What Files Can Be Moved C Drive to D Drive in Windows 10 and How to

What files can I move from C drive to D drive?

My C drive doesn’t have much space but there’s still lots of free space on my D drive. Theoretically, I can move some files from C drive to D drive. The problem is that I don’t know which of them can be moved. Please tell me what files can I move, and if it’s possible, it’ll be so nice to recommend some easy ways. Thanks a lot!

- From Microsoft Community

Moving some redundant files for C drive is a quick-witted way to save your C drive, like all the data under the " Users " folder, yet some files can’t be moved otherwise it will cause serious results.

As a system drive, C drive has various default files, if you are not clear about their functions, you’d better not move them, or it will affect the system. Severely, it may cause failure to boot normally.

4 methods to safely move files from C drive to D drive

In this part, we will give your 4 ways to safely move files from C drive to D drive or another drive. 

1. Move files via Command Prompt

You can use Command Prompt to operate.

Step 1. Press” Windows” and “R” at the same time, then type “CMD” and hit” Enter”.

Step 2. Type” copy c:\workfile.txt d:” in the popup window.

Step 3. Enter” workfile.txt”, and type” copy *.txt d:" to copy text to D drive.

However, this manner may cause the programs which contain the files you move can’t boot. And if you type the wrong command, your files and data may be lost or damaged, which also will cause the relevant programs to fail to activate.

2. Utilize AOMEI Partition Assistant

A convenient and reliable third-party application is also a handy way to move all files from C drive to D drive, AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard is such a powerful helper, its “Partition Clone Wizard”  feature can assist you to protect important files and datum against any risk from deletion or error. And if you want to move installed programs and large data folders, this tool has "App Mover" and "Move Folders" functions.

▶ No 1. Move files via Partition Clone Wizard

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, choose C drive, right-click it, find “Clone Partition” in the menu, click it.

Step 2. In the Partition Clone Operation window, select” Clone Partition Quickly” and click “Next”.

Step 3. Select your destination space to place your files.

Step 4. You can change the name of this new partition as you like, click “Finish” to return the main window, then click “Apply”.

▶ No. 2 Move programs via App Mover

What if you don't want to move all files? Is there a way to move your programs or folders on C drive? Of course, by AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, you can move an application or multiple apps with the “App Mover” function which can help you transfer folders and programs entirely once and for all. Here are some steps of this function.

Step 1. Run AOMEI Partition Assistant, and choose “App Mover” in the “Free up” bar.

Step 2. Select the partition with the programs you want to move.

Step 3. Choose the applications you wish to move to and select the destination location.

Step 4. Click “ Move”, don’t click “ Cancel”  to meddle with the procedure.

Step 5. Click” Finish” to over the process.

▶ No3. Move folders via Move folder

Step 1. Click “Tools” > “App Mover” and click “Move Folder”.

Step 2. Select the folder you want to move. Choose the location drive under the window, and click “Move”.

Step 2. You will see a pop-up message to confirm forcibly closing running applications when moving starts. Click "OK" to begin the process.

Wait for a while, all selected folders will be moved safely.

3. Drag & Drop

This traditional manner can also move your file but it may also lead to the failure to run your programs because you may lose some unknown crucial files.

Step 1. Open “My Computer”, find the files you want to move, select them, right-click to open the menu, choose “Cut” and “Paste” or drag them to the destination folders.

Warning: The prerequisite of this solution is that you know what files are movable.

4. Move files from C Drive to D Drive via the Windows Move function

This function applies to some files, but the system may not recognize the save path because the system won’t change the path automatically, thus this method also has the possibility of failing startup procedures. So this method is nice for those files in the User folder like documents, favorites, music, etc. If you want to have a try, please read the following steps.

Step 1. Press” Windows” and “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” and “Move”.

Step 4. Now, choose a destination location, and click” Apply” to finish the process.

To sum up

With these four finesses, you can move your files from C drive to D drive without the malady of losing data or damaging your C drive. Virtually, the safest strategy is the second one because you don’t need to manipulate those unfamiliar files and folders each by each, which is easy to lead to irreversible faults due to your incorrect manners.

AOMEI Partition Assistant is a multifunctional tool for Windows users, it can convert a disk to MBR/GPT without deleting partitions, check disk health, and so on. In addition, it has the Server Edition for Windows Server 2025/2022/2019/2016/2012(R2)/2008(R2)/2003 users to conveniently manage their computers and disks.