Windows 10: How to change the location of "Program Files" and "Users" folder

Discus and support How to change the location of "Program Files" and "Users" folder in Windows 10 Software and Apps to solve the problem; Hello everyone, my device win 11, I have a little problem, I have moved the user folder and program files from Drive :C, to Drive :D. well, I forgot... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Software and Apps' started by Zaeni Ahmad, May 31, 2023.

  1. How to change the location of "Program Files" and "Users" folder


    Hello everyone, my device win 11, I have a little problem, I have moved the user folder and program files from Drive :C, to Drive How to change the location of "Program Files" and "Users" folder :D. well, I forgot how to restore or re-move program files and users data to Drive : C again, I've searched in the browser but never found the tutorial Previously I also tried deleting my program files and users folder, but it always failed, and I can't delete it, please help me. Thank you very much.

    :)
     
    Zaeni Ahmad, May 31, 2023
    #1
  2. Nicrite Win User

    Vista Ultimate - 'User' Folder Location

    No tried that.

    Can copy the entire folder to D; but Windows still points to C as the location. Can change personal folders location to a folder on D;, but this still leaves hidden files etc on C;. Thus meaning there are 2 Users folders. Have managed to change the Public folder location to D;, with some registry tweaks, but this doesnt seem to work for the entire folder.

    any more suggestions
     
    Nicrite, May 31, 2023
    #2
  3. Changing folder location

    Hi Kenneth,

    To change the location of a personal folder (e.g., Videos), follow these steps:

    1. Right-click the personal folder, and then click Properties.
    2. Switch to the Location tab in the dialog box.
    3. Click Move....
    4. Select the destination folder path and then click OK.
    Your apps will know the location of the shell folder, whichever drive it is in.
     
    Ramesh Srinivasan, May 31, 2023
    #3
  4. Risto Win User

    How to change the location of "Program Files" and "Users" folder

    W10 Storage settings and user folder structure. How to change location

    Hi,
    I just build up a new pc and changed from W7 to new era of W10 *Smile Was not that easy and pleasant experience as I thought.
    I have huge storage capability with this new pc but since I'm using very fast Intel 512Gb 600p M.2 SSD as C drive, I also want to make sure that all of my self created data will be stored to another disk, let's call it D.
    After extensive research, I found out that there are so many different guides how to change user folder locations for the following user folders (music, downloads, documents,pictures and videos) as well for changing the Windows 10 storage settings. All those guides are a bit confusing to me since I'm not ICT pro...

    I already know that one can change the individual user folders (mentioned above) by just changing its location from folder preferencies. Here is a pic where we can see that I have already changed the location for the following user folders; pictures, downloads, music, document, favourites, and saved games). User folders Search, links, onedrive, desktop and contacts are still in C drive.


    How to change the location of "Program Files" and "Users" folder 112616d1485974613t-w10-storage-settings-user-folder-structure-how-change-location-pic-1.png

    I have not yet made any changes to W10 Storage settings as they remain default (C drive). If I have understood right by changing the storage settings in Windows it would lead to situation that W0 creates another library but user folders would still remain on C disk as default. This would lead to situation that user would have multiple storage locations. Am I correct?
    From the picture 1, we can already see one of the problems as Adobe Creative Cloud has already created its own folder to user folder in C location. This is exactly what I want to avoid. If I would go ahead and now install all the adobe media creation softwares, like Premiere Pro CC, it would also create some additional folders under user folder, useally under Documents. Adobe creates render and preview files that can be huge in terms of space. So I quess my question is that would I be able to avoid that by making changes to W10 Storage settings (pic2)?

    How to change the location of "Program Files" and "Users" folder 112619d1485974613t-w10-storage-settings-user-folder-structure-how-change-location-pic-2.png

    The third solution would be the one that Kari has presented in this forum but that seems to be very technical and there is also a lots of debate if that should be used or not. For non-professional PC user, it is very hard to choose what to believe and what not. Which advice or guide is correct and what is not. Users Folder - Move Location in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums[1]=User%20Accounts
    This tutorial by Kari includes very technical skills and I'm not sure if I'm up to it *Huh

    This is what one another tutorials stated: "Although, this is a good option to help you save space in your local storage, it can get a little confusing for some users. Using this new feature will not change the location for the folders listed under "This PC" in the File Explorer. Many users can end up saving and moving files in two different locations without knowing.". This tutorial can be found here: How to manage file storage more efficiently in Windows 10 | Windows Central

    Could someone kindly advice step-by-step in layman terms, how should I proceed and change my W10 in a way that also future programs that use NON-HIDDEN user folders to save data, would be stored to another drive, instead of C.
    (I don't mind if some code is written to hidden appdata etc folders under user folder. Those are not useally large files...)

    Any clear, step-by-step advice would be greatly appriated.

    Hyvää Itsenäisyyspäivää Kari!

    Best regards,
     
    Risto, May 31, 2023
    #4
Thema:

How to change the location of "Program Files" and "Users" folder

Loading...
  1. How to change the location of "Program Files" and "Users" folder - Similar Threads - change location Program

  2. How to change user location?

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    How to change user location?: I installed a new ssd and had to reset my pc. After setting up, I noticed my old program files was stored in D: drive. When I try to delete and clean the drive, its location of user is showing my old PC's name, and I can't delete it. When I tried to change the location, only...
  3. How to change user location?

    in Windows 10 Gaming
    How to change user location?: I installed a new ssd and had to reset my pc. After setting up, I noticed my old program files was stored in D: drive. When I try to delete and clean the drive, its location of user is showing my old PC's name, and I can't delete it. When I tried to change the location, only...
  4. How to change user location?

    in Windows 10 Software and Apps
    How to change user location?: I installed a new ssd and had to reset my pc. After setting up, I noticed my old program files was stored in D: drive. When I try to delete and clean the drive, its location of user is showing my old PC's name, and I can't delete it. When I tried to change the location, only...
  5. How to change the location of "Program Files" and "Users" folder

    in Windows 10 Gaming
    How to change the location of "Program Files" and "Users" folder: Hello everyone, my device win 11, I have a little problem, I have moved the user folder and program files from Drive :C, to Drive :D. well, I forgot how to restore or re-move program files and users data to Drive : C again, I've searched in the browser but never found the...
  6. Folder And File Locations Changed

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    Folder And File Locations Changed: I have experienced my folders and files moved to new locations and have problems finding my documents now!! What is going on?? https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/folder-and-file-locations-changed/d5b0912d-42ca-44fc-be7f-544537539826"
  7. Changing location of my user files and folders, win 10

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    Changing location of my user files and folders, win 10: I've performed a clean install of win 10 1903 - Build 18632.295. (Too terrified to click the "Oh NO!" button to update it further.) Before I do that, I need to move my all of my personal data, user folders (not the dreaded appdata junk) to a new 2tb internal hard drive....
  8. Unable to change location of user folders

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    Unable to change location of user folders: To save my space on C drive (containing the OS), I always change the location of the default user folders (Desktop, Documents, Videos, Music, Downloads, Pictures) to a different drive from the Properties->Location tab->Move. I did a mistake in moving the 3D Objects folder, I...
  9. Changed locations of my Program Files folders. Can't undo it.

    in Windows 10 Support
    Changed locations of my Program Files folders. Can't undo it.: I recently got my computer, a gaming desktop, but I didn't quite understand how the drives work. So, unknowingly, I installed games and such to my C: Drive. I didn't realize it didn't have as much space as my last computer, only 111 GB, and I didn't realize I had a D: Drive,...
  10. How To Change Program Files Location In Windows 10

    in Windows 10 Support
    How To Change Program Files Location In Windows 10: i am kind of confuse with windows 10 on how to change Program Files Location. i know in windows 7 and windows 8 all i had to do is go to ''HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion'' and change ProgramFilesDir to the hard driver letter to the on that i...