Move user folders to new partition
My Windows 10 PC has a large data partition I’d like to store documents and other personal files on. How can I point Windows to this partition?
Cat Ellis replies: We’ve put together a short step-by-step guide that reveals how to move your data and let Windows know where it’s now residing. It’ll also show you what to do after a reinstallation in order to regain access to those folders using your newly recreated user account.
1. Create a named folder (such as ‘Donald’) on your data partition, then create folders inside this for Documents, Pictures, Videos and any other system folders — including desktop and downloads — that you want to move.
2. Open File Explorer and click ‘This PC’ to reveal six of your user folders (or browse to C:\ Users\ <Username> to reveal more such as Searches or Favourites). Start by right-clicking the Documents folder and choosing ‘Properties’.
3. Switch to the ‘Location’ tab and click the ‘Move…’ button. Navigate to the named folder you created in Step 1, then select the Documents folder and click ‘Select Folder’ followed by ‘ Apply’ and ‘Yes’. Repeat for each folder you wish to move.
4. If you later reinstall Windows using the same user account, simply repeat Steps 2 and 3 to pair the folders with Windows again; if not, you may get a prompt about access being denied — if so, click ‘Continue’ to regain access.
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