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Change the default download location.

Anonymous
2010-10-17T19:02:58+00:00

Original title: changing defalt data storage

I have 2 drives one large and 1 much smaller. the smaller is my c drive witch everything gets downloaded to by defalt. how can i get windows to download to my other drive and leave my older 1 for sys and hardware stuff only.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-10-18T10:02:17+00:00

    Hi,

    Which program are you using to download anything from the internet? Internet Explorer?

    In internet explorer 8 when you download files, Windows usually saves them in the Downloads folder, which is located under your user name in the Users folder on the drive where Windows is installed (for example C:\users*your name*\downloads). When you are saving the file, you can choose to save it to a different folder. Some different types of files are saved to different folders by default. For example, if you right-click a picture on a webpage and then choose Save Picture As from the menu, the picture will be saved to the Pictures folder by default. If you're not sure where the file was saved, you can search for it from the Start menu.

    Registry Disclaimer:

    Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    How to back up and restore the registry in Windows:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756

    However, you may try the below steps which might help.

    1. Go to Start -> Run -> typeregedit and enter
    2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Microsoft\ Internet Explorer
    3. Double-click onDownload Directory on the right side panel.
    4. Now in the Edit string window enter the path, where you want to save the files by default.
    5. Click onOKbutton.
    6. Restart the computer.

    Ininternet explorer 9 beta you may change the default location.

    Here is how you do it:

    a.    Open internet explorer 9.

    b.    Click onTools and select View downloads.

    c.    In View downloads window, click onOptions.

    d.    Now enter default download location and click on OK button.

    Thanks and Regards

    Umesh P - Microsoft Support. Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

    [If this post helps to resolve your issue, please click the "Mark as Answer" or "Helpful" button at the top of this message. By marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.]

    20+ people found this answer helpful.
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  1. Anonymous
    2016-07-08T07:34:35+00:00

    This in not the clever way, it is the complicated and the unpleasant way. The easy and clever way is that used by Google and Firefox: to enter settings and to select by one click the location for downloding. But as usually, everything, even registration account, is much more complicated and unpleasant than Google and Firefox.

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2012-02-23T17:57:24+00:00

    The registry edit was correct but is missing that by default there is no Download Directory value.

    Thus there is an extra step that goes between 2 and 2 in Umesh P's list above.  The process is:

    1. Go to Start -> Run -> type regedit and enter
    2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer
    3. Right click on "Internet Explorer" on the left side panel and select New / String Value. Change the name of the new value from "New Value #1" to "Download Directory" (without the quotes).
    4. Double-click on Download Directory on the right side panel.
    5. Now in the Edit string window enter the path, where you want to save the files by default.
    6. Click on OK button and exit regedit.
    7. Umesh P has "Restart the computer" here. When I tested this I did not need to restart the computer nor did I need to restart Internet Explorer as it picked up the addition of this new setting instantly. Thus, you may  need to restart the computer but probably don't need to.

    Note that the Download Directory value goes under "Internet Explorer" and not "Internet Explorer\Download" or "Internet Explorer\Settings"

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2015-10-11T10:46:14+00:00

    I want to do the same thing with Vista - is it the same procedure?

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  4. Anonymous
    2011-07-17T17:50:46+00:00

    The steps you gave for Internet Explorer 9 don't work entirely. I'm using the release version and you can change the default destination the way you stated, but IE9 still wants to put pictures in the Pictures folder, documents in the Document folder, etc when you click, Save As..

    I edited the registry as you instructed, hopefully that will solve the problem. I have the same set up as stated by Ochless above.

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