Relocating folders?


Alexey2912

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Hi,

How can one relocate folders from C to D partition on the same SDD.

1. Created folders in D.

2. Changed path of C folders to D, but still show up in C?

Care to explain?

Thanks.
 
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Please note, it is generally not recommended to relocate the user folders. For the vast majority of users, in the vast majority of cases it works without issues. But, by no means can it be guaranteed to always work for everyone. There exist several possibilities to work around problems related to dependencies on the drive letter. But you may run into inconveniences/troubles, like, e.g., some features on OneDrive stop working as intended─although that can simply be avoided by creating/using your own folder tree that is located outside the user folder─and some other (stubborn) programs expect to use the C: drive. Another limitation that can be important to some people is due to how the NTFS filesystem works with hard links, symbolic links and junctions.

Often times (but certainly not always) you will be better off using your C: partition for running Windows AND storing at least some of personal data. (I could explain long details about that part, but these days I only tend to go that far when someone really asks me to─if there is a reasonable chance that they will listen...)
 

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Please note, it is generally not recommended to relocate the user folders. For the vast majority of users, in the vast majority of cases it works without issues. But, by no means can it be guaranteed to always work for everyone. There exist several possibilities to work around problems related to dependencies on the drive letter. But you may run into inconveniences/troubles, like, e.g., some features on OneDrive stop working as intended─although that can simply be avoided by creating/using your own folder tree that is located outside the user folder─and some other (stubborn) programs expect to use the C: drive. Another limitation that can be important to some people is due to how the NTFS filesystem works with hard links, symbolic links and junctions.

Often times (but certainly not always) you will be better off using your C: partition for running Windows AND storing at least some of personal data. (I could explain long details about that part, but these days I only tend to go that far when someone really asks me to─if there is a reasonable chance that they will listen...)

Thanks for the advice, thought was safe.
 

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@hdmi is correct. App dependancies will mess you up if you do not fully understand the ntfs file system. If your purpose in relocating your user folders is to conserve storage on your C drive, in the long run you are better off leaving the system folder structure alone. On your storage drive it is easy enough to make a similar folder structure to use to store stuff you won't be using often and then pinning a shortcut to that folder onto quick access OR having a shortcut to that folder within your user folder. Example:
On storage drive make folder named Archived Downloads. Pin it to quick access or make shortcut to it and put it inside your Downloads folder. Once you're through using a file you download, drag it out of your user downloads into the shortcut you made.

NOTE: If you haven't discovered it yet, Windows 11 has "drag and drop" action set to COPY. To make drag and drop MOVE instead use Change Default Drag and Drop Action in Windows 11 Tutorial
 

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Hi,

How can one relocate folders from C to D partition on the same SDD.

1. Created folders in D.

2. Changed path of C folders to D, but still show up in C?

Care to explain?

Thanks.
In step 2 use the Location tab in the (User) folder's Properties. This works right through Win 11 and I have never experienced any problems after doing so. The reason I do so is if you need to restore an image of your C drive you will overwrite any files in your user folders that have been updated since the image was created, requiring you to restore them from separate file backups. Keeping user files on a separate data partition entirely negates this problem.
 

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Thanks for the advice, thought was safe.
It's perfectly safe to do. Also, see here:
 

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You wonder why you've had to clean install so many times, Stop touching stuff for the sake of touching stuff xD
 

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Hi,

How can one relocate folders from C to D partition on the same SDD.

1. Created folders in D.

2. Changed path of C folders to D, but still show up in C?

Care to explain?

Thanks.
Instead of relocating the folders, the simplest thing to do is to remap the libraries from C: drive to your preferred location, ideally different from the partition or disk where Windows is installed.
 

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Instead of relocating the folders, the simplest thing to do is to remap the libraries from C: drive to your preferred location, ideally different from the partition or disk where Windows is installed.
Do you have a procedure for that?
 

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First, create your destination folder. Here, I'll be moving my Videos library from my D drive to my G drive. Notice the standard folder icon.
Move Library 1.jpg

Next, right-click Videos, select Properties and then the Location tab. Click Move.

Move Library 2.jpg

Browse to and select the destination folder you created. Click Select Folder.
Move Library 3.jpg


Click Move then Yes on the Move Folder fly-out.
Move Library 5.jpg


When the move is complete you'll notice that the standard folder icon has changed to the Videos icon.
Move Library 6.jpg

Now if you browse to C:\Users\Your User Folder you'll see 1KB "links" to your Library folders.
Move Library 7.jpg

So now all my data resides safely on my G drive in case of a C drive catastrophe.

HTH,

Scott









 

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It's perfectly safe to do. Also, see here:

It's *relatively* safe to do, however, there have been at least 2 times that I can remember where windows updates have wiped out the users home folder during updates when it was moved to another drive. It was a bug for sure, but if it's happened more than once, i wouldn't trust it.
 

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@Alexey2912

I use a different method.
I don't use the Windows Libraries at all.
I remove them from ThisPC by the following method, which works on Win 10 or 11...



THEN... I just go to whatever partition I want and create: Pictures, Videos, Music and Documents folders.
Then I just use those.

This has the advantage of keeping your Windows install... small. And... because these "libraries" were created by you, there's no hassles if you want to move them to any other partition. You just click and drag them to where ever you want them.

IMO, Windows Libraries are just another example of MS trying to dictate how things are done.
And... in doing so... generate all kinds of weird requirements that aren't really necessary.



In other words... "relocating folders" is only a pain in the butt if you actually use the MS folders.
 

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What's the final verdict.....I would do it after a full backup.

Thanks.
 

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Always make a backup before making changes.
 

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What's the final verdict.....I would do it after a full backup.

Thanks.
Well, I've run many computers with multiple versions of Windows 10 and 11 multi-booting with user folders relocated for a decade with no problems. It's up to you to decide for you what you want to do.
 

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There shouldn't be a problem but with your history I would create a backup just in case.
 

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Here's another option you can try since you didn't mention what type of folders you wanted to move.

Move the folder to a new location and open an Admin Command Prompt, type the following:
mklink /D "PATHtoNEWfolder" "PATHofOldFolder"
Then, if seeing the original folder name/location bothers you, you can right click it, go to Properties, select Hidden and when you close the box, tell it to apply only to that folder and not everything in it.
 

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    Hard Drives
    32GB NVME, 1TB SSD
if you need to restore an image of your C drive you will overwrite any files in your user folders that have been updated since the image was created, requiring you to restore them from separate file backups.
This is why I said "storing at least some of personal data", not "storing all of personal data"...

To elaborate. My laptop only has one internal SSD. This internal SDD used to be only 512GB (until I replaced it with another SSD that is 2TB). Some of my movie files are 50GB in size. Splitting the 512GB SSD up into two separate partitions would have put me in a situation where the total free space left on the SSD was still more than enough, but neither partition had enough free space left to still be able to put a 50GB file. This would have happened to me on multiple occasions, and would have required me to resize the partitions each time. Whereas the number of times that I needed to restore an image of my C: partition onto this same 512GB SSD equals exactly 0. The bottom line is, there is no standard answer to which strategy is the most feasible. It just simply depends.

Now that I have a 2TB SSD and the SSD is a fast NVMe instead of SATA, the limitations that I explained above have become much less pertinent to me. No matter still, a part of my personal data is stored on my C: partition anyway, as there are dependencies with some of the stuff that I do, some programs/tools are just stupidly hardcoded that way─or else the only solution that works is the kind of solution that's best described as driving in circles because it creates a new different problem where previously there was none.

Finally, I should also point out that the "requiring you to restore them from separate file backups" part of the equation also meets my description of "the kind of solution that creates a new different problem where previously there was none". The idea, then, is to be more selective as for which method works best for what exact purpose or goal, as one method or strategy/approach does not necessarily exclude the other, so combining multiple ones also is among possible options to maybe want to consider, and, I don't actually mind having to restore a relatively small amount of personal data from separate file backups after I restore an image of my C: partition (which almost never happens, anyway in the first place, so...).
 
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My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus TUF Gaming F16 (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
  • Operating System
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
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