Windows 10: How do I add options under "Settings > System > Storage > Change where new content is saved"

I did look to use the Settings > System > Storage > Change where new content is saved, but C drive is the only option. I have to click on each folder in the C: drives and manually relocate. I have Windows 11

:)

 

change where content is saved

I have windows 10 and the application is on: Settings-System-Storage and under More Storage Settings there is the option "change where content is saved" and when I select this option to change my user folders like Downloads, Documents I don't see the new
hard drive that under "this pc" I see it listed as drive D:

 

Change where new content is saved.

Hello Martin,

We apologize for the late reply.

Windows 10 lets you easily change the default Save location for Documents, Music, Picture and Video files. For steps on how to organize your preferred setting, follow these steps:

• Open Start Menu.
• Click Settings, then System settings.
• Click on Storage in the left pane.
• Scroll down a bit and find Save locations.
• There you will see New documents will save to setting and similar settings for Music, Pictures & Videos.
• Select the location from the drop-down menu.

For Windows 10 Creators Update v1703, you need to navigate as follows:

Settings > System > Storage
> Change where new content is saved.

Tip: If you are suffering from the low space issues after upgrading, you can use these technique to move Documents and other personal folders from the default system drive to another drive.

Feel free to post back if further assistance is needed.

 

USB drives not showing in "Change where new content is saved"

Hello dolpha，



Welcome to the Microsoft Community！



I understand that you have encountered the problem that the USB drive cannot be displayed in "Change where to save new content". I understand your doubts and troubles.



External USB drives are usually not automatically recognized by Windows as an option suitable for saving new content, because Windows saves new content on a local disk (usually a system-installed hard drive) by default. Although external USB drives can be seen in Explorer, they are usually not shown in the "Change where new content is saved" option.

This is because an external USB drive is typically viewed as a removable storage device rather than as the primary file storage location. Windows prefers to store new content on the primary local disk to ensure system stability and performance.

However, if you wish to save new content directly to an external USB drive, you may need to set a save path in a specific application, or mount the external drive to a folder on your system as a storage location, which requires some additional settings. You can refer to the following steps:

To set the save path in a specific application:

Some applications allow users to specify a save path when saving files. Users can change the default save path in the application's settings or options to save files to an external USB drive.

This method is suitable for specific applications that require frequent file saves, such as document editors, image editing software, etc.

Mount the external drive to a folder on the system as a storage location:

This allows it to behave as a regular folder in File Explorer. This way, you can save files directly to an external drive just as you would a folder on your local disk. This method is usually achieved by using a disk management tool or third-party software provided by the operating system. Use the management tool to mount the usb drive as a folder as follows:

1. Go to Settings > System > Storage and click Advanced Storage Settings.
   
2. Click Disks and Volumes and locate the drive you want to install as a folder.
   
3. Select the drive and click the Properties button. Then you can view the details of the disk drive, including the assigned drive letter.
   
4. Click the + button in the Path section, then click Browse and navigate to or create a folder to install as a drive.
   
5. When finished, click OK. The new drive path is now displayed in the properties under the path.
   

Overall, external USB drives are usually not automatically recognized by Windows as an option for where new content is saved, but you can still save files to these drives manually.



Hope this helps,please feel free to reply me if anything is unclear or if there are any further updates, thanks.



Best Regards ,

Morning | Microsoft Technical Support Community