How do you change the location of the "C:\Program Files" directory?

[Don J]

I am interested in changing the location of the directory "C:\Program Files"
to a different drive. More generally, there are a number of parameters that
one can see by typing "set" at a DOS prompt. The parameter "C:\Program
Files" is one of them. Where are they defined? Changing them there doesn't
do a thing.

 

[=?iso-8859-1?Q?_db_=B4=AF`=B7.._=3E=3C=29=29=29=BA]

if you move that folder

"EVERYTHING IN IT WILL BECOME USELESS DATA...!

and

"YOUR SYSTEM WILL CRASH, LIKE A BROKEN WINDOW...!"

simple advice
for you to consider.

--

<)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

..

 

[Don J]

Of course, I want to move it and change the system to find it. That is
why I want to find where the parameters are internally defined. Sorry if I
didn't make that clear.

Don J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

if you move that folder

"EVERYTHING IN IT WILL BECOME USELESS DATA...!

and

"YOUR SYSTEM WILL CRASH, LIKE A BROKEN WINDOW...!"

simple advice
for you to consider.

--

<)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

.

 

[=?iso-8859-1?Q?_db_=B4=AF`=B7.._=3E=3C=29=29=29=BA]

there are only two ways to
move the "Program Files" folder
to another locations / partition.

if you move the folder called
"Program Files", then you would
have to "re-install" every program
inside it in order to re-register
all of those programs with the
operating system.

so you can move it "Program Files"
but you will need to reinstall everything
into it's new location.

the other method i mentioned is
one provided by software called
system mechanic.

it has the ability to move programs
anywhere you want and make all
the modifications to the operating
system and the registry.

it works good, but it takes along
time to accomplish the task and would
be easier and faster to simply reinstall
any program from scratch.

if you are running out of room
on the c drive, then you should consider
alternatives.

--

<)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

..

Of course, I want to move it and change the system to find it. That
is why I want to find where the parameters are internally defined.
Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

Don J

 

[Don J]

Reread my post! I'm talking about moving the Folder and changing the
operating system so that all references to the folder are in the new place.
That would be the only change to the operating systam.

Don J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

there are only two ways to
move the "Program Files" folder
to another locations / partition.

if you move the folder called
"Program Files", then you would
have to "re-install" every program
inside it in order to re-register
all of those programs with the
operating system.

so you can move it "Program Files"
but you will need to reinstall everything
into it's new location.

the other method i mentioned is
one provided by software called
system mechanic.

it has the ability to move programs
anywhere you want and make all
the modifications to the operating
system and the registry.

it works good, but it takes along
time to accomplish the task and would
be easier and faster to simply reinstall
any program from scratch.

if you are running out of room
on the c drive, then you should consider
alternatives.

--

<)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

.

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

There is no environment named "Program Files" or similar. The things you see
when you use SET at the Command Prompt are locations *within* Program Files,
at least some of them defaults from the original installation of Windows.
While it isn't impossible, it would be quite difficult and *very* time
consuming to track down all the references to C:\Program Files even on a
fresh installation. When you've already loaded a bunch of apps, the task
grows exponentially larger and I seriously doubt anyone could do a perfect
job.

The only way to decently do what you want to do is to uninstall what apps
you can and then reinstall them using Custom installation options to change
the location they are installed to (if the installer even bothers to let
you.)

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

Of course, I want to move it and change the system to find it. That is
why I want to find where the parameters are internally defined. Sorry if
I didn't make that clear.

Don J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Of course, I want to move it and change the system to find it. That is
why I want to find where the parameters are internally defined. Sorry if I
didn't make that clear.

Although databaseben's statements "EVERYTHING IN IT WILL BECOME
USELESS DATA" and "YOUR SYSTEM WILL CRASH, LIKE A BROKEN WINDOW"
aren't correct, the problem, as you realize, is that all the many
references to where those programs are will be wrong (the references
are not all in one place--many are in the registry, but others are
elsewhere). So most of the programs (all but an occasional tiny
self-contained one) will no longer run. There is, however, software
available to search out, and find those references and change them
accordingly (one such program, for example, is called COA2). My
experience with such programs is that they find most of the
references, but not all of them.

For that reason, I recommend that you do *not* attempt to do this. The
proper way, and the best way, to accomplish what you want is to
uninstall the programs, then reinstall on the drive where you want
them.

By the way, many people recommend that programs be installed on a
drive other than the one Windows is on, because they think that if
they ever have to reinstall Windows, their programs will be safe if
they are on another drive. That is *not* correct, so if that's the
reason you want to do it, I urge you to reconsider. If Windows is
reinstalled, all the registry (and other) references to them are lost,
and the programs have to be reinstalled anyway. That's true of all
programs except a very occasional tiny self-contained one.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Rock]

I am interested in changing the location of the directory "C:\Program
Files" to a different drive. More generally, there are a number of
parameters that one can see by typing "set" at a DOS prompt. The parameter
"C:\Program Files" is one of them. Where are they defined? Changing them
there doesn't do a thing.

Why do you want to move it? There is no real value to having programs
installed in a volume other than the one where Windows is installed, except
for some urge for a particular type of organization. Some programs will
still insist on being installed to the C:\program files.

Installing apps on a different volume doesn't protect them in case of an OS
crash. If the OS needs to be reinstalled clean, for whatever reason, most
apps will need to be reinstalled too.

That said, if you still want to move apps elsewhere, maybe because of space
considerations on the C: volume - though there are better ways to address
that problem - the way to do this properly is as Gary and Ken stated.
Uninstall apps from C: and reinstall elsewhere. Leave C:\Program files
where it is.

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

Reread my post! I'm talking about moving the Folder and changing the
operating system so that all references to the folder are in the new place.
That would be the only change to the operating systam.

Reread the answer, dickwad.

That "only change to the operating system" is a MAJOR change.

No matter how bad you want your wish to come true, your fairy
godmother is on vacation.

 

[R. McCarty]

One other problem is even if you redirect the Program Files tree to
an alternate partition many installs will automatically write/create on
the volume with Windows the Program Files\Common Files. This
tends to push back your redirect and split content between two
separate \Program Files destinations.

There is no environment named "Program Files" or similar. The things you
see when you use SET at the Command Prompt are locations *within* Program
Files, at least some of them defaults from the original installation of
Windows. While it isn't impossible, it would be quite difficult and *very*
time consuming to track down all the references to C:\Program Files even
on a fresh installation. When you've already loaded a bunch of apps, the
task grows exponentially larger and I seriously doubt anyone could do a
perfect job.

The only way to decently do what you want to do is to uninstall what apps
you can and then reinstall them using Custom installation options to
change the location they are installed to (if the installer even bothers
to let you.)

 

[=?iso-8859-1?Q?_db_=B4=AF`=B7.._=3E=3C=29=29=29=BA]

i don't think i am incorrect.

there is no point in sugar coating
or loosing the o.p. with immense
details.

anyone is welcomed to change
the location of the program files
folder and i doubt that anyone
will be able to boot into the
o.s., especially if they have Microsoft
Programs and others like the infamous NAV


--

<)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

..

Of course, I want to move it and change the system to find it.
That is
why I want to find where the parameters are internally defined.
Sorry if I
didn't make that clear.

Although databaseben's statements "EVERYTHING IN IT WILL BECOME
USELESS DATA" and "YOUR SYSTEM WILL CRASH, LIKE A BROKEN WINDOW"
aren't correct, the problem, as you realize, is that all the many
references to where those programs are will be wrong (the references
are not all in one place--many are in the registry, but others are
elsewhere). So most of the programs (all but an occasional tiny
self-contained one) will no longer run. There is, however, software
available to search out, and find those references and change them
accordingly (one such program, for example, is called COA2). My
experience with such programs is that they find most of the
references, but not all of them.

For that reason, I recommend that you do *not* attempt to do this. The
proper way, and the best way, to accomplish what you want is to
uninstall the programs, then reinstall on the drive where you want
them.

By the way, many people recommend that programs be installed on a
drive other than the one Windows is on, because they think that if
they ever have to reinstall Windows, their programs will be safe if
they are on another drive. That is *not* correct, so if that's the
reason you want to do it, I urge you to reconsider. If Windows is
reinstalled, all the registry (and other) references to them are lost,
and the programs have to be reinstalled anyway. That's true of all
programs except a very occasional tiny self-contained one.

 

[Ron Badour]

By the way, many people recommend that programs be installed on a
drive other than the one Windows is on, because they think that if
they ever have to reinstall Windows, their programs will be safe if
they are on another drive. That is *not* correct, so if that's the
reason you want to do it, I urge you to reconsider. If Windows is
reinstalled, all the registry (and other) references to them are lost,
and the programs have to be reinstalled anyway. That's true of all
programs except a very occasional tiny self-contained one.

Ken,

There is a benefit to having programs installed on another partition--any
files generated by the program will not be lost with a format. After the
clean installation, the software is installed to the same folder and
operations resume as normal.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Ken,

There is a benefit to having programs installed on another partition--any
files generated by the program will not be lost with a format. After the
clean installation, the software is installed to the same folder and
operations resume as normal.

You're thinking of ini files, for example, with program settings?

We have different points of view on this. I think the only real
protection for such files (or for any files) is backup. Separating
files by partition provides a false sense of security, and in many
cases that false sense of security leads people to have inadequate
backup procedures in place.

 

[Ron Badour]

I did not suggest that this practice was in lieu of back up--that's a
separate issue.

For example, I use MSMoney. Once I reinstall the program, Money is up and
running with no need to load my backed up Money file. This is true of many
programs. Having the programs on a different partition just makes it much
faster to reinstall the system and software should a clean install be
required.

Back in my W98 days, I used to do a clean install, install the programs on
E: and then shoot a compressed image of C: When I could not fix a 98
problem, I formatted C:, restored the image and was back on line in less
than an hour with the equivalent of a fresh installation. All I had to fix
were those programs that were added after the image was shot. This MCE
system is so stable (over 2 years old and have never used the restore
function) that I gave up the practice of making an image.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I am interested in changing the location of the directory "C:\Program
Files" to a different drive. More generally, there are a number of
parameters that one can see by typing "set" at a DOS prompt. The parameter
"C:\Program Files" is one of them. Where are they defined? Changing them
there doesn't do a thing.

For the most part, you *don't* move this. The reason is that you can't
reasonably expect to find and change all the references to that folder in
the Registry for all the apps that use it.

The only reasonable way to move its contents, with any expectation of
success and reliability, would be to make a list of all the apps that are
installed there, uninstall them, and reinstall them somewhere else, using
the list to help you remember what you need to do and what you have done.

Note that you will probably still have some apps that insist on using that
folder on that drive. The folder itself will be used by Windows, and
Windows may not like it if you move them after the initial install. It's
located on the system drive, the drive Windows is installed to.

http://helpnet.installshield.com/robo/projects/devstudio9helplangref/LangrefPROGRAMFILES.htm

"During setup initialization, the value of the InstallScript system variable
PROGRAMFILES is obtained from the "ProgramFilesDir" value of the following
key in the Windows registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion."

HTH
-pk

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Reread my post! I'm talking about moving the Folder and changing the
operating system so that all references to the folder are in the new
place. That would be the only change to the operating systam.

Don J

This is *not* a trivial change, and this "single" change will probably
involve hundreds or thousands of registry edits.

You should not reasonably expect to do this without uninstalling and
reinstalling all the apps that live there.

Plus, you will have no idea whether those apps have private settings,
created during install, that do not use the Registry.

HTH
-pk

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I did not suggest that this practice was in lieu of back up--that's a
separate issue.

I know you didn't suggest that, Ron. But my concern is that most
people who do this *will* think of it as in lieu of backup. And that's
the main reason I recommend against it. It provides a false sense of
security--not to you who knows better, but to others.

For example, I use MSMoney. Once I reinstall the program, Money is up and
running with no need to load my backed up Money file. This is true of many
programs. Having the programs on a different partition just makes it much
faster to reinstall the system and software should a clean install be
required.

Back in my W98 days, I used to do a clean install, install the programs on
E: and then shoot a compressed image of C: When I could not fix a 98
problem, I formatted C:, restored the image and was back on line in less
than an hour with the equivalent of a fresh installation. All I had to fix
were those programs that were added after the image was shot. This MCE
system is so stable (over 2 years old and have never used the restore
function) that I gave up the practice of making an image.

 

[David Trimboli]

I am interested in changing the location of the directory "C:\Program
Files" to a different drive. More generally, there are a number of
parameters that one can see by typing "set" at a DOS prompt. The
parameter "C:\Program Files" is one of them. Where are they defined?
Changing them there doesn't do a thing.

As I'm sure you've gotten from this thread now, you can't change the
location of %PROGRAMFILES% once Windows is installed.

However, you *can* specify the location of %PROGRAMFILES% (and
%COMMONPROGRAMFILES% when you install Windows. You can also specify
%WINDIR% and the profile directories. This requires the use of a
customized answer file. See \SUPPORT\TOOLS\DEPLOY.CAB\deploy.chm on your
Windows CD for details.