5 Free Ways to Transfer Files from C Drive to D Drive

Can I transfer files from C drive to D drive?

Many users face the dilemma of having a full C drive despite having ample space on the D drive. In such cases, they often consider two primary methods: deleting temporary files and cleaning up system files. The first approach involves removing unnecessary files, such as temporary internet files, system logs, and other items that can be safely deleted without affecting system functionality.

#1: Move unallocated space to C drive. It requires unallocated space on the right side of the C: drive or you can shrink a drive with plenty of space, and then extend C: drive with the separated out space.

#2: Transfer files from C drive to D drive. To free up space on your C drive, simply move unnecessary files to another drive, such as D, E, F, or G, if you have redundant space available on those drives. This is a straightforward way to make room on your C drive, as long as you know which files can be safely relocated.

Transferring files from the C drive to the D drive or other drives is a straightforward process that can be achieved through different methods.

What files can be moved from C drive to D drive?

Since the C drive contains the operating system, system files, and other applications, it's generally not recommended to delete files directly from it unless you're sure of what can be safely removed.

You should not move the "User" folder, which contains many important documents and information, as it may cause conflicts, but rather consider moving only the subfolders under it, such as Documents, Desktop, Downloads, Favorites, OneDrive, Picture, Music, etc.

To free up space on your C: drive, you can move user folders like Documents, Downloads, and Pictures to the D: drive, and then change the default installation location for new programs to the D: drive as well. This will help ensure that your C: drive remains relatively empty.

Some files, like Windows, Program Files, and Programs File (x86), can't be moved because they contain system files or program installations that may stop working or not respond if relocated. These folders are best kept at the root drive of the hard drive.

How to move files from C drive to D drive in Windows 11/10/8/7

To move files from one drive to another, there are 5 methods in total. You can click on the anchor text below to jump to the method you prefer, which allows you to transfer files from the local disk C to D, or even to an external hard drive.

#1: Copy files from C drive to D drive via Drag and Drop
#2: Transfer files from C drive to D drive via free software
#3: Move files from C drive to D drive in Command Prompt
#4: Copy files from C drive to D drive via the Move feature
#5: Move files from C drive to D drive by changing its default location

Note: After moving files to D drive, ensure you can access them from there. If everything goes smoothly, you can delete them from C drive to free up space. However, the previous shortcuts will be invalid. If any unexpected issues arise, backup the C drive before proceeding.

#1: Copy files from C drive to D drive via Drag and Drop

Step 1. Double-click Computer or This PC to open Windows File Explorer.

Step 2. To move folders or files, navigate to the desired ones, right-click them and select "Copy" or "Cut" from the context menu.

Step 3. Finally, find D drive or other drives you want to store the files to, right-click blank space, and select Paste.

Press Ctrl + C (Copy) or Ctrl + X (Cut) on the source drive, then Ctrl + V (Paste) on the destination drive.

Important:
◆ This method allows you to transfer personal files from the C drive to the D drive, but it will make program files inaccessible.
◆ It's not recommended to delete the "My Documents" folder or similar folders on the C drive after transferring, as it could mess up your profile.

#2: Transfer files from C drive to D drive via free software

Qiling Disk Master Standard is the best free file sync software designed for Windows 11/10/8/7. It allows users to sync folders between drives, from one drive to another, or from one folder to another, making it easy to keep files up-to-date across different locations.

You can enable automatic sync to run this task automatically, which is especially useful for long-term data protection, allowing you to easily recover files if they're damaged, infected, or deleted.

To transfer files from the C drive to the D drive, you can download and install a software, or for server users, try Qiling Disk Master Server.

Free Download
Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7, 100% Secure

To move files from C to D, navigate to the C drive, select the files you want to move, right-click on them, and choose "Copy" or press Ctrl+C. Then, navigate to the D drive, right-click on an empty space, and choose "Paste" or press Ctrl+V.

Step 1. Launch Qiling Disk Master Standard after installing. Click Backup and recovery and then File Sync.

Step 2. Click Folder to browse files and folders from C drive.

Tip: If you don't want to move all the files, you can use the "Filter Settings" option to exclude or include certain file types from selected folders. This feature is supported by Qiling Disk Master Professional.

Step 3. To move files from the C drive to the D drive, click the second box and select "This PC" and then choose the D drive as the destination path. Next, click "Proceed" to initiate the file transfer.

Now, you may already move files from C drive to D drive successfully. But if you don't want to lose any data due to unexpected disasters, you could follow the 3-2-1 backup strategy and sync files to external hard drive, network drive, cloud drive, etc.

Tips on long-term data protection:

The schedule sync feature allows you to sync files on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, keeping all changes made on the C drive. It also supports syncing via Event triggers or USB Plug in mode.

On the premium version, you'll have choices for syncing files, including Real-Time Sync, which syncs changes immediately, File Sync, which is the safest method, and Two-way Sync, which keeps changes from both the source and destination.
Qiling Cloud offers 1TB cloud storage from sign-up to 15 days, making it a suitable option for users who need a cloud backup with limited storage capacity.

#3: Move files from C drive to D drive in Command Prompt

To move from the C drive to the D drive in Command Prompt, you can use the "cd" command followed by the drive letter and a colon, then the directory or folder you want to navigate to. For example, to move to the root directory of the D drive, you would type "cd D:" and press Enter. You can also use the "cd" command with a specific directory path, such as "cd D:\Users\YourUsername" to navigate to a specific folder on the D drive.

Step 1. Press Windows + R key combo to start the Run box. Type "cmd" and press Enter.

Step 2. Copy files or the whole category with the following command.

To copy the file "workfile.txt" from the root of C drive to D drive, type the command: "copy c:\workfile.txt d:\".
To copy all .txt files from the current directory to the D drive, you can use the command "copy *.txt d:". This command will copy all files with the .

#4: Copy files from C drive to D drive via the Move feature

To move files from local disk C to D, you can use the built-in "Move" feature. Simply navigate to the files you want to move on disk C, select them, and use the "Move" option to choose disk D as the destination.

Step 1. Press Windows + E to open Windows Explorer.

Step 2. Find out the files or folders you want to move, right-click it and select Properties from the context menu.

Step 3. Click the Location tab and Move option.

Step 4. Select the location you want to store your files or folders, then click Apply and Confirm.

#5: Move files from C drive to D drive by changing its default location

Step 1. To access more storage settings, go to Settings > System > Storage, and scroll down to the bottom of the page where it says More Storage Settings.

Step 2. Click Change where the new content is saved under the More Storage Settings.

Step 3. To change the default save locations for various types of files, such as Apps, Documents, Music, Photos and Videos, Movies and TV Shows, and Maps, go to Settings, then click on the drop-down menu next to each type and select D drive as the new location. Note that you cannot move files to the D drive itself.

Problems you may encounter when transferring files

1. 0x80070057: The parameter is incorrect.

This issue may be caused by corrupted files, network connection problems, or long file paths, and can be resolved by backing up only the subfolder in the "User" folder.

Check both the C drive and the D drive by going to their Properties, selecting the "Check" option under the Tools tab.

2. 0x80070780: The file cannot be accessed by the system.

When using Cut and Paste, the original text is removed from its original location, which can lead to errors. Using Copy and Paste instead preserves the original text and allows for a safer and more reliable transfer of content.

3. The file 'XXX' is too large for the destination file system.

Due to FAT32 limitations, files larger than 4GB cannot be stored on a FAT32 volume. To overcome this, you can either compress the large files or convert the FAT32 volume to NTFS without losing data.

Summary

You can easily transfer files from the C drive to the D drive without going through a tedious uninstall and reinstall process. There are five methods to do this, and one of them is Qiling Disk Master, which can also help with transferring files from an SSD to an HDD, syncing folders between computers, and more.

This freeware still offers robust backup capabilities, including system, disk, partition, and file backup options, with flexible scheduling and compression levels, allowing for daily, weekly, or monthly backups, as well as full or incremental backups with normal or high compression.