Windows 10: Where should I move my 60 GB of desktop data folders to?

Being an old DOS prompt/command window guy, I was confused by the file structure in my Windows 10 Pro system and put all of my data files into 4 folders on the desktop. Foolish, so I'm told. When I look in File Explorer, I only see two 'root' folders: Quick Access and Desktop.

Under Desktop, there are 8 'standard' sub-folders, e.g. OneDrive, This PC, Recycle Bin, etc. The four folders I store all of my 60 GB of data in are also listed there. I realize now that was wrong and want to fix that.

When I dig down from Desktop into This PC I see This PC > Windows (C*Smile > User > Larry > Desktop! If I'm supposed to move the files from my Desktop to someplace on Drive C: or perhaps create a new partition for them, where I should put them?

NOTE: Somehow a happy face emoticon was inserted into my post when I typed the letter C followed by a colon and I can't seem to get rid of it.

Once I have the answer that that questions., I'm not clear on whether I should copy them to the new location and delete them from the desktop, move them to the new location, or something else. According to 'My Settings', This PC (C*Smile has a 238 GB SSD hard drive with 123 GB used and 114 GB free. I believe I have one C: partition.

Any recommendations or referral to accurate resources that can help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

:)

 

SS Hard drive inexplicably full

I have a new computer with Windows 10. I have a large drive for data (photos, primarily) and a smaller (250 GB) SS drive. My SS drive, where I mostly have programs and little data, according to the folders and files listed in file explorer, should have
about 60 GB of files, and that is what properties showed the last time I looked a couple of days ago. Now, suddenly the 250 GB drive shows as being full even though I can see no folders with large sizes. My level of computer expertise is very low. Is this
something I can fix or do I have to take it into a shop, where it may be a week before anyone can look at it, and even though it is a new computer, I may get charged if it is software work.

Can someone help me?

Thanks so much,

Bill

 

Large but invisible user files

I am out of space on my SSD. Running Storage Usage on it says that there are over 60 GB of user files, but there are hardly any under any of the visible directories under C:/Users - they are all on another drive.

Any idea of what is taking up those 60 GB, and how to move or delete them?

Update: The problem was caused by an application which had over 20 GB of data in AppData. Deleting the app and installing it on another drive solved the problem.

 

Welcome to the forum. What sort of files are they is photos Doc's etc. Photos you could upload to Google photos which has unlimited size Doc's and other could go to one drive or Google drive which gives you 15 big or more each then everything is safe and you can remove from the PC

 

Hi and welcome to the forums.

Quick access isn't a folder per se, its just a convenient navigation point. Usually your desktop folder by default is in C:\Users\your account\Desktop.

Are you talking about relocating folders like documents and pictures? If so they shouldn't be in the desktop folder but the folder below it in C:\Users\your account.

I would suggest copying the files into the new locations rather than moving them in case any issues arrise. Then once your happy, you can delete the old files.

 

Thanks to Samuria and swarfega.

The files are mostly Microsoft Office files like word documents, excel spreadsheets, powerpoint presentations, etc. There are some photos and audio files, and those are probably less than 2 or 3 % of what's being stored.

swarfega are you suggesting I create one or more new folders in the following location:
This PC > Windows (C*Smile > Users > Larry > [new folder(s)]
and copying those files to them?

 

If you click the "go advanced" option lower right, you will then get a "Disable smiles in text" option bottom of page under the post box.

What I did was create new folders for Documents, Pictures, Music etc on a separate drive/partition. Then I go to my user folders like Documents, right click and select properties. Then I go to the location tab, and change the location to where I put my new folders. I click change location and move contents.
Documents Folder - Move Location in Windows 10

 

If they're Office files then they should probably go to c:\users\larry\documents.

You could potentially put the audio files into c:\users\larry\music.

 

Hey UofLouie,
It's really down to personal preference, as there is nothing wrong with having folders on your desktop. With that said, if you're just wanting cleanup/organize things a little better ... you can use windows default folders ...
This PC -> (Documents,Music,Pictures,Videos) and create any sub folders under those that you may need/want.

Example:
My Documents Folder has sub folders for Word, Excel, TurboTax, etc
My Pictures Folder has sub folders for Family, Friends, Grandkids, etc.
My Music Folder has sub folders for each of the Band Names (Kansas, Pink Floyd, etc)

Note: As already mentioned, copy your files first to the new locations and once satisfied, then you can delete those folders on your desktop.

 

welcome U - I was only looking at the new small ex drives in the shops, cheapish and such mega loads can be downloaded and stored. Saw a 6TB drive for £75. amazing solid state drive. I'll ask my wife where I saw it - her words were - well, your not having it!!!! *Confused

 

folders on desktops are great space savers, I have 9 at present.
my pics folder has 37 folders
Downloads has a lot!!! Segregation of downloads into categories

 

Personally I would move them to portable storage or a NAS and get them off of the computer before you lose them.

 

Just leave them on the desktop. Right there when you need them. No worries.
Lose them? Nah. Just do backups. Simple.

 

Keep personal data away from C: - create a new partition or put them on a different drive (internal or external) - and back them up.

Why? That way if you need to reinstall Windows, or restore a disk image of Windows (you do use disk imaging so you can recover from major problems without technical help and quite quickly by restoring a previously created disk image- e.g. using Macrium Reflect (free) don't you?) your data is unaffected.

Note: you can relocate your desktop to a different partition.

 

I pay $2 a month for 100GB Google My drive. I have loaded mountains of stuff up and only clocked 44GB to date