Let's talk about the process of changing the path of automatic installation of programs from the system drive to any other, for example, from "C: \\ Program Files" to "D: \\ Installed programs". This method works in Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

When partitioning a hard disk, often those who carry out this software operation forget that the days of undemanding Windows XP, minimalist programs and casual games are long gone. Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, professional software packages and resource-intensive large-scale games from renowned developers require much more space on the system disk than some 3-5 GB, which a few years ago was quite enough for full-fledged work with a PC.

You can fundamentally solve this problem by re-partitioning the hard disk - you need to grab a certain number of gigabytes from non-system disk partitions and transfer them to the system partitions. But this is a serious operation that requires certain skills in the work, and it is unlikely that all users can do it on their own. Moreover, with inept disk repartitioning, the installed operating system may crash and it will be necessary to reinstall it. So it is better to entrust this procedure to experienced users.

But if the computer's system disk is already full, you can solve this problem on your own by simply installing games and programs on another disk - a non-system one, where there is plenty of space. Since all programs and games are installed by default on the C drive, as a rule, in the "Program Files" folder, you can change it to a folder located on a non-system drive by choosing a different path during the installation process - for example, "D: \\ Installed programs \\ Installation folder for a specific program ". And so that each time you install another program or game, you do not manually write your installation path, you can change the automatic installation directory - for example, from drive C to drive D.

To change the path of the automatic installation of programs and games, you will need to make some changes to the Windows registry.

To get into the registry editor Windows 7 you must enter "regedit" in the search box and go to the registry editor. IN Windows XP you need to select the "Run" command from the "Start" menu and enter "regedit" in its field.

Users Windows 8 can use the search that appears when you hover the mouse over the corners of the right side of the screen and enter "regedit" in the search box.

The system editor window will open, and here, in the mass of directories, you need to find the one you need to make the planned settings. We go along this path:

"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" - "SOFTWARE" - "Microsoft" - "Windows" - "CurrentVersion"

The required directory is found, then you need to open the "ProgramFilesDir" or "ProgramFilesDir (x86)" parameter in the right part of the registry editor by double-clicking - this is the entry for the automatic installation of programs and games on a particular computer disk. And in most cases, the default is the classic version of the value - "C: \\ Program Files".

Before setting a new value for automatic installation of programs and games on a non-system drive, you need to create a separate folder on this drive, which will be a kind of analogue of "Program Files". It does not have to be called "Program Files 2", it can be any name, as long as no outsider who has access to the computer thinks that unnecessary files are stored there and does not delete this folder.

So, if the folder for installing programs and games on a non-system disk has already been created, it remains only to change the value of the "ProgramFilesDir" parameter. You need to remove the existing option - "C: \\ Program Files" - and enter a new one, for example, "D: \\ Installed Programs". The changes made, of course, need to be saved - click "OK".

How can I install the program to a different folder?

Is it possible to install a program that requires installation not to the Program Files shared folder (on drive C), but to another location, for example, on drive D? The question is caused by the following circumstances.
1. When installing the program at the initial stages, the installation location is specified - this is C: \\ Program Files. As I understand it, if there is such a question during installation, then you can ask another place.
2. There are a lot of forums on the Internet devoted to how best to install the program, which programs are least of all hassle-free. The obvious answer is portable programs. But among them it is not easy to choose what you need: 1/4 - 1/3 of all these programs are generally inoperable (my personal experience), there are a lot of unofficial ones, it is not known who made them, and in general there are very few portable programs compared to ordinary ones.
3. On YouTube I found a recommendation that the program can be installed, but not in the Program Files folder; in this case, the program works as usual, but leaves no traces in the OS, or rather, these traces are removed at the first disk cleanup (as opposed to if the program was installed in Program Files), that is, the program " will be like "portable.
What is it for? When installing / removing programs, the system registry grows inevitably (which is not good), cleaning the registry with well-known programs does not help, or, to put it another way, its effectiveness is low, and it can cause harm very easily. Some programs, to put it mildly, do not quite match what is given in the description. Etc.

Paul03-17 | March 10, 2017 11:29 am
You have incorrect information. Regardless of where exactly you put the programs, they will write to the registry and create some kind of temporary files. How much they will interfere with the system depends on many factors, including how the program is made and how the OS is configured. Therefore, there seems to be no point in installing programs outside the default folders. The only thing is that if there is no space on the C drive, then you need to put it where it is ...

Alek55sandr5 | April 24, 2015 6:04 pm
I answer in order:
1. By default, programs are installed in the system folder. But the program can be installed in any other folder, including the one located on another local drive. For example, on local disk D.
2. The user under the nickname "Oleg" thinks correctly. Official portable programs work great. And different assemblies may work unstable or not work at all.
3. The fact that the program will not be installed in the system folder does not mean at all that it will not leave traces in the system. It will work as expected with all that it implies, regardless of which folder it is installed in.

Oleg | October 13, 2012 4:20 am
I'll add to Alex Professional's answer - after removing from Revo, clean up with Ccleaner (free). Portable programs, if you download from an official developer (the same one that made the regular installation program) - work fine. Also, some programs still work better (and more correctly) from the C drive. Transferring the installation to another drive is done (in most cases) to save space on the C drive.

Alex Professional | October 8, 2012, 18:54
Let's start with the fact that programs are designed to be installed and removed. Almost all programs, regardless of which directory they are installed in, leave traces behind. To completely remove programs, and traces behind them, use the program.

After buying a new HDD or SSD, the first thing to ask is what to do with the operating system you are currently using. Not many users have a need to install a clean OS, but rather want to clone an existing system from an old disk to a new one.

So that the user who decides to update the hard drive does not have to reinstall the operating system, it is possible to transfer it. In this case, the current user profile is saved, and in the future you can use Windows in the same way as before the procedure.

Usually those who want to divide the OS itself and user files into two physical drives are interested in the transfer. After moving, the operating system will appear on the new hard drive and will remain on the old one. In the future, it can be removed from the old hard drive by formatting, or you can leave it as a second system.

Previously, the user needs to connect the new drive to the system unit and make sure that the PC detects it (this is done through BIOS or Explorer).

Method 1: AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition

Unlike the previous two programs, Macrium Reflect cannot pre-select a free partition on the drive where the OS will be transferred. This means that the user files from disk 2 will be deleted. Therefore, it is best to use a blank HDD.

1. Click on the link "Clone this disk ..." in the main window of the program.



2. The Transfer Wizard will open. At the top, select the HDD you want to clone from. By default, all drives can be selected, so uncheck the drives you don't want to use.



3. At the bottom of the window, click on the link "Select a disk to clone to ..." and select the hard drive you want to clone to.



4. After selecting disk 2, you can use the link with cloning options.



5. Here you can configure the space that will be occupied by the system. By default, a partition with no free space will be created. We recommend adding at least 20-30 GB (or more) to the system partition for correct future updates and Windows needs. This can be done by knobs or by entering numbers.



6. If you wish, you can choose a drive letter yourself.



7. The rest of the parameters are optional.
8. In the next window, you can configure the cloning schedule, but we do not need this, so just click "Next".



9. A list of actions that will be performed with the drive will be displayed, press "Finish".



10. In the window with the offer to make restore points, agree or reject the offer.



11. Cloning of the OS will begin, and upon completion you will receive a notification "Clone completed", indicating that the transfer was successful.
12. Now you can boot from the new drive, having previously made it the main one for booting into the BIOS. How to do this, see Method 1.

We talked about three ways to transfer an OS from one drive to another. As you can see, this is a very simple process and you usually don't have to run into any errors. After cloning Windows, you can test the disk for operability by booting the computer from it. If there are no problems, you can remove the old HDD from the system unit or leave it as a spare.

These days, more and more devices come with little or limited space and storage space. Most smartphones and tablets offer limited storage space, and a significant portion of the built storage is mainly occupied by the operating system alone. For those of you who own devices with limited storage space, you may need to change the default location of apps downloaded from the Windows Store in Windows 10 to avoid running out of free space on your system drive. As you probably know, with the default settings, in Windows 10, all Windows applications, as well as desktop applications (traditional programs), are installed in the system drive - usually the C drive.

Windows 10 default app install location

If the drive on which Windows 10 is installed has run out of disk space, you can configure Windows 10 to use a different drive to install applications. The good thing is, you can make this happen without downloading or installing any third party software. Windows 10 has a built-in tool for changing the installation location of applications. This method can also be used to configure Windows 10 to install applications to external drives.

Please note that if you change the default installation location of applications, Windows 10 will not move existing Windows applications to the new drive. Only applications that you install in the future will be installed on the new drive.

If you've already installed hundreds of apps from the store and would like to free up some disk space by moving your already installed apps to a different drive, there is a great feature available to move installed apps to a different drive without having to reinstall them. Read our detailed instructions on how to move installed applications to a new drive.

In our opinion, if you have limited storage space on your default device or drive, then it is a good idea to change the default installation location as soon as you install Windows or start using your device, rather than moving them to more late stage. Moving applications is relatively easy, the only thing is that you cannot move in several applications at the same time.

Change default app preferences in Windows 10

Follow the directions below to change the default installation location for apps in Windows 10.

Important: Please note that this method is only applicable for Windows and Modern apps. Traditional desktop programs will continue to be used in Windows on the installed drive.

Step 1: Open up. There are several ways to open Settings in Windows 10. One is to go to the Start menu and then click the Settings icon. Application settings can also be launched using the Windows + I keys.

Step 2: In the app settings, select the first labeled option System (Display, notifications, apps, power - display, notifications, apps, performance).

Step 3: On the left side, click Storage — Storage.

Step 4: Scroll down to see the section Saving locations - Save locations... Here, you can view the default location for new applications, documents, pictures and music.

Step 5: To change the default settings and select a drive for applications, under New Apps -New apps will save to click the button and then select the drive.

Everything !! You have selected a new drive for storing the applications you will be installing.

One of the frequent wishes of computer and laptop owners is to create a D drive in Windows 10, 8 or Windows 7 in order to subsequently store data on it (photos, movies, music and others) and this makes sense, especially in the case if you reinstall the system from time to time, formatting the disk (in this situation, it will be possible to format only the system partition).

All that was described above can be done not only using the Windows Disk Management graphical interface, but also in the command line using the following steps:

This will close the command line, and the new D drive (or under a different letter) will appear in Windows Explorer.

Using the free Aomei Partition Assistant Standard software

There are many free programs that allow you to split your hard drive into two (or more). As an example, I'll show you how to create a D disk in the free program in Russian Aomei Partition Assistant Standard.

You can download the free Aomei Partition Assistant Standard from the official website http://www.disk-partition.com/free-partition-manager.html (the site is in English, but the program has a Russian interface language, selected during installation).

This concludes. The instructions are intended for those cases when the system is already installed. However, you can create a separate disk partition while installing Windows on your computer, see.