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

---

• 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

 

[Britton30]

Open a http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/783-elevated-command-prompt.html and see what it says.

 

[Kari]

Command prompt by default opens on your user profile folder. If your user profile is on C:\Users\Frodi, the command prompt opens there, if on F:\Users\Frodi it opens there.

An elevated command prompt (Run as administrator) by default opens on C:\Windows\System32.

To change drive in command prompt simply type the letter of the drive followed by colon and press Enter. Use then CD commands to move to correct folder, command CD \ always returns to the root of current drive.

If I for instance open the command prompt on this computer, it opens on D:\Users\Kari. If I want to see command prompt on C:\Windows\System32, I first switch to C: drive by typing C:, then move with CD Windows\System32 to that folder. Back to root of the C: drive with CD \ as seen here:



To answer your question about fatal error we need a lot more information. Which edition of Windows, upgraded or clean install, your answer file (script), which drives you have, where and on which drive you have your Windows installation media when you sysprep, which edition of Windows install media you are using when sysprepping and so on.

Kari

 

[Britton30]

Is it possible to do a repair install of the OS and maintain the Users and ProgramData on the separate drive?

 

[Kari]

Is it possible to do a repair install of the OS and maintain the Users and ProgramData on the separate drive?

Sorry, it is not possible:



My repair procedure, have done it a few times:

• Relocate Users and ProgramData back to default locations by booting to Audit Mode and running sysprep with modified answer file (environment variable FolderLocations set to defaults on C:)
• Do the repair install
• Relocate Users and ProgramData back to wherever you had them

Kari

 

[Britton30]

Would this be the correct answer file then? My install media will be a USB stick and it shows up as F as my system is at the moment.
View attachment Move.zip

 

[Kari]

Yes, that's OK if:

1. You have a 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate
2. The install media (DVD or ISO) is on F: drive

Start > Run > C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\Sysprep.exe /audit /reboot, after reboot run sysprep using this answer file as told in tutorial. It moves Users and ProgramData back to default locations on C:.

After sysprep has run and computer once again rebooted to Audit Mode, do an OOBE boot to exit Audit Mode as told in tutorial. Notice that you need to go through full OOBE / Welcome phase by entering the initial username and computer name and letting Windows to boot to desktop. At this phase although your previous user accounts remain in system you need to use a new not used username. I always use user Test here.

When finally on desktop in normal (OOBE / Welcome) mode, start repair install. When repair install stops after last reboot for username & computer name press CTRL + SHIFT + F3 to enter (reboot to) Audit Mode and run sysprep again to move folders back where you want to. Continue as told in tutorial.

Going to bed, it's half past one here, but I will stay online another 10 to 20 minutes if you have any additional questions. Otherwise it has to wait until tomorrow.

Kari

 

[Kari]

Forgot from previous post:

Moving folders back to defaults on C: can take a while, depending on how much there is to move. To avoid an hour long sysprep phase I normally backup docs, pics, music, videos etc. and delete them from user folders to make folders to be moved as empty as possible. DO NOT DELETE ANYTHING ELSE THAN YOUR PERSONAL FILES i.e. let AppData remain intact, as well as the folder structure (OK to delete docs from My Documents but leave the folder itself).

Kari

 

[Britton30]

OK, thanks Kari, go to bed, lol. I think I'm a bit tired to go at this right now. Also upset about the Sandy Hook killings.

 

[Britton30]

After moving my personal data out of Users and starting sysprep I have this error.

 

[Kari]

Did you stop the Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service? Extract from the tutorial:

Based on my own experience, sysprep does not always like Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service (WMPNetworkSvc). Reason is unknown to me. If you get an error message when trying to run the XML script, end the service and try again.

Type this to Command Prompt to stop the mentioned service and press Enter:

net stop WMPNetworkSvc

Now run the script with sysprep command once again.

Kari

 

[Britton30]

No, I will try that.

 

[Britton30]

Yes, the Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service had to be stopped with each reboot. The bad thing is the Repair install won't work, I got these errors:



So it looks like a clean install.

 

[Kari]

Sorry to hear the bad news. I've had one sysprepped rig that refused repair install, I do not know why. Need to do some creative research...

 

[Britton30]

Well I guess I'll be off to the install. Thanks for the advice Kari!
six hours later....
I have a fresh w7 install on SDD with a data HDD. My install USB was corrupted somehow so I had to download a new one and make a new USB installer. All seem fine...so far.

 

[frodi]

Hi Kari, sorry about the delay, but I am a little busy with Xmas preparations, and will be over the next few days.

About the fatal error in sysprepping: My computer is 2weeks old.The OS is on the SSD. I used the computer to install some programs, such as Microsoft Office, and some applications. The SSD filled up very quickly so I then used your tutorial. Users Profile and Accounts now on D drive.


OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (x64) Service Pack 1 (build 7601)
Processor: 3.20 gigahertz Intel Core i7-3930K
Drives: 3120.52 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
ATA SanDisk SDSSDX12 SCSI Disk Device (120.03 GB
Board: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. P9X79 PRO Rev 1.xx

Local Drives Volumes:
c: (NTFS on drive 0) 119.93 GB 85.91 GB free
d: (NTFS on drive 1) 2000.40 GB 1959.27 GB free

 

[Kari]

Frodi, did you stop the Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service?

The most common reason for fatal errors in relocating folders as told in this tutorial is not to read the whole tutorial .

This from very bottom of the last page of the tutorial:

Based on my own experience, sysprep does not always like Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service (WMPNetworkSvc). Reason is unknown to me. If you get an error message when trying to run the XML script, end the service and try again.

Type this to Command Prompt to stop the mentioned service and press Enter:

net stop WMPNetworkSvc

Now run the script with sysprep command once again.

Kari

 

[frodi]

hi kari, that worked, but now I am faced with a screen that has the windows logo on it, and I do not know what to do.

 

[Kari]

Take a screenshot or photo of that and post here. Please also explain in what phase you are when that appears.

Kari

 

[frodi]

I am really worried.
All I need is to get out of this mode. Thanks for all your help Kari, I hope you can solve this problem.

System Cleanup Action
I had successfully sysprepped and got this notice:
Enter System Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE)
Generalize

Shutdown OPtions
Reboot

I rebooted and the following (screenshot) came up.

 

[frodi]

Hi Kari, I modified the key value (now there is none) But the screen now comes up like this.