Safely Move Downloads from C Drive to D Drive

About Downloads folder

The downloads folder is the default store location when you download files, documents, game files… Those files will store in the download folder that is situated in the C drive. Thus, as time goes on, if you don’t clear the download folder, it can be one of the space killers to encroach the free space in your C drive, your PC will perform slower and slower and your programs also get stuck frequently. Can we move it to save my computer? Or can we move something out from the downloads folder to another drive to release the C drive? How to do it? Here, we have some suggestions to help you.

How to move Downloads from C drive to D drive

Method 1. Move Downloads folder via File Explorer in Windows 10

When the space of the C drive fades away gradually, some users will try to move the downloads folder from the C drive to the D drive or another drive with enough space. With Properties in Windows 10, users can move this folder to another location.

Step 1. Open “This PC” and choose a drive you want to place the downloads folder, like E drive.

Step 2. Create a new folder to store the downloads folder, you can name it whatever you like.

Step 3. Back to “This PC”, right-click the downloads folder in the C drive, and choose “Properties”.

▶ Note: If you can’t see the downloads folder in the main window of “This PC”, the path is: C:\Users\username\.

Step 4. In the properties window, click “Location” and select “Move”.

Step 5. In the “Select Destination” window, go to the folder you created earlier, select it, and click “Select Folder”.

Step 6. You can see the new location in the properties window, click “Apply” and “Ok” to save changes.

Step 7. There will be a popup window on the screen. Click “Yes”.

Then, the downloads folder will be moved to your new folder. And the things you download will be saved in this new folder by default.

▶ Tip: This method can also be used in Windows 7/8.

Method 2. Move the Downloads folder with a professional folder move tool

You see, if you use File Explorer, you'll need to modify the path by yourself. But, if you try AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, things will be easier. It's a practical Windows disk & partition manager for Windows 11/10/8/8.1/7/XP users to efficiently and conveniently manage their devices.

With the "Move Folder" feature, you can move folders with a few clicks.

Step 1. Install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant, click “Free up” in the top toolbar and select “APP Mover”.

Step 2. In the new window, click “Move Folder”.

Step 3.  Select the folder you want to move. Choose the location drive under the window, and click “Move”.

Step 4. You will see a pop-up message to confirm forcibly closing running applications when moving starts. Click "OK" to begin the process.

Further reading: Move programs from the Downloads folder

If you check the downloads folder, there may have stored some programs, like games or other applications, what’s more, many programs take up more space than those files require. Therefore, moving those programs might be a better choice than moving the folder itself.

This powerful tool also can move your programs from one drive to another without any worries of boot failure or the limits of Windows. Now, let’s see how to move programs from C drive to D drive to release more free space in C drive with this convenient tool.

Step 1. Run this tool, in the main window, click “Free up” in the top toolbar and select “APP Mover”.

Step 2. In the new window, click “App Mover”.

Step 3. In the new window, there’s a partition list with the number and size of installed programs. Select one partition that you want to move applications from and click "Next".

Step 4. In the next window, select the applications you want to move and select the target location, then click "Move".

Step 5. In the pop-up window, please confirm forcibly closing running applications when moving starts. Click "OK" to begin the process.

Step 6. In the main console, click "Apply" on the toolbar to commit the partition copy.

▶ Warning: To ensure the apps run properly, please don't move or delete files in the source and target directory.

Ending lines

With all the above suggestions no matter how to move the downloads folder itself or move programs from C drive to D driver available to free up space on C drive, you can select the one that’s the most suitable for your computer. However, as you can see, AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro doesn’t have complex steps or unknown limits to restrict you. What's more, you can scan and delete large files on your PC to reclaim more free space.