Change the default location of %USERPROFILE%. Move user profile folders to d:\users

Hi, we would like a way to change the default location of the user profile folder in windows 7. Is there any way to do it after the OS is installed? We would really like to avoid using sysprep for this.

We tried changing the following registry keys without success:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

 

Any help is appreciated.

Best regards,

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ User Shell Folders

Hi Mauricio

There is no supported way to accomplish this after the system is already installed. The only supported scenario is to use the WAIK and Sysprep to create an image for deployment.

If you attempt to move an entire users profile folder to another partition or drive, this will introduce problems that will result in a less than acceptable user experience.

If your focus is on reducing the disk space used by the users folders,since the bulk (usually over 90%) of any User profile is contained in the common data folders, such as My Documents, My Music, My Pictures, and My Videos, all of these folders have a Location Tab in the folders Properties that make it very easy to move all of this data to a remote drive or partition.

Other disk space hogs, such as Email Client programs and other programs that create a huge amount of data will usually have an option available that allow the user to easily store all of this data on a remote drive.

Here are a few links to other threads discussing this issue.

Win7: how do I move user folder to a different drive:
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7files/thread/565f16a5-e5ed-43c9-8422-4f56aebb296e

how do i place user directories on a separate drive?:
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7files/thread/8d15f660-293a-48cc-bfc3-f978ad59d67e/

Regards,

Thank You for using Windows 7

Hi,

Changing the User Profile location is not recommended.

How to Change User Profile Default Location in Windows 7
http://www.windows7hacker.com/index.php/2009/05/how-to-change-user-profile-default-location-in-windows-7/

How to Move your Windows User Profile to another Drive
http://www.starkeith.net/coredump/2009/05/18/how-to-move-your-windows-user-profile-to-another-drive/

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You can customize the Profile for some situations. More information on these can be had at the Technet
links in the KB and in the Technet Forums.

How to customize default user profiles in Windows 7 and in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973289

TechNet - Forums
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/categories/

TechNet - Where is the Forum For…?
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/whatforum/threads

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Would changing the location of the User folders work for your needs?

These methods should also work well in Windows 7.

How to Change the Default Location of Windows 7 User Folders (Check the Related Tutorials)
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/18629-user-folders-change-default-location.html

How to Restore the Default Location of Windows 7 User Folders (Check the Related Tutorials)
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/18583-user-folders-restore-default-location.html

How to Allow or Prevent Users to Move their User Folders to a New Location (Check the Related Tutorials)
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/84818-user-folders-allow-prevent-moving-location.html

Move or Change Vista Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos, Games and Other Personal Folders Location
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/11/25/move-or-change-vista-documents-pictures-music-videos-games-and-other-personal-folders-location/

Redirect a folder to a new location (Windows 7)
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Redirect-a-folder-to-a-new-location

Redirect a folder to a new location (Vista)
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Redirect-a-folder-to-a-new-location

Move your user files and folders to another partition
http://www.vista4beginners.com/Move-user-files-folders-to-another-partition

How to Restore a Missing Personal User Folder in Vista
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/148461-personal-user-folder-restore-missing-folder.html

Change Default Installation Directory In Windows 7 & Vista
http://www.intowindows.com/change-default-installation-directory-in-windows-7-vista/

Hope this helps.