Windows 10: How To Change Program Files Location In Windows 10

Topgun always has great answers, I did something similar in my iPhone to get a tweaked app to read from the "Mobile" folder in iOS. I just changed the local Documents folder for the app to a SymLink to "var/mobile/documents" and then I could access the stored files I had in there.

 

Line 3 above has added to my confusion. mklink /D "Program Files" "D:\Program Files" A typo I hope, and the quotes?

The problem for me (I'm 78 years old) is that I get confused by terms such as Destination, Target and Link or Junction Link as used by people, because it is unclear to me with100% unambiguous certainty what part of the location change these terms relate to.

I would like to move the whole of the C:\\Users folder to my E: drive.

For me, the E drive is the Target (= Destination in my mind) because it is where I want to relocate the folder. But I think some people think of it in terms of the folder already being relocated, and the C drive is the Target or Destination for the Link or Point.

Can you please advise in a way that is real "Symbolic Links for Dummies" stuff.

 

I missed though.. LHS has some answer.

 

Don't do it. It will cause problems later if you upgrade. Just by a larger drive.

 

...and a partition manager to move it. I've been moving my windows 7 partition for years, started with 160gig drive, up to a TB now. Still works well.

 

Just read your post and see no one answered. You probably know by now but... no typo here:

mklink /D means make a "dynamic" link. There are other types like /H for hard link and /J for junction.

"D:\Program Files" is in quotes because there are spaces in the name. If no quotes then the spaces will be interpreted wrong and nothing or worse will happen. You don't need quotes if there's no spaces in the name.

 

You can try out the method at Isolate Windows in its own partition. It's for Windows 7 but I've used it for 7, 8.1, and 10 to a lesser extent, it does work. It's very comprehensive because it covers all the bases. It involves changing lots of Registry entries as well as copying files/folders, and creating NTFS junctions/symbolic links. It's mostly a set-it-and-forget-it procedure once you've finished setting it up the way you want, with the exception of the caveats listed in the guide. The writer warns that things that System Restore and in-place upgrading won't work. Unfortunately, this method requires quite a bit of work and preparation to set up if you've never did it before. And it's for intermediate to advanced users. If you decide to try, make a backup first. Or better yet, install 10 in a virtual machine, create mutiple partitions, then complete the guide's steps with that. If you mess up, no harm done. Do it in a VM for awhile until you're comfortable with it. And try out lots of scenarios to see if anything will break it, if you get any weird behavior, etc.

Hope this helped!

 

How do I delete the program files directories after copying to the new drive? I like your method better but I can't delete the original folders from my 100gb ssd OS drive...

 

I would ***NOT*** use a symbolic link/NTFS junction for this. Things may appear to work at first, but then something will break, a Windows Update will fail to install for no apparent reason, etc. I've tried this on 7, 8.1, and 10, this is always what happened. In short, there is no official way to move Program Files/Program Files (x86). Your best bet is to just manually choose the location you want when installing something.

I tried this method awhile back, it works fine, but requires a lot of manual work. I haven't tried it with 10 though. This method is very comprehensive and involves Registry editing/NTFS junctions. But I would first test it out thoroughly in a virtual machine before trying it on your real system. It's for Windows 7 but I had it working with 8.1 too:

Isolate Windows in its own partition

 

Grrr. I was hoping to get away from reinstalling the os on my bigger ssd drive and I don't really want to use a raid configuration. I currently have the OS on my 100gb ssd and wanted programs running on my 512gb ssd... Any suggestions before I reinstall everything?

 

@messyjesse: If I were you, I would figure out which of your SSDs is faster, then install Windows onto that. Your OS should always be on the faster drive, your programs will run fine. You can use CrystalDiskMark for this. Just make sure to run the benchmark while nothing else significant is running. I would also recommend a minumum of 100GB so you have room for Windows, updates, drivers, you know, the critical stuff. Nothing worse than having to reinstall the OS later because you're low on space. It doesn't really matter whether it's bigger or smaller, as long as it's faster. You can always install certain programs onto either SSD, depending on where you want them to go. No advice other than that.

 

Do not do this- do not mess around with ProgramFilesDir.
Not unless you enjoy creating problems for yourself.

If you do, Windows upgrades (new major builds) will fail with a message you won't understand. (Likewise in-place upgrade repair installs of course).

Microsoft warns this is not supported. Please heed that.
To save space on C: manually install programs elsewhere if you absolutely have to (e.g. large games).
Better - move your personal data off C: which is very good practice. Think- if you have to reinstall your OS, your data would then be untouched.

 

Thanks fellas, my Samsung ssd (512gb) is more effecient than the Intel ssd (100 gb). So I will reinstall the os to the bigger drive.

Is there a way I can make use of the 100gb ssd? This is a build for music production (2.6ghz with 32 threads, 128gb ram).

Can I put the page file on the Intel drive? Could I offload system cache on the Intel drive? What would you guys do to make use of this extra ssd drive?

 

I'd put it in my old laptop *Smile

That's actually what I did with a 128GB Kingston when I replaced it with a 250Gb Samsung EVO. My laptop is much happier.

 

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After completing this and then changing the Registry info as outlined by the original poster above, may I delete all the files off of the C drive?