The Windows operating system (in all its versions) has a so-called user folder, which contains folders for storing the desktop, videos, documents, for downloading files from the Internet, for music, images, and others that are used less frequently. Since the folders are initially located on system drive"C", then over time this disk may be full. And if you bought yourself a small SSD drive, then, most likely, there will definitely not be enough space for the files stored in the user's folders. In this case, the location of these folders must be moved to another local disk, for example, "D" and I will talk about this in this article.

Now in more detail ... These user folders are primarily created for the convenience of the user, because they allow you to conveniently sort your information on your computer through the explorer, for example, videos, movies, etc. put in the "Video" folder, photos, pictures - in the "Images" folder, Well, what you place on the desktop is automatically placed in the "Desktop" folder. And even more so, the appearance of these folders is initially optimized in the system for certain data, videos, photos, music. And you don't need to create your own folders for all the good stuff that you have on your computer. In general, whether to use them or not is everyone's business.

If these folders are actively used for their intended purpose, then the information in them will clog a lot of disk space. As an example, my entire user folder is over 600 GB. What's wrong with that, you ask? Actually, there is nothing bad, but the problem will be when there is not enough space on your system disk. At the same time, increasing or decreasing the size of the system disk is a dangerous operation in which you can break Windows itself, that is, it will stop starting.

For information about changing the size of local disks, you can read

And some users store most of their information, in general, on the desktop, which, accordingly, will also take up space on the C: drive.

It may be news to someone that the desktop in Windows is also a folder. Yes, that is right. The folder is called “Desktop” (or Desktop) and it is located in the user folder of the system under which you work, on drive C:

Or another option. Now many put under their system SSD drives, instead of the usual hard drives. And these SSD pleasures are very expensive, well, that is, they cost much more than HDDs (hard drives), 2 times, or even 3 times. Because they work many times faster and Windows generally works much faster with them. Since these disks are expensive, they usually buy them in such a volume that there is only enough for Windows installation and programs for it. This is approximately 120 GB, a size that is enough for most of these purposes. But these 120 GB are no longer enough to store all the information on the computer, especially in the user's folders, because it is initially located on the same local drive as Windows.

Here, above, I gave 2 examples, because of which you may need to change the location of the user's folders, especially the "Desktop" folder, and both of these examples are related to the lack of free space on the "C" drive.

Let's move on to practice...

How to migrate user folders to another local drive.

The user folder itself is standardly located at the following path in Windows: C:\Users\Vladimir

Instead of "Vladimir" you will have the name of your Windows account.

Sometimes the "Users" folder may be called "Users".

In your user folder, you will see something like the following picture:

All user folders are displayed here, such as Desktop, Documents, Downloads, etc. There may also be other folders, such as in the image above, that are not circled in red. Such folders can be created by some programs, that is, this is normal.

In some cases, folders may be named in English:

• Downloads = Downloads
• Desktop = Desktop
• Favorites = Favorites
• Pictures = Pictures
• Contacts = Contacts
• Videos = My videos (in new Windows versions called "Video")
• Documents = My Documents (called "Documents" on newer versions of Windows)
• Music = My Music (called "Music" in newer versions of Windows)
• Searches = Searches
• Saved Games = Saved Games
• Link = Links

To change the location of a folder, you need to right-click on the desired folder (hereinafter referred to as "RMB"), select "Properties". Go to the "Location" tab (1) and click "Move" (2).

Will open windows explorer, where you need to select the folder to which the current one will be moved. It is better for the target folder (to which you transfer the current one) to create a new one with the same name, but on a different local drive.

Example. Move the Downloads folder from the old location to the new one. The old location in the example is: C:\Users\Vladimir Create a folder on the 2nd local drive with the same name "Downloads". Accordingly, when moving the old folder, in the "Location" tab, select already new folder"Download" that you created.

After choosing a new location, click on the "Apply" window.

If you have any files in your Downloads folder, the system will prompt you to move them all to the new location you selected. Better files move. To do this, click "Yes" in the window.

We do the same with all other folders that are in your user folder. That is, we first create a folder with the same name in another local drive, then transfer the old folder to it.

Of course, you don’t have to transfer all the folders directly, but it’s better to do it anyway, so that nothing takes up extra space on your “C” drive. And for those who like to store a lot of files right on the desktop (I sometimes do it myself), I strongly recommend moving the Desktop folder! :)

Default folder My Documents in Windows 7, As in previous versions stored on the system drive. But this is not always convenient and not as safe as possible. Since if the operating system “flies” or some kind of failure occurs, then we risk losing important data.

To avoid such situations, it is necessary that the My Documents folder is stored not on the system drive where we have the system installed, but on some other one. And in this lesson, we will deal with transferring the My Documents folder to another drive.

How to move the My Documents folder to another drive?

We go to the "Start", and right-click on the "documents" there, in the context menu that appears, select the "Properties" item.

In the window that opens, we can see what kind of this moment the path and drive used to store the My Documents folder, there, on the contrary, there is a checkmark.

To change it, you need to click on the "Add Folder" button.

And in the window that opens, specify the folder that we want to use to store our documents in the future. I select a folder on the disk (D:) - "My Documents" and click "Add Folder".

Now I also have this folder in the list, in order to make it the default for saving documents, you need to select it and click the "Set the folder for saving" button just below.

Now there is a check mark next to it, which means that this folder in the path we specified will be used to store "my documents".

A couple more things to do. Right-click on the default folder and select "Up" from the context menu.

And so our folder will be at the very top.

Do not forget to click the "Apply" and "OK" buttons for all the changes made to take effect.

By the way, the paths to other folders that are not used can be safely deleted so as not to be confused, and if necessary, they can be restored through the "Restore Defaults" button.

And only after everything is saved, we can check that everything works. I'll create a "Word" document, write something there and try to save it.

I click the save button and in the window that opens, in the left menu, select "Documents" and click the "Save" button.

Now I go to the address of "my documents", the path that we indicated when choosing a folder. In my case, it is on the drive (D :), the My Documents folder. And I see there lies the Word document I just saved.

So everything works. In such a simple way, you can transfer the My Documents folder to any other drive in Windows 7.

Source

Many of us use the My Documents folder to store all of our information. Unfortunately, this folder is by default located on the same drive as Windows files. Default destination folder, i.e. the actual location of the My Documents folder: C:\Documents and Settings\ username \My Documents, where C - the drive on which the operating system is installed Windows system, a Username- name account The with which the user is logged in.

For many reasons, keeping these two directories "in the same bin" is not convenient for many users.

Here are just a few of those reasons:

First of all, the volume of information and data that we pull onto a computer, unlike operating system files, tends to increase very quickly. What are multi-pixel photos worth! And it is not surprising that over time, we notice that previously seemingly limitless in terms of spaciousness HDD, bursting at the seams from the data bursting it.

Of course, such a disk fullness can (and will) affect Windows performance. Sooner or later, this will cause the need to delete or transfer some data, which in itself is an unpleasant procedure.

Secondly, it complicates the backup. Your data is in a state of constant change, while Windows files almost always remain in the same place where they were “left” during the installation of the operating system. This means that your data needs to be backed up much more often than Windows data.

The same arguments can be applied to disk defragmentation. Mixing user and operating system files does not improve the condition of the disk in any way. Defragmentation needs to be done more frequently and takes longer.

And finally third. When reinstalling the system, if (for some reason) you need to full formatting disk, saving the data stored on it can also take a long time.

As you can see, the neighborhood of the folder "My documents" and directories « Windows» on one disk is unnatural, and is comparable to storing bread and rat poison on the same shelf :). This is acceptable, but it is difficult to call it a wonderful idea.

The ideal option may be the case when Windows is installed on one, and the documents are stored on another disk of the computer (it does not matter - physical or virtual).

Is it possible to do so? Of course you can!

First, make sure the drive (or partition) has enough space to store all of your data. Go to « My computer» and right clicking on the folder "My documents" select « Properties». There will be indicated the volume occupied by these documents on the disk.

Create a folder on it, for example, My Documents-here we will then move our folder"My documents"

Change the default location of the My Documents folder

To change the default location of a folder "My documents"

• Click the button Start and highlight the item My documents.
• My documents and select command Properties(If the menu "Start" icons My documents If you don't find it, then do it with an icon on your desktop).

In the window that opens, on the tab Destination folder we can see that the folder My documents actually located on the disk With, namely in the folder C:\Documents and Settings\Your Account\My Documents:

Perform one of the following procedures.

• In field Folder enter the path to the new folder location and click the button OK. For example, enter D:\My Documents

If such a folder does not exist (you did not create it beforehand), a dialog box will appear. Create a folder. Click the button Yes to create a folder, and then click OK.

-or-

• In the tab Destination folder(1) press the button Move(2), select on Local drive D: (3) document storage folder My Documents (4), and then click the button OK in both windows.

• If you want to create a new folder, click the button Create folder(5). Enter folder name:

And then press the button OK in both windows: first click on the selected folder where they will be transferred My documents and then press the key OK.

We return to the window Properties: My Documents and on the tab Destination folder click on the button OK.

• In the dialog box Move Documents Windows will want to make sure - do we really want to transfer personal data to this folder?: Click the button Yes Not

• Moving information from one drive to another can take some time.

• But after that, you can get into a new folder "My documents" through the appropriate icon on the desktop or from any other place (application) of Windows.

Just in case:

Restoring the default location of the My Documents folder

To restore the default location of a folder "My documents", do the following.

• Click the button Start and highlight the item My documents.
• Right click item My documents and select command Properties.
• Click the button Default, and then the button OK.

• In the dialog box Move Documents press the button Yes to move documents to a new location, or the button Not to leave the documents in their original location.

Prevent the user from changing the location of a folder"My documents"

If you don't want the user to be able to move and rename the My Documents folder in File Explorer and My Computer, then create a parameter like DWORD DisablePersonalDirChange with meaning 1 In chapter
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer (do not confuse the My Documents folder with the My Documents ActiveX control ). Now, when you try to rename or move a folder, a corresponding message will be displayed

Watch a video on this topic:

If you have an operating system installed on one local drive, and you store all data on another local drive (as is usually done correctly), I think you sometimes had questions about how to transfer some necessary folders to another local drive.
This is usually done in two cases:
1) When there is not enough space on the disk with "Windows" and you constantly need to move something from folders to another disk.
2) In the event that "Windows has flown" everything that was on them will be deleted from you. Because when reinstalling, either everything is overwritten or formatted.
So, I'll show you how you can move your Favorites, Downloads, Pictures, Videos, Documents, Music, and Desktop folders in Windows 7 and 8.

First of all, we create a separate folder on the local drive where you do not have Windows installed.
It is necessary to create a new one and rename it so that later it is not accidentally deleted or confused for what it is. Though "Folders of Windows" write.
In it, we create more folders. For downloads, desktop music, documents, etc.

I have this path C:\Users\1

We see such a cluster of folders there:

Now we click on the RMB you need (for example, Desktop) and select Properties and then tab Location

I did not accidentally highlight the button Move. Click on it and select the created folder on another drive where you want to save

Click Apply agree to the warning

We are waiting for everything to move, then we press OK in this window and you're done.

Now we do the same actions with other necessary folders ( My videos, My documents, My music, Images etc.)

There is also alternative way- through .

Go to branch

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

And look what we have:

Here are all the folders and their paths, you just need to know a little English language in order to translate Personal- My documents, My Music- My music, Favorites- Favorites, etc.
Next, you need to click 2 times on the parameter and change Meaning to the path to the folder you created.

Of course this method suitable for more advanced users.

After all these manipulations, you will free up space on the system disk and all subsequent actions will be carried out on another disk.

How to move the My Documents folder to another drive? This is a very important issue in setting up Windows, related to the security of your files. The fact is that all programs that work with documents, pictures, audio and video files by default try to put all newly created files in folders that are hidden deep in the system. It's not convenient to say the least. And if you have to reinstall windows, it is also dangerous. Since these folders are simply forgotten, and after formatting the C drive, their contents are irretrievably lost.

The same applies to the Downloads or Downloads folder. In addition, these folders, especially Downloads, tend to grow very quickly, which is very bad for the disk on which the operating system is located. Therefore, the most correct solution is to transfer ALL these folders with all their contents to another disk. For example drive D.

On the drive you want to transfer to, usually drive D, create a folder with the name you need, for example "My Documents" or just "Documents", or something like that. Next, open the "Computer" folder.

In the left part of the window we see the sections: "Favorites", "Libraries", "Computer". AT this case We are interested in the Libraries section. Move the mouse cursor over the "Documents" button and press the right mouse button. A small menu opens. Select the last item "Properties". The "Properties: Documents" window opens as shown in the figure below.

Click on the "Add Folder" button. A window for selecting folders will open. There we open the disk we need and select the folder created for the documents. The selected folder will appear in the list, indicating the drive on which it is located. I have added an entry in the third line of the folder "My Documents (G)". You will most likely have a D drive.

Click on this folder "My Documents (G)". The "Set save folder" button, located just below, becomes active. How to transfer the folder my documents - After selecting a new folder, it became active button"Set save folder"

Click on this button "Set the folder for saving". Our new folder, in a new location, is now set to save documents by default. This is indicated by a tick on the opposite of our entry.

In order for the changes to take effect and the old documents to be moved to a new folder, you need to click the "Apply" button. When the procedure is completed, click the "OK" button. After that, all documents that have already been created in the old folder will be transferred to the new folder. And all new documents that you will create different programs, will be saved to the new folder by default unless a specific path is specified. The same procedure should be performed for the folders "Video", "Pictures", "Music". After that, all programs that process videos, music and images by default will offer to save newly created files in new folders located in a new location.

How to move the Downloads folder to another drive

To transfer the Downloads folder to drive D, you must also create a folder with an Appropriate name such as Downloads or Downloads on drive D. Next, open the "My Computer" folder and select "Favorites / Downloads" in the left menu. In the folder that opens, right-click and select Properties. A window similar to the figure below will open.

Select the "Location" tab in the top menu (marked with a red rectangle). In the ruler marked below, we see the real path of the location of this folder. Click the "Move" button. An explorer window will open. Choose desired disk and desired folder. Press the "Select Folder" button. And the location of the new folder will appear in the address field. As shown in the picture below.

Now click the "Apply" button. It will begin moving the entire contents of this folder from drive C to a new location, drive D (in my case, drive G). After such a procedure, all programs that will access the "Downloads" folder will automatically be redirected to a new folder and you will never make a mistake. Everything downloaded from the Internet will now be saved on the D drive. It will not interfere with the work operating system and will not be lost if the system is reinstalled.

There is another way to solve this problem. It is interesting in that all programs that can download data from the Internet have settings for the save location. This makes it possible for each program to set its own folder. Logically, everything is simple. It is enough to specify a new folder on drive D in the settings of each program. This is done something like this.

Let's consider the case for Google browser Chrome. In the right upper corner window Google Chrome there is an icon of three vertically arranged dots. (In Opera and Mozilla, there are three horizontal stripes in a column.) Behind it, the settings and control menu is hidden. Click this icon and the settings menu opens. At the bottom of the screen you will find the item "Additional". Click it and it will open additional settings below this screen. Look for the "Downloaded Files" section. Now it looks something like this:

This displays the path to your default folder location. This is drive C followed by the username, etc. You click the "Change" button. A window for selecting folders opens. Find the drive you need and the folder you need. Click OK. A new path to the new folder will appear in this window. As it is now in the picture.

A little lower is the item "Always specify a download location." I recommend enabling it. Now, when downloading files, the browser will always show a window for choosing where to upload the file. You will either have to choose a new location, or confirm the one indicated in the window. The browser remembers the last choice and this gives additional convenience.

Follow the same procedure for all other browsers that you use. The setting is the same in all browsers. If you use a download manager like "Download Master", you need to configure the download settings for this program as well. After that, "Download Master" will save the downloaded files to the folder you specify. And if you choose the path in the browser, then "Download Master" picks it up and saves it to the place where you specified. We will consider in detail the settings of the "Download Master" in the article dedicated to this particular file download manager.