User Profiles - Create and Move During Windows 7 Installation

How to Create User Accounts on another Partition or Disk During Windows 7 Installation ​

   Information

There are several methods to move user profiles to another disk or partition after you have installed Windows 7. The easiest way is to use Audit Mode and System Preparation Tool, both built-in Windows 7 features, to permanently move the location of the folder Users.

This tutorial shows how to relocate both Users and ProgramData to another disk or partition when doing a new, fresh and clean install of Windows 7. If you have already installed Seven, and you'd like to move those folders away from their default location in C: drive, please read first post number 22 in this thread. Follow the steps told in that post, and continue then from beginning of the page 4 in this tutorial.

When Windows 7 is installed, 5 or 6 system folders are created depending on chosen bit-version:

• PerfLogs (Performance Logs), where Windows stores performance and reliability logs
• Program Files, where applications and software are installed. Windows x86 (32-bit) stores all applications here, Windows x64 (64-bit) only native 64-bit applications
• Program Files (x86), only in Windows x64. All non-x64 applications are stored here
• Windows, which contains core operating system files and drivers
• ProgramData, where some applications store application and user specific settings and configuration files
• Users. This is the "home" of all user folders. When a new user account is created and this new user logs in first time, Windows creates a set of user specific folders Users\New_User

Moving Windows and Program Files folders is not recommend by Microsoft. However, moving both Users and ProgramData folders is safe and can save a lot of space on system disk. Pictures, mp3’s videos, documents and so on, a user folder with its subfolders can be tens, sometimes hundreds of gigabytes.

For instance, using this laptop of mine as an example, the total size of Users folder and subfolders is at the moment about 240 GB. The size of ProgramData folder is at the moment almost 18 GB. I simply could not have these folders stored in my system C: drive, there’s not enough space.

When installing Windows 7, I recommend using Windows System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) in so called Audit Mode to relocate Users and ProgramData, leaving C: drive only for Windows and applications.

   Warning

An upgraded Windows cannot be sysprepped. As this method is based in sysprepping, this tutorial is valid only for Windows setups which have not been upgraded.

This means that if you have for instance in-place upgraded Vista to Seven, you cannot sysprep. The same applies if you have upgraded from a lesser edition to a better edition, for instance from Windows 7 Home Premium to Professional.

Notice that a repair install is also an upgrade install, so if you have ever done a repair install (= in-place upgrade to same edition), you cannot sysprep.

In other words, when sysprepping an existing Windows setup it only works if the Windows was installed clean and has never been upgraded or repaired using repair install, or if it is the original pre-installed Windows.

Using this method causes Windows 7 to lose activation information, and it needs to be reactivated afterwards. If your Windows 7 is an OEM version, you might not be able to reactivate it, at least not without phone activation option.

   Warning

IE10 Users: Please read this article first: Sysprep Fatal Error With IE 10 (FIX) | System Administration

Complete tutorial as PDF: View attachment Relocate User folders during Windows 7 installation.pdf (1.22 MB)

Kari

Related Tutorials

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• How to Change the Default Location of a User Profile in Windows 7 and Vista
• How to Change the Default Location of Windows 7 User Folders
• How to Restore the Default Location of Windows 7 User Folders
• 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

 

[Gronnie]

Something happened to my laptop. When I boot I get an error titled Location is not available with the message "C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop refers to a location that is unavailable. It could be on a hard drive on this computer, or on a network. Check to make sure that the disk is properly inserted, or that you are connected to the Internet or your network, and then try again. If it still cannot be located, the information might have been moved to a different location."

I know the drive is connected because I can still access all the data on it, so not sure what the problem is. None of my installed programs work either (must have also lost the link to program data?)

I started trying to fix it by getting into Audit mode by entering the command C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\Sysprep.exe /audit /reboot into an elevated command prompt, but that returns the error "A fatal error occured while trying to sysprep the machine."

I have no idea how to proceed.

 

[VistaKing]

Have you tried running this in command prompt before running the sysprep command

net stop WMPNetworkSvc

 

[Gronnie]

Just tried it. Same message "A fatal error occurred while trying to sysprep the machine."

 

[VistaKing]

Do you have a second partition ? You have to create the partition before you sysprep or even before you install.

 

[Gronnie]

Yes, I have two drives installed. C is a Samsung 840 and D is the old HDD. I already had everything successfully setup with user files and program data on D, and then randomly this error started occurring.

 

[Gronnie]

Hmmm... I think I just figured out the problem. I went to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList and there were two indentical profiles. I deleted the extra one, rebooted, and now everything seems to be working again.... weird, wonder how that happened.

 

[VistaKing]

Did you manually create the folders inside D:\ ? The folders are created when you log in with a user account ?

 

[Gronnie]

Nope, I only had my one personal user account, and everything had been created originally using the tutorial instructions and everything was working great for the last month or so.

 

[Gronnie]

Somehow that other profile with an identical value had been created in the registry and had to have been what was messing things up, maybe it happened when I installed Microsoft update today?

 

[VistaKing]

Maybe ... There was a lot of issues with that update. I hid it from view.

 

[frodi]

ssd profile relocation and kaspersky

I have to again relocate my user profile and files from the ssd to hhd. The windows 7 64 bit will be a clean install already on the machine. If I first put Kaspersky on the ssd, is that going to be moved to the hhd? Is it better to first move the user-profile and then install Kaspersky on the ssd? I would be without protection for the period it takes me to move the user profile.

 

[Kari]

This time my answer is two questions for you to think.

Question 1: How much protection you think you will need during the time your PC is exclusively moving the profile folder and doing nothing else?

Question 2: Whenever you install Kaspersky, are you going to install it on user profile folder?

 

[frodi]

1- It may be ok without protection for a short while, whatever protection I install shall have to be removed to facilitate kaspersky.

2- I thought that all Apps were automatically installed to the C drive, and documents etc to the D drive after the user profile was moved to the D drive.

 

[Kari]

Installing AV can wait on a new machine until you have sysprepped it. Sysprep first, AV thereafter. If you are so concerned that someone or something could get in to a new machine when it first boots after a clean install and machine is not connected to the Internet, then you have bigger problems to worry.

My recommendation to you: unplug the Ethernet cable and disable WiFi when in Audit Mode after installation, that takes care of the security. Sysprep, boot normally, install AV, and only then connect Ethernet and enable WiFi.

Yes, all apps and programs are by default installed on C: drive in Windows. They will be installed on C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86) folders. This method does not relocate those program folders, just the Users and ProgramData folders.

Kari

 

[frodi]

Thank you Kari.

 

[Lammypie1910]

I don't know if this has been asked already. I looked but there's a lot of pages. If I wanted to move only the users folder. And NOT the program data. Would merely deleting.
<ProgramData>d:\ProgramData</ProgramData>.
That line work?

 

[Kari]

Hi Lammypie1910, welcome to the Seven Forums.

Yes, removing that one line from the answer file is all you have to do not to move ProgramData folder.

Kari

 

[rlstroncek]

Kari,
I am trying to follow User Profiles - Create and Move During Windows 7 Installation (ultimate 64 bit). I installed all of my software and updates already. I've also copied and saved your "relocate.xml" file to my hard drive. The SysPrep tool Gui is set to "Enter System Audit Mode" & "Reboot". My problem is that after I open a command prompt window and enter the commands to run the relocate.xml script, hit enter, I get an error box !Another copy of this application is already running. I do not know how to avoid this error. Can you help me, thanks.

 

[Kari]

Hi Ristroncek, welcome to the Seven Forums.

You need to close the sysprep GUI first by clicking Cancel. As long as it is open, you cannot run another instance of sysprep from command prompt.

In tutorial it is very clearly told that when you enter Audit Mode, you need to close the sysprep GUI first by pressing cancel.

Kari

 

[tarrant6]

question about Creating a script

Hi Kari,
First off... thanks for creating this guide for relocating user folders, I have been looking for something like this for a while. The user folder issue is what has kept me from upgrading to a SSD.
My question is regarding the script in Row 4: when installing Windows x64 (64-bit), value prosessorArchitecture should be amd64, what if my processor is an Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 and not an AMD processor?
I apologize if this is a stupid question… but I want to make sure I understand correctly before I proceed with my hardware upgrade and clean windows install.
Thanks,
Tarrant