Many programs the user needs work well only when they are installed in a special folder called Program Files. However, due to the large size of the programs, the space on the C drive becomes insufficient, and there is a need to move this folder to another drive.
Instructions
Step 1
You can transfer the Program Files folder with all the contents from the hard drive C, where it was originally located, to the D drive in the following way. In Vista and Windows 7, boot the LiveCD of Acronis Backup & Recovery Server, then create an image of the C: Program Files folder and then restore the resulting image to D.
Step 2
Then, without starting Windows yet, load the LiveCD with WinPE and erase the Program Files folder from its original location on the C drive. Instead, leave the link using MKLINK / J.
Step 3
After that, boot Windows, then open regedit, where change the two keys, with the help of which the new location of the folder on the D disk is overwritten. It is written as follows: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurr entVersionProgramFilesDir This procedure is necessary for the correct installation of updates in the future, because MS Update does not work with symbolic links.
Step 4
For Windows XP, the following method is suitable. It is advisable to move the folder immediately after reinstalling the operating system - then all new programs will be immediately written to the new disk D. Go to the main menu through the "start" button. In the menu that appears, click on the "run" line, then enter the regedit command and confirm it by clicking on OK.
Step 5
In the window that appears, find the HKEY LOCAL MACHINE line, next to which click on "+", and then also find the lines SOFTWARE, Microsoft, Windows, near which you also need to click on "+".
Step 6
Next, on the CurrentVersion line, you need to double-click the left button with the mouse. On the line ab ProgremFilesDir, right-click it and in the window that appears, select the "change" option - here you need to change C to D in the "value" line (if you need to transfer the folder to the D drive).
Step 7
The same sequence of operations must be carried out further with the line ab CommonFilesDir. After all the steps taken, restart the computer. After such manipulations, the Program Files folder will already be on the desired disk.
