How to move the special folders in Windows Vista
• Ramesh Srinivasan
http://www.winhelponline.com/articles/180/1/
• Published Nov 28, 2006
Introduction
This article describes how to move the special folders in Windows®
Vista.
Moving the special folders
Windows Vista lets you easily relocate the shell folder paths for
Documents, Music and Pictures folder using the Property sheet. Note
that in Windows XP, selectively moving the My Pictures or the My Music
folders required a registry edit. This is no longer the case in Vista.
Method 1 USELESS
To move a special folder to a different drive or path, follow these
steps:
• Create the destination folder first
• Click the Start button
• Right-click the special folder (Documents, Music, or Pictures) and
choose Properties
• Select the Location tab
• Click Move and select the target folder
• Click Apply
• Click Yes when you're prompted to move the files to new location
• Click OK
The shell folder is now moved to the new location.
Method 2: Using Registry Editor
To accomplish this using Registry editor, follow these steps:
• Create the destination folder first
• Click Start, Run and type Regedit.exe
• For per-user special folders, navigate to the following location:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \
Explorer \ User Shell Folders
• For per-system special folders, navigate to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \
Explorer \ User Shell Folders
• Double-click the corresponding shell folder name
• Change the Value data accordingly, mentioning the destination path
• Close Regedit.exe
Default shell folder paths - Listing
Per-user special folders
Value name (Special folder) Value data
{374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B} %USERPROFILE%\Downloads
AppData %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming
Cache %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temp orary Internet
Files
Cookies %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Co okies
Desktop %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
Favorites %USERPROFILE%\Favorites
History %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Hist ory
Local AppData %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local
My Music %USERPROFILE%\Music
My Pictures %USERPROFILE%\Pictures
My Video %USERPROFILE%\Videos
Nethood %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Ne twork
Shortcuts
Personal %USERPROFILE%\Documents
PrintHood %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Pr inter
Shortcuts
Programs %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\St art
Menu\Programs
Recent %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Re cent
SendTo %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Se ndTo
Start Menu %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\St art Menu
Startup %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\St art
Menu\Programs\Startup
Templates %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Te mplates
Per-system special folders
Value name (Special folder) Value data
{3D644C9B-1FB8-4f30-9B45-F670235F79C0} %PUBLIC%\Downloads
Common AppData %ProgramData%
Common Desktop %PUBLIC%\Desktop
Common Documents %PUBLIC%\Documents
Common Programs %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
Common Start Menu %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
Common Startup %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start
Menu\Programs\Startup
Common Templates %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Templates
CommonMusic %PUBLIC%\Music
CommonPictures %PUBLIC%\Pictures
CommonVideo %PUBLIC%\Videos
To reset the shell folder paths for Music/Documents/Pictures/Videos
folders in Windows Vista, you may use the REG file
reset_music_pictures_docs_path.reg. Download and save the file to the
Desktop. Right-click on the file and choose Merge.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
;Resets the shell folder paths for Music, Pictures, Videos and
Documents
;For Windows Vista systems only
;Created on March 30, 2007
;Ramesh Srinivasan -
http://www.winhelponline.com
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\User
Shell Folders]
"My
Music"=hex(2):25,00,55,00,53,00,45,00,52,00,50,00, 52,00,4f,00,46,00,49,00,\
4c,00,45,00,25,00,5c,00,4d,00,75,00,73,00,69,00,63 ,00,00,00
"My
Pictures"=hex(2):25,00,55,00,53,00,45,00,52,00,50, 00,52,00,4f,00,46,00,49,\
00,4c,00,45,00,25,00,5c,00,50,00,69,00,63,00,74,00 ,75,00,72,00,65,00,73,00,\
00,00
"My
Video"=hex(2):25,00,55,00,53,00,45,00,52,00,50,00, 52,00,4f,00,46,00,49,00,\
4c,00,45,00,25,00,5c,00,56,00,69,00,64,00,65,00,6f ,00,73,00,00,00
"Personal"=hex(2):25,00,55,00,53,00,45,00,52,00,50 ,00,52,00,4f,00,46,00,49,00,\
4c,00,45,00,25,00,5c,00,44,00,6f,00,63,00,75,00,6d ,00,65,00,6e,00,74,00,73,\
00,00,00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
How can I move the "users" folder???
Is there an easy way to move the user folder off the system drive? I
understand the concept of virtual folders, but when i drag and drop a
file from my desktop to my "Matthew" folder i have displayed on the
desktop, it goes to c:\Users\Matthew I want my Users folder on my E:\
drive (e:\users\matthew) Even better would be if i could have
"c:\users" just be "e:\"
Re: How can I move the "users" folder??? Need it off the C: drive!!!!
If you want to re-direct all your user data folders in one shot, you
essentially have two options:
1. You can use unattend.xml (i believe there is a blog post on this)
during setup to define exactly where you want your Profile 'Users'
directory to be created. All new profiles will be created at that
location.
2. You can also individually redirect all your profile folders using
the following method if you already have the OS installed. However one
thing to point out is that once you have the OS installed, you cannot
move the root profile folder, i.e. Users directory or the username
folder itself.
1. Go to the Start>Username folder.
2. Select all the folders in the explorer window you want to
move/re-direct.
3. Cut-paste them to the new location of your choosing.
This will also redirect all the folders to the new location and update
the registry entries for them as well in a manner similar to the manual
redirection via the locations tab as suggested above.
Actually, there IS a way to move existing profiles and the profiles
root directory, although I'm sure it's unsupported, use at your own
risk, etc.
The key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
includes a value for the ProfilesDirectory that points to the root
profile directory (i.e. %SystemDrive%\Users), and each subkey
represents the location of a single profile, identified by account SID.
User profiles don't all have to be under the root profile directory, but
the Default and All Users profiles do. Newly copied profiles (either
from default or roaming) go into the root profile directory.
Don't try to move a profile that's in use. Changes to the profile root
directory only take effect properly after reboot.
Even if you move the profile, there MIGHT be paths that lead to the old
directory (although this isn't supposed to be happening to support
roaming profiles correctly; romaing profiles may be located anywhere
when cached on the client machines).
Wow. That registry trick works awesome. Thats exactly what i needed.
Now my e:\ drive has Users, Documents, Images, Videos, Music, and
Downloads folders, with the virtual folders under 'e:\Users\Matthew'
and 'e:\Users\Ashley' linking back out to thier respective folder in
the root directory (e:\)
All this so when my 'Matthew' folder is displayed on the desktop, i can
drag and drop files to it and they physically reside at
e:\Users\Matthew. From there further sorting into the Virtual folders
is easy.
We provide an unattend setting (Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup |
FolderLocations | ProfilesDirectory) for doing exactly this! I would
recommend applying this setting during a clean install. But beware - if
you move the Users folder to a location other than the system volume,
upgrades will be blocked!!!
A description of known issues with the FolderLocation settings in the
Windows Vista Unattend.xml
file
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929831
INTRODUCTION
You can use the FolderLocations settings in the
"Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" area of the Windows Vista Unattend.xml
file to move the user profiles folder or the program data folder to a
non-default target location. The user profiles folder is typically
%systemdrive%\Users. The program data folder is typically
%systemdrive%\ProgramData.
This article describes known issues with the FolderLocations settings
in the Unattend.xml file.
MORE INFORMATION
The target location for the user profiles and program data folders can
be on a volume other than the system drive as long as the volume meets
the following requirements:
It must be an NTFS file system volume.
It must not be the path of another operating system user profile
folder or program data folder.
It must not contain any serviceable components.
These unattend settings have the following known issues:
If you use the FolderLocations unattend settings to move user data or
program data to a location other than the %systemdrive% folder, you
block upgrades to other versions of Windows Vista or to later releases
of Microsoft Windows.
If you use the System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) to apply the
FolderLocations unattend settings, some system directory junctions do
not point to the new target location. The following system directory
junctions continue to point to the old locations:
C:\Documents and Settings continues to point to C:\Users.
C:\ProgramData\Desktop continues to point to C:\Users\Public\Desktop.
C:\ProgramData\Documents continues to point to
C:\Users\Public\Documents.
C:\ProgramData\Favorites continues to point to
C:\Users\Public\Favorites.
If you use the Windows Vista Setup program to apply the FolderLocations
unattend settings, the system directory junctions do not point to the
new target location. The following system directory junctions continue
to point to the old locations:
C:\Documents and Settings continues to point to C:\Users.
C:\Users\Default User continues to point to C:\Users\Default.
C:\Users\All Users continues to point to C:\ProgramData.
If you use the System Preparation Tool to apply the ProfilesDirectory
unattend settings, the user profiles of domain users who have
previously logged on to the computer are left in the old location. The
public profile is also left in the old location.
The EdBott.com blog advice doesn't really re-locate the user folder. It
only relocates some of the user subfolders (Documents, Music, etc.) It
doesn't work for the hidden user subfolders (like AppData) at all. And
it doesn't move the root folder for the user, so if you click on the
username on the Start menu, you're still taken to the C:\users\username
folder.
The same goes for cutting and pasting user subfolders, I believe, as
was mentioned in an eariler post.
So far, it looks like the registry change is the way to go. BTW, here
is the microsoft KB article that documents that registry hack:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/236621
XP RESOLUTION
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/236621
To specify a different folder for the "Documents and Settings" folder
during installation, follow these steps:
1. Use the /UNATTEND switch with Winnt.exe or Winnt32.exe and insert
the following entry into the Unattend.txt file, where z:\foldername is
the path and folder name you want:
[GuiUNattended]
ProfilesDir = z:\foldername
2. Install Windows. The path you included in the Unattend.txt file is
used instead of the default "Documents and Settings" folder.
To specify a different folder for the "Documents and Settings" folder
after you install Windows for a particular user, follow these steps:
1. Identify the user's profile path. There are two methods to identify
the profile path. Either by user path settings or user SID. The user
SID method is preferred.
User SID method
a. Use the GETSID tool from the Windows Server Resource Kit to obtain
the SID. Use syntax similar to the following example:
GETSID \\SERVER1 UserName \\SERVER1 UserName
b. Once you obtain the SID, use Regedit.exe or Regedt32.exe to select
the user's SID under the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
User path setting
a. Log on to the computer as the user, and then type SET at a command
prompt. Note the setting for USERPROFILE, and then close the command
prompt window.
b. Log on as an administrator of the computer.
c.
Use Registry Editor to add the USERPROFILE setting to the following
registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
d. Click the registry key, and then click Find on the Edit menu.
e. In the Find box, type the value of the USERPROFILE setting, and
then click Find Next.
2. Change the ProfileImagePath value to use the new path you want in
the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList registry key.
3. Close Registry Editor, and then log on as the user. Type SET at the
command prompt to verify the path has changed.
Entire Folder
NOTE: This method relocates key Windows components. Use this method
only if you require the "Documents and Settings" folder to be moved or
renamed and you cannot use the Unattend.txt file to change the name
during installation.
To specify a different folder for the entire "Documents and Settings"
folder, including key system components, follow these steps:
1. Log on to the computer as an administrator.
2. Create a new folder.
3. Open the current "Documents and Settings" folder.
4. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options, and then click the View
tab.
5. Under Advanced settings click Show hidden files and folders, and
then click to clear the Hide file extensions for known file types and
Hide protected operating system files check boxes.
6. Click OK.
7. Click and drag to copy all the folders to the new folder, except for
the currently logged on users folder.
8. In Control Panel, double-click System, and then click the User
Profiles tab.
9. Copy the current user's profile to the new folder.
10. Click OK, close Control Panel, and then log off and log on to the
computer as an administrator again.
11. In Registry Editor, click Find on the Edit menu.
12. Type documents and settings, and then click Find.
13. 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.
14. Restart the computer.
15. You can now safely remove the original "Documents and Settings"
folder.
Note If you search the registry for "Documents and Settings," you will
find a string value in the following subkey:
HKLM\system\controlset001\control\hivelist. This string value is
\Device\HarddiskVolume#\Documents and Settings. Do not change this
string value. After you finish searching for "Documents and Settings,"
also search for the short file name "Docume~1." Change the path for
those results.
Back to the top
http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=192697
Posted April 7, 2007 Comments(36)
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
1. Set the User Profile folder during setup using an unattended install
file.
2. Move the individual folders inside your user profile, which can be
done using explorer (which will update the registry keys
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\Shell
Folders and
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\User
Shell Folders).
However, this was not good enough for me, I wanted my actual user
profile folder to be moved to a seperate partition/volume, including
registry settings. I discovered that it is not actually that hard,
provided you’re comfortable with mass replacing registry keys and
values.
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:
1. Make sure you have a complete backup of your system!
2. Copy the original Default Profile directory to the new location
(e.g. from C:\Users\Default to D:\Users\Default).
3. Copy the original Public Profile directory to the new location (e.g.
from C:\Users\Public to D:\Users\Public).
4. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList.
5. Change the value of the Default key to the new user profile location
(e.g. D:\Users\Default).
6. Change the value of the Public key to the new user profile location
(e.g. D:\Users\Public).
7. Change the value of the ProfilesDirectory to the new user profile
location (e.g. D:\Users).
8. At this point, you need to restart and log back in as a different
user that has never logged in before and therefore does not have a
profile created. In my case, the Administrator user had never logged
in before so I enabled it so that Administrator could log in and used
that. You can enable Administrator login by loading Computer
Management and then go to User Accounts, edit the properties for
Administrator, and then uncheck Disable Login.
9. After logging in for the first time with the new user account, you
will see “Creating Desktop” and other things like that while Windows is
creating your profile. Note that the new profile should be created in
the new location.
10. After logging in, try to close as many applications as possible.
This will prevent most files from being locked so that you cannot copy
them.
11. Copy the entire original user profiles folder from the original
location to the new location (e.g. C:\Users\* to D:\Users\). (See next
step after copy starts).
12. There are a few things to note during this copy. There were
thousands of .TMP files that were locked and would not copy. I just
skipped these files. I held down Alt-S so that I could see all of the
skipped files and make sure that there were only .TMP files being
skipped. Yes, this took a little while, but at least I was confident
that I got all of my files copied. This process could probably be made
easier using the command prompt or powershell.
13. If, in your case, there are some files that will not copy, you can
run procexp.exe, which is file provided by sysinternals. Then do a
Find Handle and search for part of the filename. procexp will tell you
which programs are locking the file. As long as you closed as many
programs as you could, though, this should not happen.
14. Find and download a program that will do a Search & Replace on the
registry. I will not suggest one because I did not find one single
program that worked perfectly. I ended up downloading a few different
freeware applications and using all of them.
15. Using the Registry Search & Replace program, do a search for the
original user profile folder and replace it with the new user profile
folder (e.g. search for “C:\Users” and replace with “D:\Users”. Note
that some of the applications I used would only change values and not
key names. However, the keys that needed to be changed were all
related to MuiCache. I do not know if these actually need to be
updated. I did just to make sure.
16. Log out. Log back in with the same user. Repeat step 14 until
there is nothing left to replace. The reason for this step is that on
logout, some programs seem to update the registry using the old user
profile path.
17. Run regedit.exe and do a search for the original user profile path
and make sure it does not exist. The reason for this step is because
(as noted in step 13), I did not trust any of the Registry Search &
Replace programs I used. I ended up needing to update about a dozen of
the keys and values manually, since the search & replace missed them.
18. So that you can easily find programs that do not use the registry
and hard-coded profile paths, rename your original profile folder (e.g.
rename C:\Users to C:\~Users).
19. Log out. Log back in as your usual user. Everything should be
working correctly except for programs that use a “hardcoded” user
profile location.
20. There are two easy methods that can be used to find programs that
use a “hardcoded” profile location and are still looking for the
original user profile path. You can use the procexp.exe trick
mentioned above and search for handles in the original profile
location. You can also monitor the oringal profile location to see if
any new folders or files were created. For example, in my case,
FolderShare created some folders and files in the directory
C:\Users\MyUsername\AppData\Local\FolderShare\. So, I updated the
FolderShare settings to point to the different path and then deleted
the C:\Users directory (note that C:\~Users still existed as a backup).
21. Since you are now confident that all of your data has been moved
(right??????), you can deleted the backup of the original user profile
location (e.g. C:\~Users).
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!
http://joshmouch.wordpress.com/
Please reply to my email. I have several ideas on improving your
process.
For step 14: Use Resplendence Registry Manager v5.50
Email me for a copy.
Jay
--
mrgcav
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