How do I easily move my Documents folder to a different drive?

Question

My windows 10 installation got hosed during an update. I've installed a new SSD drive and reinstalled Windows 10 from scratch. My old hard drive is still attached to my computer and I'd like to use it for Documents, Downloads. etc. to save space on the SSD.

I've followed the instructions to move the location of the Documents folder but I keep getting a message that it can't move the folder because there is already in the same location that can't be redirected. I've tried unlinking OneDrive but it didn't help.

How do I easily change the location of the Documents folder? (why does this have to be so difficult?)

Answer 1

To move the user shell folder to a different drive you need to right-click the user shell folder > Properties > Location tab > select the folder which will allocate that folder (not the drive). If this is not working, you need to do it on the registry.

Create the folder you want to move on the other disk, (Documents, Pictures)

On the Start Menu type regedit and press enter.

On the Registry editor go to this key (you can copy and paste on the address bar):

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

You will see these values in the image below:

Double-click and change the values circled in green to change the Documents folder location. (Use the location of the folder you created before)

E.g.: D:\Documents

Double-click and change the values circle in red to change the Pictures folder location. (Use the location of the folder you created before)

E.g.: D:\Pictures

After the procedure, you need to manually move the files to the new location, restart the computer to apply the changes in the registry.

Answer 2

To remove the duplicate E drive with the music icon, you can try the following:

Open File Explorer and navigate to the location of the duplicate E drive.

Right-click on the duplicate E drive and select "Delete" or "Remove" from the context menu.

Follow the prompts to remove the duplicate E drive.

Regarding the Public Videos on F, it seems like it is a system folder, if you don't need it you can try to hide it by following these steps:

Open File Explorer and navigate to the location of the Public Videos folder

Right-click on the Public Videos folder, select Properties

Click on the General Tab

Check the "Hidden" checkbox and click on "OK"

Note that, you should be careful when modifying or deleting system folders as it can cause system errors. If you're not sure what you're doing, it's best to consult with a computer professional before proceeding.

Answer 3

I don't have an option to "Delete" or "Remove" from context menu.

I could rename the Videos folder so I just did that.

Answer 4

Try to run system restore on your device. restore your pc when the issue is not yet occured.

Answer 5

I only have one restore point available and it is after the problem occurred. It doesn't seem like this would fix the problem, correct?