Changing default install path in Windows 7

Question

I went into the registry went to HKEY LOCAL MACH--SOFTWARE--MICROSOFT--WINDOWS--CURRENT VERSION then went left panel clicked ProgramFilesDir and changed the C: to my other drive letter. Now I cant access anything from C drive when I click icon on desk I also noticed one of the programfilesdir had an (x86)

next to it. What is the purpose or difference in the x86 versus the other file? Hope you can help I went and put the C letter back and still have problem

Answer 1

Hi,

1.    What happens when you try to open the C:/ drive?

2.    Do you get any error message?

3.    What is the complete and exact error message?

I would suggest you to perform a System Restore from safe mode to an earlier point of time before you encountered this problem.

If you need to changed the drive location then, I would suggest you refer MrFurry’s post in the following link and check if it helps.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_programs/how-do-you-change-the-default-installation/73450b25-d794-4f18-9add-75253b893343?page=1

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, refer the following article:

Back up the registry

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Back-up-the-registry

Also refer the link for details regarding Program files(x86).

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-files/programs-files-vs-program-files-x86/7d631676-e688-472a-a1bb-eefccfeca6d7