Move the desktop to another drive. How do I move my desktop and my documents to the D: \

The data stored on the computer is very important to users, and their safety is of the highest priority. But with the standard Windows installation such important folders as "My Documents" and in particular "Desktop" go to system disk, which is most susceptible to all sorts of sudden data corruption. In order to avoid data loss in them, it is best to move the "Desktop" folder to any of the logical drives that are not involved in permanent work OS. Such disks are often considered to be all partitions of the hard drive from "D" to "Z".

Moving the Desktop to Windows XP

There are several methods that you can use to solve the problem of how to move the desktop. Let's take a look at the simplest ones.

Using "Properties"

This method is the simplest and does not require any special skills. You need to go to the "My Documents" folder and find the "Desktop" directory in it. After that you need to click on it right click mouse and select in context menu item "Properties". In the window that opens, open the tab with the name "Destination", then specify a new path to the future desktop folder and click the "Move" button.

When the transfer process is completed, click on the "OK" button. If some files from the previous desktop did not move automatically, then you will need to perform the process of copying them manually.

Through the register

This method will be useful to you in the event that you cannot use the previous one. It is the most versatile in order to move the desktop in Windows XP the first time and without any problems. To start the registry editor, go to the "Start" menu, select the "Run" item and in the window that opens, write "regedit" without using quotes, then press Enter. Now, in the opened editor window (in the left pane), go to the address: "HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ User Shell Folders".

The left pane will display a list of directories, including the "Desktop" folder. Right-click on it and select "Edit string parameter". Now a window will open in front of you, in which you need to replace the current path with a new one and click the "OK" button. After you close the Registry Editor, be sure to move all files from your old desktop to your new one.

Moving the Desktop to Windows 7

Here, all these operations can be done much easier. In order to move the desktop, you need to go to the folder of the current user. After that, right-click on the "Desktop" folder and go to the "Destination" tab. Now specify a new path to the location of the future desktop and save it by clicking the "Apply" button. After that click the "Move" button. Ready!

Let's see how to transfer the folders "Documents", "Downloads", "Desktop" to another drive on your computer in Windows different ways. In the operating system Windows system user folders are located on the drive on which the system is installed (usually drive "C:"), they are used for computer operation.

Some of the system folders are hidden from the user by default. In a normal situation, the user does not need to access hidden folders, including for security purposes. Incorrect actions by an inexperienced user can lead to a failure in running Windows, because of this, you will have to perform a system restore.

Other system folders: "Documents" (My Documents), "Downloads", "Desktop", etc., on the contrary, are open, because they are necessary for everyday use on the computer. These folders are located in the computer user profile. If there are several users on the PC, then each of the users has their own system user folders.

The Documents (My Documents) folder is used to store stored documents and files. Files of many programs are saved in this folder (browser profiles, settings and program files, etc.), unless another location for saving data is selected in the settings of a particular application. Here, with the default settings, computer games are saved.

Files downloaded from the Internet are saved in the Downloads folder until the user moves them to another location on his computer.

Work in the operating room begins from the Desktop folder Windows system... Here the user performs his daily work: launches applications, logs on to the Internet, etc., from here the computer is controlled, after going to the system parameters.

The folders Desktop, Downloads, Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music, etc., by default, are located on the system drive where the Windows operating system is installed. In most cases, it is justified and convenient; this state of affairs often completely satisfies the user.

In some cases, it becomes necessary to transfer the system folders to another drive on the computer. Possible reasons to move custom folders to another disk (disk partition):

  • Not enough space on the system drive
  • Saving important data in case of system reinstallation
  • The system is installed on an SSD disk (solid state drive)

Many users divide the disk into two or more sections for convenient storage of information on a computer. Usually, system partition hard disk make it relatively small compared to the file storage partition.

If the user actively works with programs, saves certain data, or plays games on the computer, a large amount of files accumulates in the Documents folder. Over time, the space on the system disk becomes less and less, so user data must be moved to another location.

In case of Windows failure, or exposure to viruses, the user will have to reinstall the operating system on the computer. No one is insured against malfunctions caused by various reasons. In this case, the user will lose all his data that is located in the user's folders (usually on the system drive "C:"). If this data were on another disk (disk partition), they would not be lost.

Pay attention to the following circumstance:

  • After reinstall Windows the following folders will be recreated on the system disk: Desktop, Documents, Downloads, etc. Therefore, these folders will have to be moved to another disk or disk partition again.

Many computers (laptops) use a high-speed SSD with the operating system installed. On computers like this, HDD(HDD) is used to store files. Apart from all its advantages, a solid state drive has one weak point: an SSD has a limited write / rewrite cycle.

If the user is constantly working with programs or playing games, then a huge amount of new data is constantly being written, rewritten and erased on the disk, which negatively affects the duration of the service life. solid state drive(SSD). The situation can be corrected as follows: you need to move the system folders (Documents, Desktop, Downloads, Videos, Pictures, Music, etc.) to another disk (hard drive) on your computer.

In this article I will tell you how the system folders are moved in Windows (Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7) using the example of the Documents, Desktop and Downloads folders. We will look at 3 ways to transfer system folders to another local disk(volume): using the properties of a folder, navigating in Explorer, by modifying the registry in the Registry Editor.

How to transfer "Documents" to another disk (1 way)

First, let's see how to move the Documents folder to another drive using the first method. Other folders from the user profile are moved in the same way.

To transfer Documents to another drive on your computer, follow these steps:

On another local drive on your computer (usually the D: drive), create a folder named Documents.

  • If there are several users on the computer, first create folders with usernames on another local drive, and then create folders (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, etc.) in the user folders to transfer the system folders.
  • If the newly created folder on another disk has a different name than the system name, the folder will still be renamed. This folder will be named after the corresponding system folder.

Log in to the computer user profile along the path:

Right-click on the Documents folder, click Properties in the context menu.

In the "Properties: Documents" window, open the "Location" tab, click on the "Move ..." button.

In the Select Destination Folder window, select a folder. In our case, the “Documents” folder is created on the “D” drive. Click on the "Select folder" button.

The Properties window for the Documents folder will open again. Here you will see the new location of the folder, on a different drive. Click on the "Apply" button.

In the "Move folder" window, agree with the new location of the folder, click on the "Yes" button.

Wait until the files are copied. Open Explorer, go to another drive, there you will see the Documents system folder.

Log in to the user profile on the system drive ("C:"), in order to make sure that the Documents folder is no longer there.

How to transfer the Desktop to another disk (2 way)

Let's see how to move the Desktop to another disk in a different way. The Desktop folder is located in the user profile on the system drive. Many users store folders and files on their desktop that take up a lot of space, there is a possibility of losing this data if the system is reinstalled. Therefore, it makes sense to move the Desktop folder to another drive.

We will now move the Desktop folder to a different drive using the Registry Editor:

Press the keyboard keys "Win" + "R", in the "Run" window enter the command: "regedit" (without quotes).

In the Registry Editor window, go to the following path:

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

Select the "Desktop" parameter in the registry branch (the names of the parameters related to the folders, here on English language), right-click on it, click "Change ...".

In the "Change a string parameter" window in the "Value" field, enter the path to another local disk, and then click the "OK" button.

Close Registry Editor. Reboot your computer.

After rebooting, the Desktop will be on a different drive on the computer.

How to move "Downloads" to another drive (3 way)

Now, let's see how to move the Downloads folder to another drive on your computer.

Moving the Downloads folder to another disk or disk partition is quite simple:

Open an Explorer window, create a Downloads folder on another drive on your computer.

Go in another Explorer window to the user profile on the system drive:

C: \ Users \ User (C: \ Users \ Username)

Press the Shift key on your keyboard.

Left-click and drag the Downloads folder to open window Explorer to another drive. Under the folder to be moved, the following message will be displayed: “Move to“ Local disk (D :) ”. In your case, the drive letter may be different. You can select multiple folders at once and then move the selected folders using drag and drop.

After the process of transferring files is completed, the Download folder will be on another local disk of the computer.

Conclusion

With three different ways the user can move the system folders from the user's profile (Documents, Downloads, Desktop, Music, Pictures, Videos, etc.) of the computer to another local drive.

In this very important and useful article I will tell you how to transfer folders "My Documents", "Downloads" and "Desktop" from system to another disk and why it is generally desirable for all users to do this immediately after installation operating system Windows.

In fact, it is very simple and easy to transfer these system folders, it is much more important to understand why it is desirable to do this. My task in this article is to convince you of the expediency of this operation, of its necessity.

Why transfer system folders

Here are some reasons why I strongly recommend that you move the folders "My Documents", "Downloads" and "Desktop" from the system drive to another ...

The first reason is that their contents very strongly and quickly fill the C drive with minor files, which over time slows down the system ...

The fact is that for normal, fast operation of the Windows operating system 10% free space required on your disk.

Majority computer programs shove the fruits of their work into the My Documents folder by default. For example, photo and video editors. No, the system of course asks where to save the file, but usually users, corny out of laziness, immediately press "OK" agreeing to the default location.

By default, all browsers save the files you downloaded from the Internet to the Downloads folder located on the system drive.



In general, everything is very bad with the "Desktop" folder. For many years, I have not been able to convince at least one user (even my own wife) to refuse placing films and photo albums on the desktop. And this is understandable - it's just more convenient for everyone.

Maybe someone did not know that by "throwing" a movie of several gigabytes in size on the desktop, among the shortcuts, you thereby place it in the "Desktop" folder, which is "mounted" in the system drive?

The second reason is that after your operating system suddenly dies quietly from bullying, it will take all your downloads, projects, save programs and games to the land of cartoons ...

If you move the folders "My Documents", "Downloads" and "Desktop" to another drive, all your documents and files will really turn into YOUR documents and files. After reinstalling the system, they will remain more alive than all living things.

The third reason will be useful to owners of SSD drives. Thanks to the transfer of these folders, you will extend the life of your beloved hustler.

I AM already wrote, what these fast disks have a limited reserve of rewriting cycles. So the frequency of data rewriting in these three folders breaks all records ... take pity on the miracle of technology - transfer the folders "My Documents", "Downloads" and "Desktop" to a second, regular hard drive.

You can still continue to list the reasons, but I think it's time to move on to practice.

How to transfer folders "My Documents" "Downloads" "Desktop"

If you noticed, I called these three folders system folders a couple of times. This means that by simply dragging and dropping onto another disk (like ordinary folders), you will only copy them, not move them. There will be no changes in the system registry and it will continue to "see" them on its disk.

I already said above that moving these system folders can be very simple, so do not be afraid of anything and feel free to start ...

First, we need to create, let's say on disk "D", new folders "My Documents", "Downloads" and "Desktop" ...

In order not to clutter up the disk with "unnecessary" folders (and not accidentally delete them after a while), I created one folder "Users" and put the heroes of this article in it.

Let me remind you that you can create a folder by clicking the RIGHT mouse button anywhere and selecting "New" - "Folder" in the context menu that appears.

Now we go to the system drive "C" and find the "Users" folder (I have Russian Windows 7)…

In it we find a folder with our system username and already there we find the heroes of the occasion ...

Further actions are identical for all folders, so I am showing them on the example of one - "My Documents". We poke with the RIGHT mouse button on the folder and in the context menu go to "Properties" ...

... go to the "Location" tab and click "Move". The system will ask where to move - we indicate our new folder "My Documents" on the "D" drive ...

Ouch, screenshot with "Desktop", but nothing, I hope you understand what you need to specify?

Be careful - you need to specify exactly "My Documents" by clicking on it (it must be empty).

Now it remains to click on "Select folder". In the folder properties window, the path to it will change - click on "Apply" (and not again on "Move") and agree to transfer all the contents ...

As you may have guessed, today we'll talk again about setting up your computer and operating system. To be more precise, I want to tell you about how you can move, in different types Windows, the folder in which is saved " Desktop" and " My documents"To disk" D: \».

Perhaps you may be wondering why this is needed? There are so many reasons for this that there is no need to think for a long time. Every day, for someone and for or for such Windwos flies or file system which results in or.

Such cases often lead to the loss of important files that were stored on the "C:" drive in the folders of the desktop and documents. Of course, you can try those that were lost, but after restoring them, they may be damaged. Well, the frustrated users sadly begin to reinstall the system.

In this article, I will show you how you can prevent yourself from losing important files when Windows is damaged. And also, I will show in detail, how to move folders "Desktop" and "My Documents" for storage, on the "D: \" drive, so that later, after installation, do not worry about their loss.

Moving the folders of the desktop and my documents in Windows XP

So, to change the location in Windows XP, we need to see how to do this here. Now, in the opened registry, go to the next branch:

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

Pressing " Shell Folders»A large list of different properties and values ​​appears on the right. Here, we are looking for those folders in which we want to change their storage location. So, we move the "Desktop" and "My Documents", respectively, we find the items "" and "".

By clicking on "" twice, in the window that opens, enter a new value, namely the path where our desktop will be stored.

We do the same with "", open and enter the folder address. For example, I will store folders immediately in the root of the "D: \" drive, respectively, I will write the following value: D: \ My Documents... If it is some other folder on the disk, then the path will look something like this: D: \ Folder Name \ My Documents.

By clicking " OK», keep changes made ... And in order for them to fully take effect, you must definitely restart your computer. After that, everything that you will save on the desktop will be automatically duplicated in the above specified folder on the "D: \" drive.

Changing the storage location of the desktop on Windows 7 and 8

In the situation with Windows 7, everything is much simpler. To do this, we do not need to enter the registry or manually change the storage location of the user's folders. All we have to do is just select all the folders and cut them out.

Then, we go to desired folder on another disk and insert them there. After the end of copying, we restart the computer and check the result. To do this, after creating any file on the desktop, it should appear in the copied folder as well. If so, then everything was done correctly.

By transferring the folders to another local drive, we can save ourselves from losing our files. And let's not bother with that next time Windows update... By the way, I regularly use the transfer of user folders at work, and I want to say that it has saved me more than once in various situations. By moving my desktop to a different drive, I saved a huge amount of time that I could spend recovering files. So, think about whether you should change the storage location or not?

Answers:

Korsar:
It's that simple! Run Regedit, find the value \ Documents and Settings \ USER_NAME \ Desktop string parameter Desktop change to your own, then, according to the same principle, change the value% USERPROFILE% \ Desktop to your own for the Desktop parameter. In general, so. You load Regedit, Edit - Find, you drive in the Desktop, and where you will find the Desktop, such as% USERPROFILE% \ Desktop or \ Documents and Settings \ USER_NAME \ Desktop, you drive your path. Overloading - VOIL! You can do the same for Favorites, Quick Launch, etc.

Dohtur Michael:
Windows keeps track of the location of the \ "My Documents \" and \ "Desktop \" folders. If you carefully move these folders to another drive in Explorer and even rename them there - after restarting, Windows will find them. But this can be done only in Explorer, not in Far \ "e or any other file manager. Naturally, other applications must be closed. I have been using this feature for a long time, since the days of win98.

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