Windows vista move user folder to another drive

If you do have folders for data such as documents, music, pictures and videos stored on other partitions or drives, then I would recommend you disconnect these data drives and upgrade only the system partition. You can always reattach your data drives after setup is complete. Within your User folder is a hidden directory called AppData. This folder stores important settings for the apps you use, such as custom directionaries for Microsoft Word, passwords for apps like Chrome, Outlook data files and mail folders for apps like Windows Mail.

To turn on Hidden Files and folders, start by opening your user folder. After completing the above steps, you should now see the AppData folder appear in your user folder. Next step is to simply select all the folder.

Selected folders Open your External hard disk then create a new folder and call it backup or a unique name. Depending on the amount of data, this can take a while. If you have multiple accounts If you have more than one account on your computer, log into each account and repeat the same steps. Make sure a unique folder is created for each account you backup manually. Remember other folders you might have If you store data in folders such as Public, remember to look in there too.

Also check there for any important files and move them to Documents folder. Restoration Once your backup is complete and you have your new computer setup and Windows is installed and running, the next step is to copy over your files and folders from the external hard disk.

You can do this two ways, you can individually copy the contents of each folder into the respective folder on the new computer from the external drive. Here is what you can easily do. Copy the current user's profile to the new folder.

Click OK , close Control Panel, and then log off and log on to the computer as an administrator again. In Registry Editor, click Find on the Edit menu. Type documents and settings , and then click Find. Replace the value data or rename the value or registry key to the new path for each and every registry key and value that contains the original path.

NOTE : You must complete this change for every instance in the registry or your computer may not start. It is imperative that you update all registry keys and values with the new path.

Restart the computer. You can now safely remove the original "Documents and Settings" folder. Do not change this string value. Back to the top. Posted April 7, Comments Here lies my experience moving my entire User Profile folder structure, including Default, Public, and any local users.

In my search for a solution, the only two easy ways I found to move the user profile directory locations from the system drive is to. Here is how I moved my user profile location. Please note that I wanted all of the profiles moved, included Public and Default, so some of these steps can be skipped if you do not want that:.

This procedure worked flawlessly for me. Everything user-related is now on a completely different volume, and I can sleep a little better at night! Please reply to my email. I have several ideas on improving your process. For step Use Resplendence Registry Manager v5. Many people have enjoyed for years that in Unix you can put the users data on separate disks with symbolic links.

Now Windows has joined the club with the Vista version having the ability to create true symbolic links. Do you know ho to remove this annoying link? I could understand their confusion.

I informed them that there is no such default path in Windows made by the OS—that clearly it is a typing error—thus they should replace the slashes with commas as such:. In msc,L. To move user folders,.

Office Office Exchange Server. Not an IT pro? Windows Client. Sign in. United States English. Ask a question. Quick access. Search related threads. Remove From My Forums. Asked by:. Archived Forums. Windows Vista Setup. For deployment issues, please use the Windows Vista Deployment and Imaging forum. Sign in to vote. I am posting this link here to ask, is this article is functionally correct? For those expert in Vista, is there a reason not to do this?

Is there a better way to accomplish the entire move of the "Users" folder? Is there a "Wizard" which can accomplish this? Sunday, July 8, PM. Moving the special folders Windows Vista lets you easily relocate the shell folder paths for Documents, Music and Pictures folder using the Property sheet. Proposed as answer by ashrack Friday, November 20, AM.

Wednesday, July 18, PM. Proposed as answer by mmma Sunday, August 17, PM. Monday, July 30, PM. I found the solution for the Vista update problem when hacking the registry. Saturday, September 1, AM. Go ahead and repeat this process for the other folders you want to move. Use Google Fonts in Word. Use FaceTime on Android Signal vs. Customize the Taskbar in Windows What Is svchost.

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