User Folders - Change Default Location

How to Change the Default Location of User Folders in Windows 7 and Windows 8​

   Information

This will show you how to change (move) the default location of your account's C:\Users\(user-name) folders to another location of your choice instead in Windows 7 and Windows 8, and still have access to the user folder from the Start Menu (Windows 7 only) location.

   Tip

If you are just wanting to save HDD space, then you might consider this below to be able to access the files from your libraries with the files actually located where you like instead. This way you will not have to worry about any potential issues that come with moving user folder locations. For example, whatever partition you move your user folders to will now be included in a system image in Windows 7 and Windows 8.

• Create a new folder at any location you want.
• Move any files you want into the new folder.
• Include the new folder into a library (Windows 7 or Windows 8) of your choice.
• If you like, you can also set the new folder to be the default save to location (Windows 7 or Windows 8) for the library as well.

   Warning

If you change the default location of your Favorites folder in Windows 8 or 8.1, your Favorites in Internet Explorer will no longer be available until you move your Favorites back to the default "C:\Users\(user-name)" location.

EXAMPLE: User Folders
NOTE: This is at the default C:\Users\(user-name) location.

OPTION ONE

To Change Main User Profile Folder Location

1. For how, see:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/87555-user-profile-change-default-location.html

OR

How to Relocate User Profiles to another Partition or Disk in Windows 8

OPTION TWO

To Change User Folders Location from within User Profile Folder

1. If you a part of a homegroup, then you will need to change the homegroup settings to no longer share the user folder (ex: My Music) that you want to move first by unchecking the folder and clicking on Save Changes. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: This is so the user folder (ex: My Music) will not be shared on the homegroup anymore.

2. In Windows Explorer, navigate to where (ex: D: drive) you want to move the default user folder (ex: My Music) location to.

3. Create a New Folder by right clicking or press and hold on a empty space in the main window there, and click/tap on New and Folder. Name the new folder without spaces (ex: "Music" for My Music) for the user folder that you want to move there. (See screenshots below)
NOTE: The name that you type in for the new folder will be what you see as the user folder name in the Start Menu (shell:UsersFilesFolder) location when finished with all of these steps. It would be best to use the same name as the user folder to avoid confusion.




4. Close this window. (See screenshots above)

5. Press the Windows+R keys to open the Run dialog, type shell:UsersFilesFolder, and press enter.
NOTE: This will open your C:\Users\(user-name) folder.

6. Right click or press and hold on a user folder (ex: My Music, My Documents, My Pictures, etc.....) that you want to move the default location for, and click/tap on Properties. (See screenshot below)

7. Click/tap on the Location tab, and Move button. (See screenshot below)

8. Navigate to the same location as in step 2 and 3 above, then select the renamed new folder (ex: Music), and click/tap on the Select Folder button. (See screenshot below)

9. Click/tap on OK. (See screenshot below)

10. Click/tap on Yes. (See screenshot below)

11. After a few seconds when the location has been changed, the Properties window (screenshot under step 9) will then close.

12. Check back at the C:\Users\(user-name) location to make sure that the old user folder (ex: My Music) that you moved is no longer there. If it is, then make sure that the contents of the folder were moved to the new location, and delete it. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If you are unable to delete the folder, then restart the computer and try again.

13. You will notice that the folder at the shell:UsersFilesFolder location and the new location (ex: D drive) you moved the user folder to, now has the default user folder (ex: My Music) icon. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: The Start Menu in Windows 7 now opens the user folder from the new location (ex: D: drive) that you moved the user folder to.

14. If you a part of a homegroup, then you can now change the homegroup settings back to share the user folder (ex: My Music) again if you like by checking the folder, and click/tap on Save Changes. (see screenshot below)

   Tip

If you wanted to restore the default location of the user folder, then see:

How to Restore the Default Location of User Folders in Windows 7 and Windows 8

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Customize Default User Profile in Audit Mode
• How to Restore the Default Location of User Folders in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Change the Default "Screenshots" Folder Location in Windows 8
• How to Change the Windows 7 Default User Folder Icons
• How to Pin Your User Files Folder to the Windows 7 Taskbar
• How to Create Your Own Special User Folder
• How to Restore Windows 7 Default User Folder Icons
• How to Add or Remove your User Folder from the Windows 7 Navigation Pane
• How to Allow or Prevent Users to Move their User Folders to a New Location
• How to Change the Default Location of a User Profile in Windows 7 and Vista
• How to Change the Name of "My Documents" without Renaming the Folder
• User Folders - Moving User Folders by Modular Script
• How to Free Up and Recover Hard Drive Space in Windows 7
• How to Change the User Folder Name of a User Profile in Windows 7

 

[fredsol]

Move button do not appear

Hi,
Does someone know why the "move" button may not appear (compare to step 9 of the tutorial) ?

 

[Brink]

Hello Fredsol, and welcome to Seven Forums.

It looks like you may have a group policy enabled to prevent users from moving user folders. If you like, you could use step 1 in OPTION ONE of the tutorial below to restore the default settings for this to see if that may be why.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/84818-user-folders-allow-prevent-moving-location.html

Hope this helps for now,
Shawn

 

[knupp]

Hello.

I have a SSD(C and a HDD(E, and wont to move some uses folders from C: to E:
Do you think the best way to move folders, is by using libraries...
Let's say i wont to move the "music folder" with the library, then i just make(includ) a new "music folder D:"
in the "music properties", and hit the "set save location" button.
Hope you understand my bad english.

Regards Knut

 

[Brink]

Hello Knupp, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Personally, I believe that using libraries would be the easiest and safest method instead of moving your user folder.

You would basically create a new folder on E:, include the new folder to a library you want, and set the new folder to be the default save folder for that library. This would be the same as what's in the yellow tip box at the top of the tutorial to help.0

This way your files will actually be saved in the new folder on E:, and also have access to them in the library.

 

[knupp]

Thank you so much, this was very helpful
One thing....after i set the new folder as default, do i delete the old ones?

Great forum

 

[Brink]

Knupp,

If you are using the libraries, then no since they are not the same as your user folders. You'll just be using the new folder instead.

 

[knupp]

Boy am i glad i found this forum....thanks

 

[Brink]

You're most welcome.

 

[Aldrap]

Hello!
Could you please help me with my small problem?

I have changed my default Windows Explorer open location from Library to C:\Users\%MyUserName% (Like described here: Set the Windows Explorer Startup Folder in Windows 7)

Now i have added a new drive and moved My Music, My Pictures, Downloads and My Videos to new location, and now when i open Windows Explorer from taskbar these folders are gone. Now i am forced to use shortcuts in %MyUserName% location to access My Music, for example.
But i have noticed that if i press to my username in the adress bar (click to short cut and after that press to username in adress bar) it moves to some other location with all My Music, My Pictures, Downloads and My Videos at the same location along with other left folders and with 4 shortcuts (screenshot are in attachment). And everything works as it was before, but only My Documents, for example, opens in old location on C drive, and My Music, for example, opens at the new location on D drive.

Now i wonder how to change Windows Explorer default location, so it could opens %MyUserName% folder like it is in the second screeshot?

 

[Brink]

Hello Aldrap, and welcome to Seven Forums.

See if using the target below exactly as is for the explorer shortcut may work for that. It's a variable to open to the current user's profile folder.

%UserProfile%

 

[Aldrap]

Thanks Brink, for this quick reply!

I have already tried to do this - does not worked

Tried all variables that suits my problem from this list: List of Environment Variables in Windows Operating System - AskVG - nothing worked

This variables opens C:\Users\%MyUserName% directory (like in the first screen)

 

[Brink]

Ok. Here's one more target to try.

explorer.exe shell:::{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}

If not, then see how the user folder in the navigation pane may work.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/48123-user-folder-add-remove-navigation-pane.html

 

[Aldrap]

Brink! Thank you! Thank you so much!!!

explorer.exe shell:::{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee} woking!

I am so happy!!!
Thanks a lot!

 

[Brink]

You're most welcome.

 

[Diligent]

Hello Brink!

Very nice article, though I cannot see that it helped my targeted problem & fix. Does not seem to be your fault at all but I may have missed it. I was and am looking for a way to be certain that the position (location) of each folder I place on my desktop is fixed at that exact spot untill I desire to change that location to a different spot. This would and must occur when the align to grid option is disabled.

Should a new question be posted in a separate thread? If not, where is this subject covered in this thread? I

Your various threads are very much appreciated BTW. Always look for them first.

Thanks for the help again, diligent

 

[Brink]

Hello Diligent,

Yeah, that wouldn't be related to this tutorial.

You can right click on your desktop, and click on to uncheck both "Auto Arrange Icons" and "Align Icons to Grid" to help.

 

[Diligent]

That traditional untick didn't work on xp nor now on win7. Bt I did further research. Is this (see url below) good info now?

http://www.sevenforums.com/free-dev...rfix-manage-folder-window-positions-size.html

Microsoft seemed to think so in 2009: Windows 7 won't remember my desktop folder locations - Microsoft Community

 

[Brink]

It's worth a try, but from my experience, everything only works temporarily for it since they usually get auto arranged every time explorer gets restarted.

A program like below to remember/restore desktops should work if the above doesn't.

Desktop Icon Saver v1.0

 

[Diligent]

Yup, always has been a problem. Ran a google-it and all kinds of programs like that. Going with your recommendation first cause U said so and because Sourceforge is a pretty good source from my experiences. Thanks so much again, Diligent

 

[Brink]

You're most welcome. I hope it serves you well.