Move your Documents And Settings USERNAME profile off of the C: drive

Contributed by ibe98765

Tagged: Windows

Microsoft (and too many other amateurs) dump everything onto the C: drive. They aren’t cognizant of the advantages of using partitioning or logical drives.

What follows is a power user tip that allows you to relatively easily move ALL your personalized settings in C:\Documents and Settings to another partition. This is a damm sight easier than messing with TweakUI, X-Setup, etc.

I keep my settings on my D: drive. This way, if I have to wipe the C: drive to refresh Windows, I can easily get most of my settings and old files back instead of starting from ground zero. This has worked for me in Win2k and WinXP and has made systems refreshes a lot easier over the years.

Note that you’re really just changing one registry sub-key here. The rest is just to logoff the user account, copy the settings to the new location and then logon to the user account.

Step 1
1. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
2. Under this key, there will be some number of profiles (usually 6), each of these which represents a user name that you will find under C:\Documents and Settings.
3. Click on each PROFILE key entry and look at the value ProfileImagePath to identify which one represents your username.
4. Inside the registry editor, using RegEdit or a clone registry editing program (I use Registrar Lite), edit this ProfileImagePath value that represents your username and CHANGE the path to where you want to move your settings to. In my case, I wanted to move my settings from C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME to “D:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME”.
5. Save this new path value in the registry editing program.
6. Now export the whole profile key that contains this value. You will be prompted for a file name to save the exported information to. Pick a location on your hard disk (not on the C drive) and export the key. When you finish the export and look at the output file, it should look something like this (note that exported filename locations inside the registry always represent a single “\” character with two “\\” characters)
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\S-1-5-21-220523388-484763869-725345543-1003] "ProfileImagePath"="D:\\Documents and Settings\\USERNAME" "Sid"=hex01,05,00,00,00,00,00,05,15,00,00,00,7c,eb,24,0d,dd,e8,e4,1c,07,e5,3b,\2b,eb,03,00,00 "Flags"=dword00000000 "State"=dword00000100 "CentralProfile"="" "ProfileLoadTimeLow"=dword68b90756 "ProfileLoadTimeHigh"=dword01c5b12b "RefCount"=dword00000001 "RunLogonScriptSync"=dword00000030 "OptimizedLogonStatus"=dword0000000b

7. Delete everything below your new path name. It should now look like this:
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\S-1-5-21-220523388-484763869-725345543-1003] "ProfileImagePath"="D:\\Documents and Settings\\USERNAME"

Step 2
1. Now do a full reboot (don’t just logoff/on) and sign into the ADMINISTRATOR account
2. Copy C:\Documents and Settings\Username folder (including all sub-folders) to the new path location where the target users personal settings are to be saved (D:\Documents and Settings\XYZ in this example).
3. Logoff the Administrator account and back onto the User account
4. Run the registry file you previously exported to and edited with the .REG extension (right-click it and choose merge)
5. Reboot the computer again and logon to the USER account
6. Go to C:\Documents and Settings\Username and try to delete the complete folder structure
8. If Windows allows you to do this, then you have successfully transferred your settings to the new path location and all is well. Voila!

9. If Windows says that you can’t delete it because it or something in it is required by the system, then you’ve done something wrong. Open Regedit and make sure that you have modified the correct location for the user account and that it has been correctly updated.
10. If you have the right location and it hasn’t been updated, figure out why.
11. You might have to do a system restore if you’ve messed something up badly, so take a backup before and be prepared to do this if necessary.
12. Generally, an imaging program that can be initiated from DOS is the best way to restore everything if you run into problems.

33 Comments -

dev pandey said on October 23, 2008

i think its good idea but i can’t to make like that plz can u give to Essy to move Idea
Sausages said on October 28, 2008

Why do you need to do this in two steps with a registry import/export? Can’t you just log in as Administrator to make the Regsitry changes, then copy the profile files to the new location, reboot and log in as the ‘moved’ user?
I can’t see the point in making the registry changes, exporting them, then logging in as Administrator and re-importing them again?
beandogger said on November 9, 2008

This totally screwed up my computer. Luckily I backed up my computer.
mopheat said on November 29, 2008

Thanks for your information…
alan said on December 2, 2008

Since I am trying to migrate awy from Micro$oft, I ALWAYS install Linux on any computer I own, This allowed me to use Linux to copy the entire Documents and Settings folder to the destination drive. I then downloaded one of the free registry find and replaceutilites from the net and use it to replace al instances of [root drive letter]:Documents and Settings with [target drive letter]:Documents and Settings. I also checked to make sure there were no other registry values referencing the old folder eg. %systemroot%Documents and Settings and changed all that I found.

I had to use explorer to hide the two system folders in Documents and Settings. the only really wierd thing was that when I rebooted, Notepad opened displaying the contents of a file called desktop.ini. A quick search of the net for the contents of the file led me to the following MS support article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/330132 .Followed the instructions and everything seems fine now. I have moved my home folder off the root drive in Linux anf it is very straightforward compared to this.
Petruza said on December 16, 2008

Under the same key, you can find the value “ProfilesDirectory” wich holds the default directory ( C:Documents and settings ) where new profiles will be created.

So if you don’t want to do this over and over for every new user you create, you can change its value here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionProfileListProfilesDirectory
siva said on March 18, 2009

thanks for ur help?
Anonymous said on March 22, 2009

My edited and saved registry file also appeared in hexadecimal, but it worked just fine anyway.
Anonymous said on March 22, 2009

Thanks! This was very helpful!

I’d add one more number to Step 2 (#0.) those instructions:

Step 2
0. Create a new Admin User Account. Log out or your User Account and Log into the new Admin User Account.
1. Now ….
P Seaman said on April 17, 2009

Tried and failed on the Copy… Could not copy several PRF files or the CardServices folder
Was unable to continue with this solution.
Rem said on June 4, 2009

I like Richard’s solution of mounting the new Documents and Settings partition over the C:Documents and Settings path, and also for the C:Program files

Seems slicker, without having to mess around with the Registry (not an issue for me)

I’m about to clone my physical partitions to a VMimage with VMWare Converter, so I’m wondering if this technique would be portable to the VM, (making the Windows partition image much smaller).
Do you think this would work?
Would I be able to mount the Docs & Setts in the VM (or would there be a locking conflict?)

Everything Ghosted, so I’ll try anyway, but would appreciate anyone’s thoughts.

Cheers,
Rem
troybastydalayoan said on June 14, 2009

hello
Tom Ford Sunglasses said on June 17, 2009

thanks for this post, it can help those who has lack of knowledge in their computer programs. but i haven’t tried it yet.
Sharon said on July 29, 2009

Hi, Richard! I have no idea if you’ll ever see this, but I figured I’d give it a try. I’ve tried everything to get my docs & settings off the C: drive and I’m pretty frustrated. Your solution sounded so doable to me, but I can’t get BartPE to build because of my Dell. I’ve read threads about fixes, and tried the Dell plugin, but no luck. I’m afraid I’m way in over my head with this stuff. Is there anything that works better with a Dell, just so I can get these docs off my OS drive – or did I have a 2nd drive installed for nothing? Thanks in advance if you happen to read this and answer.
Sharon
Anonymous said on December 17, 2009

i’m trying to follow the instructions above, but when i go to my directories, there is no c:documents and settings

Please help
BWBear said on December 28, 2009

Moving Documents and Settings can be a problematic venture and, from experience, involves quite a lot of troubleshooting after the main changes have been made. Richard I really like your solution of mounting an NTFS volume into the empty directory. It is simple (no registry delving), effective and a lot less likely to cause problems than trying to point windows xp to a different location. I have now done this on my home desktop and it’s working great.

There is one minor snag, but certainly not a deal breaker. Windows XP has a bug that makes it impossible to delete (to recycle bin) folders from a mounted drive. So, imagine I have mounted drive “D:” to “C:Document and Settings”. If I attempt to delete any folder from within “C:Document and Settings” an access denied error message will appear. The problem does not affect files, only folders, and all other files and folder operations (create, access, move, rename, etc.) are not affected.

As I understand it, the problem relates to windows attempting to move the file to the wrong recycle folder. There are several work arounds:

1) Permanently delete the folder instead of deleting to recycle bin, by holding down shift whilst pressing/clicking delete.
2) Accessing the folder from the mounted drive directly (i.e. D:) instead of going via the folder it is mounted on to.
3) Cut and paste the folder to the C: root (or any other location on C: other than the mounted drive folder) and then delete as usual.

For more info see: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/243514.
BWBear said on December 28, 2009

Moving Documents and Settings can be a problematic venture and, from experience, involves quite a lot of troubleshooting after the main changes have been made. Richard I really like your solution of mounting an NTFS volume into the empty directory. It is simple (no registry delving), effective and a lot less likely to cause problems than trying to point windows xp to a different location. I have now done this on my home desktop and it’s working great.

There is one minor snag, but certainly not a deal breaker. Windows XP has a bug that makes it impossible to delete (to recycle bin) folders from a mounted drive. So, imagine I have mounted drive “D:” to “C:Document and Settings”. If I attempt to delete any folder from within “C:Document and Settings” an access denied error message will appear. The problem does not affect files, only folders, and all other files and folder operations (create, access, move, rename, etc.) are not affected.

As I understand it, the problem relates to windows attempting to move the file to the wrong recycle folder. There are several work arounds:

1) Permanently delete the folder instead of deleting to recycle bin, by holding down shift whilst pressing/clicking delete.
2) Accessing the folder from the mounted drive directly (i.e. D:) instead of going via the folder it is mounted on to.
3) Cut and paste the folder to the C: root (or any other location on C: other than the mounted drive folder) and then delete as usual.

For more info see: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/243514.
BWBear said on December 28, 2009

mc31 are you using Windows XP or a newer version? I think this folder is now called “C:Users” in Vista/Windows 7 but others may like to confirm this.
F0rre5ter said on January 5, 2010

How about putting the stuff in red at the top.
ray said on January 21, 2010

Can’t you just do this?

How to move My Documents folder to a new location
Ok, so now to the main point of this post. Moving your My Documents folder is actually quite a simple process and can be done by anyone. Here’s how:
1. Right-click on the My Documents folder and choose Properties

2. Click Move and choose the desired location for your My Documents folder. Remember, it would be best to move it to a different PHYSICAL drive if possible. If not, move it to a different partition at least.

3. Click Ok and then click Apply. You’ll be asked whether you want to move all of the current documents to the new location or not. Choose Yes.

And that’s it! Your documents will be moved to the new location and when you click the My Documents icon on your desktop, it’ll open just as before.
BWBear said on January 23, 2010

Thanks for your comments Ray, but that’s not really what we’re talking about here. It is very easy to move the “My Documents” folder to any location, but not so for moving entire user profiles, or the “C:Documents and Settings” folder itself.

My favourite method is the one above from Richard (anonymous). Mounting another NTFS volume to the folder is a really simple and clean way of achieving what we’re after without worrying about rogue programs with hardwired directory paths and endless registry editing.
b0knarf said on March 3, 2010

The method I used to achieve this involved copying “documents and settings” to another partition then changing the drive letter for everything @ “HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerUser Shell Folders” and “HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerShell Folders”.
Lots of logging off and on and rebooting. Some folder regeneration has occurred.

I wish I had come across this recipe sooner. I am going to try it after I reinstall xp. It should save me a lot of time. Thanks.
Anonymous said on March 23, 2010

Lost right outta the shute! How do I “1. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsNTCurrentVersionProfileList”?
Anonymous said on May 9, 2010

Gotta love this THX ibe98765 worked perfect!!
If any of you have a problem, just don’t try to think, just do exactly what is stated and NOTHING else :-D
Anonymous said on May 9, 2010

Red is still red. No one should ever start doing this without having read through it all first.
GuestX said on June 14, 2010

Can you just use NTFS junction point to point to directory on another drive/ partition?
Salabim said on August 30, 2010

Not a great idea at all, for this to be a safe way of working, you have to have a recent backup of C:/ AND D:/ drives instead of only C:

….besides, what do you win with moving this userfolder to D:/ ???????????
Azhoon1980 said on September 22, 2010

i want change my username and all proreties is changed and document and setting
Phyiphyozaw said on October 17, 2010

is this work with the domain user ????
Kc Huan said on October 27, 2010

Yes. make sure u give full right to domain users
Cyrix96 said on February 1, 2011

I have tried this, but when I make the change to D: drive and create a new profile, I get an error message logging in with the new user saying it can’t find it’s profile. Are there other settings that must be changed as well?
Aslam said on March 21, 2011

i am having windows 7 professional in my laptop, i am getting two profile path in c drive .–one is users , another is document and setting. whenever i am saving any document it is getting saved in said two places.

how can delete the folder document and setting from c drive

aslam,
shillong
Javalotodo said on April 5, 2011

Works FINE.
For those who had configured Welcome screen won`t be able to login with Administrator’s account. You have to make sure Welcome screen is disabled, and that you will be able to login as Administrator. Try it first !!

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