Can I Move Users Folder to Another Drive?
On Windows 10, each account has its own set of default folders, which are all kept in a folder called "Users" on the C drive, followed by your username. All of these folders enable users to keep and organize their files on the device, including papers, images, downloads, and other data. These folders are also visible in File Explorer in Windows 10 under “This PC” and “Quick Access”.
Usually, the time when some users attempt to move the Users folder to another drive is after 1-1.5 years, based on their habits, Users' data will use a lot of available space. The PC performance, indeed, will be affected by the free space on the C drive.
So, in this article, we’ll help you safely move the User folder to another drive to reclaim more free space on the C drive.
How to move Windows Users folder to another drive
The first way is to use File Explorer to move your folder manually, and the second one is to employ a professional moving tool to quickly move multiple folders at once.
Way 1. Move Users folder via File Explorer
▶ Section 1. Create new folders
Step 1. Open File Explorer.
Step 2. Click on This PC from the left pane.
Step 3. Under the "Devices and drivers" section, open the new drive location.
Step 4. Navigate to the location you want to move the folders.
Step 5. In the new location, create some new folders and name the folder you wish to move to. (eg. If you want to move Documents, then create a new folder named “Documents”)
▶ Section 2. Move the folders
Step 6. Press “Windows” + “R” and type: %HOMEPATH%
Step 7. Right-click the folder you want to move and select the “Properties” option.
Step 8. Click the “Location” tab and click the “Move” button.
Step 9. Select the folder with the same name in the new location, and click the “Select Folder” button.
Step 10. Click the “Apply” button and confirm with the “Yes” button.
When you finish the instructions, the default account folders will be moved to the new place, and future files will be saved in this location by default.
Although relocating folders one at a time requires more steps, you will avoid any difficulties that may arise when changing the primary account folder.
Way 2. Move Users folder with a professional tool
The reason why moving the Users folder to another drive has many steps is that the source directory must be set as the new location on the new drive, otherwise, all data will still be stored in the old folder.
If you don’t want to be annoyed with too many steps, you can turn to Qiling Disk Master Professional. The “Move Folder” function will move multiple folders you want to transfer and change the directory information, so you don’t need to change it manually one by one.
1. Make sure the target drive has sufficient free space to save all you move. If there’s a notice that tells you the space is insufficient, you can extend the partition at first.
2. To ensure the folders can be operated normally, please do not move or delete the files in the source and target directory.
3. This feature only runs between NTFS drive, if you want to move folders from or to a FAT32 drive, you’ll need to convert to NTFS at first.
Step 1. Install and run Qiling Disk Master, click “Backup and recovery” tab page and select “File Sync”.
Step 2. Select the folder you want to move. Choose the location drive under the window.
Step 2. Select destintion path, click “Proceed”.
Step 4. It immediately syncs the selected folder into the destination path.
Wait for a while, all selected folders will be moved safely.
Further knowledge: Move installed apps to another drive
After moving folders, if your C drive is still in the low space dilemma, don’t worry, we still have a solution for you.
Open your C drive, and check if there are any programs installed on it. Some users might have installed programs when they first use the current device but then forget them, or install programs on the C drive inadvertently. No matter what makes you install software on the C drive, if you now need to move them to another drive, The “App Mover” feature of Qiling Disk Master will be the best utility.
Just like moving folders, it also allows users to move multiple installed apps from one drive to another, so you don’t need to reinstall them. The tool will change all information about the location and make sure the moved programs can boot and run smoothly.
Step 1. Run Partition Assistant, go to “Tools” > “App Mover”.
Step 2. In the pop-up window, choose the partition that you want to free up via moving apps (here is partition C) and click “Next”.
Step 3. In the window, all movable apps on the C drive will be listed. You can choose one or multiple apps that you need to move and the destination partition. Then click “Move” to execute the operation.
Step 4. Confirm that you have closed the apps that you will move from C drive to D drive. Then, click "OK".
Step 5. Wait for the move process to complete. Then, click "Finish".
Then, you can run one of them to check if it works well. In addition, this tool also has "Delete Large Files" for users to quickly find unnecessary files to release disk space.
To sum up
“Can I move Users folder to another drive?”, the answer is yes. In Windows 10, move Users folder to another drive via File Explorer might be a little complex because of too many steps. But, with Qiling Disk Master, this work is easier for all users. And if you need, you can even move applications.
This versatile tool is quite practical for disk/partition management, and it also has the Server Edition for Server users and the Unlimited Edition for enterprise users.
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