11)!
As i've seen people link to this post recently, I need to inform you that all information here is not correct.
With Wrath of the Lich King blizz did some stuff to fix this issue. If you have a new install set from wrath (and possibly an old one, have heard reports that also old installs have been updated, althought that did not happen to me) there's another way to fix this.

If you have a fresh install with Wrath your addon folder is no longer in the Program Files/World of Warcraft location. Instead it's in:
C:\Users\Public\Games\World of Warcraft\Interface\AddOns

If you find your wow folder in this location, you DO NOT need to move it or take any of the actions described below. Only do that if your wow folder is located at C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft
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I've seen several topics about this the last few days, so I thought I would post this here.

In Vista, changes you make in "C:\Program Files\" isn't used by the software due to security reasons. Instead, all changes are saved in "C:\ProgramData".

How does this influence WoW and Addons?

When you put an addon in your addon folder, it isn't used by WoW. That means that your addons won't show up, as the WoW client don't know that it exist.

Workarounds

There are two different ways to solve this issue:

1. Run WoW as administrator (Not recommended)
If you right click your WoW icon, choose Properties. Go to the compability tap, and check "Run this program as Administrator".
This will make WoW run directly from the WoW directory, not bothering with "ProgramData" directory.
Problem here is that unless you have disabled UAC, you must confirm that you want to run as administrator every time you start WoW.

2. Put your WoW folder in another directory (Recommended by me)
This is by far the easiest solution. Just take your whole WoW folder and move it to another directory. My WoW is installed in "C:\Games\World of Warcraft", but you can put it anywhere really as long as it's not in the "Program Files" directory.
The "Games" directory don't have the same security settings as the "Program Files" directory. Thanks to this, files will always be read straight from the WoW folder.

You do not have to re-install WoW or anything, just take the folder and move it.

I've done the same too on my vista, works fine, just drag and drop the folder and update the shortcut and it works like a charm :) (for me I even got bether fps of it, funny)

Bumpi

i can't get it to work. i've moved to numerous folders and nothing works. how do u refresh ur shortcuts?

Blizzard are you gonna fix this for us that have no real idea what to do in the bug fix patch?

in order to refresh your shortcut in order to get wow working all you have todo is goto the directory into which you have moved your wow installation.

right click on the file launcher and create shortcut now move that shortcut onto your desktop or where ever you want to place it for easy access and rename it (i always hate the shortcut to and have to delete it) your wow should run without any problems..

although i did install too c:\games\world of warcraft but ive tried this on other peoples pc's and it does work

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Q u o t e:
although i did install too c:\games\world of warcraft but ive tried this on other peoples pc's and it does work

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You installed WoW Directly to this location when you initially installed it? I have Vista on its way, so would like to get this right first time :D

Course you can, it does ask where you want to install it.

And maybe I should not log in as an administrator all the time, currently have WOW in the Program Files and install addons into there no probs :S

Maybe a project for this weekend. Darn me for being a lazy sod :)

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Q u o t e:
Blizzard are you gonna fix this for us that have no real idea what to do in the bug fix patch?

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It's not something that Blizzard can fix, I don't think. There's a lot of problems that Vista causes that nobody can fix because Microsoft's operating system has a stranglehold on the local PC.

I've also found that User Account Control can get in the way of a number of things, including occasionally running the P2P client that is the Blizzard Downloader.

I wonder if Vista SP1 will break WoW as well as some firewall and antivirus software...

A third option to fix this would be to disable the user account control. User account control is what prevents you from editting in the program files folder, it also asks for permission then you install an application. It can be done by opening control panel then going to "User accounts" and then "Turn user account control on or off".

However this might not be the solution to everybody as it disables most of the things that makes Vista that more secure than XP and more annoying.

Yeah, disabling UAC ofcoure is an option, didn't recommend it though. Reason is that if you don't already know how to fix this issue, you are not the kind of person that should have UAC turned off :)

If your a fan of constant nag boxes leave it on.

If you want to just use your pc turn it off . UAC is the single worst feature of Vista .

As for using a non standard directory ... You all have WoW on a seperate drive or partition if you have sense anyway .

Vista + WoW works just fine . FPS is lower than XP but other than that it runs ok if your pc is man enough for Vista AND WoW at the same time .

Don't understand what all the fuss about vista is all about to be fair.

I've run 3 wows on my vista box and not really had any noticeable problem with it, yes of course it didn't run quite as smooth as just running 1 but they were all more than playable.

None of these fixes have worked for me! I can delete the addons but everytime i log in they are replaced and i get disconnected from the server. i have tried moving the folder - even to a seperate partition and also running the game as Administrator. I can connect then get disconnected in 5 - 20 seconds, when i check the folders the addons are replaced. I dont ever remember installing addons on this computer only on another???

Yet more proof that Vista is 'oversafe' and far too intrusive. I say you should all upgrade to XP. DirectX10 is overrated.

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Q u o t e:
Huh? I'm on Vista and my addons work just like on XP, I just put them into C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\Interface\AddOns and no problems.
I have UAC on and I'm not running WoW as admin.

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Same here, using vista and there's no problems at all, was kind of surprised when I saw the subject...

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Q u o t e:
None of these fixes have worked for me! I can delete the addons but everytime i log in they are replaced and i get disconnected from the server. i have tried moving the folder - even to a seperate partition and also running the game as Administrator. I can connect then get disconnected in 5 - 20 seconds, when i check the folders the addons are replaced. I dont ever remember installing addons on this computer only on another???

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You getting disconnected has most likely got little to do with Vista and more with the addons you use, or something completely different.

Then again, you say you haven't installed any addon on this computer, perhaps the addons you are deleting are called Blizzard_Something? You are not supposed to delete those, and they will be recreated if you do.

UAC sucks more then a vacuum cleaner.

Installing add-ons just like I did when I had XP, still working perfectly.

my addons are not appearing -.- i have tried what u have said, and have had AUC off since i got my comp. please, need help, i am really used to play with a he ll of a lot addons and now i can barely survive playing without