How to Move Default Folders Windows 10 [3 Ways]

What are default folders in Windows 10?

In Windows 10, all of your user files and folders from the website or other channels will be stored in C:\Users, followed by your username. These default folders include but are not limited to Desktop, Downloads, Documents, Music, Videos, and Pictures, which can be seen in File Explorer under "This PC" or "Quick Access".

If your C drive has little space available, you may want to delete large files or move default folders Windows 10 to another drive, so that enough room can be left on your Windows system drive. To be honest, this way makes sense in avoiding the potential of C drive full issue and benefits the speed of your computer. If you consider transferring default files as a backup, it certainly helps you protect your data.

The following content aims to give you reliable ways to change the location of default folders in Windows 10, hope it may help you.

How do I move the default folder to another drive in Windows 10?

When it comes to Windows 10 change default user folder location, it's reasonable for you to think of "Copy" and "Paste", the most common and easiest method highly used in daily use. But it's far from enough. Some files or folders cannot be moved in this way and even worse, some programs fail to run normally and successfully as before. Thus, this part will introduce you another three ways to move default folders Windows 10 safely to ensure the process won't cause any problems.

• Method 1. Use File Explorer
• Method 2. Use Registry Editor
• Method 3. Use third-party software

Method 1. Use File Explorer

The first way is friendly and commonly used in changing the location of User folder like Documents, Videos, and Pictures,etc.

Step 1. Press"Windows + E" together to open "File Explorer".

Step 2. Right-click files or folders and choose "Properties".

Step 3. In the "Document Properties" window, click "Location" tab and then choose "Move".

Step 4. Now, choose another drive as a destination location, and click "Apply" to finish the process. (You need to create folders with the same name in the target location beforehand, otherwise, the movement may fail or the data may be lost.)

Method 2. Use Registry Editor

The second way is to apply Registry Editor, which is useful but more challenging for users to move default folders to a different drive. Thus, you must take care of every step to make sure the movement will be successful.

Step 1. Press "Windows + R" at the same time to open the Run box.

Step 2. Input "regedit" or "regedit.exe" and click "OK" to run Registry Editor window. 

Step 3. Follow the path "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Wow6432Node \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion" and you will see all the User folders are listed.

For Windows 7/8/8.1: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion"

Step 4. Find the data or string named "%USERPROFILE%\Documents" (here we take Documents as example), right-click it and then choose "Modify".

Step 5. Now, under "Value data", type the new location or path as you like (e.g. "D:\Documents") and click "OK". (You need to set the new folders in advance.)

Step 6. Close Registry Editor and restart your computer to see if it's done.

Method 3. Use third-party software

As we can see, although the two methods introduced above are available, there are too many steps for users to complete and it's complicated to create folders with the same name in the new location before moving. Therefore, a more convenient way is to employ a versatile tool named AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional which is designed for Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista users. Its "App Mover" feature allows you to move folders from one partition to another (including external drive) and it will automatically change the store path for you, so you don't need to change it manually.

Now, download the demo version and see how to move default folders Windows 10 to another drive:

Step 1. Install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant, click "Free up" on the top panel and then choose "App Mover".

Step 2. In the new window, click "Move Folders".

Step 3. Select the folders you want to move and choose the location drive under the window, and click "Move". Please make sure the target drive has sufficient free space to store your folders, if not, extend the partition can help a lot.

Step 4. You will see a pop-up message to confirm forcibly closing running applications when moving starts. Click "OK" to begin Windows 10 move default folders to another drive.

Step 5. Wait for a while, and click "Finish" .

Further knowledge: How to move programs from C drive to D drive?

Apart from moving folders, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional can also make it easy for all users to move some installed games or programs to a new location. Let's have a look.

Step 1. Launch AOMEI software, click "Free up" in the top bar, then select the "App Mover" feature.

Step 2. In the new window, you will see all partitions are displayed. Select one partition that you want to move applications from and click "Next".

Step 3. Choose applications you want to move and select the target location, then click "Move".

Step 4. In the pop-up window, you need to confirm forcibly closing running applications when moving starts. Click "OK" to begin the process.

Just wait a few seconds, the movement is done, and click "Finish" to exit the window. Then, you can open an app to check if it can run as usual.

Summary

If you meet the issue that C drive has little free space, or you just want to make a copy of your important folders, changing default user folder location can be a great choice. After reading this tutorial, you have learned three step-by-step guides to make out how to move default folders Windows 10.

If necessary, don't hesitate to apply any one of them to have a try. If you download AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, you can also enjoy more useful and powerful functions in this software, such as migrating OS to SSD to speed up your computer, changing FAT32 TO NTFS without formatting, converting MBR to GPT without data loss, etc.