Moving Desktop To D: Any Gotchas?

[(PeteCresswell)]

TweakUI can do it.

In this case, D: (Data) is just a partition of the same physical
drive that C: (System) is on.

Given:

- The temptation of seemingly everybody (myself included)
to drag/drop data to the desktop even though data on a
system drive isn't such a wonderful idea...

- The prospect of having to re-image a system if/when things
go South..

.... moving the Desktop from the System drive to a permanent
"Data" drive seems like the Good-Right-And-Holy path.


Has anybody done this?

Caveats? Gotchas?

 

[Tim Meddick]

When you use TweakUI to "move" the location of the desktop - it does NOT
actually MOVE anything (i.e. desktop shortcuts).

What it does do, quite simply, is change the target of where Window's
searches for the shortcut-files it will display on the desktop.

This "desktop" folder is, by default located at :

"C:\Documents and Settings\%USERNAME%\Desktop"

....but (using TweakUI) you can change that default target to anywhere, such
as :

"D:\Stuff\MyDesktop"

...However, you should first have copied ALL YOUR CURRENT DESKTOP SHORTCUTS
to this new destination folder before changing the TweakUI setting to it.

(*NB You should copy your current desktop shortcuts from the "Desktop"
folder within your profile folder and NOT from the actual desktop itself,
as the shortcuts displayed on the desktop are made up of the combination of
the "Users Desktop" folder AND the "All Users Desktop" folder.)

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[glee]

TweakUI can do it.

In this case, D: (Data) is just a partition of the same physical
drive that C: (System) is on.

Given:

- The temptation of seemingly everybody (myself included)
to drag/drop data to the desktop even though data on a
system drive isn't such a wonderful idea...

- The prospect of having to re-image a system if/when things
go South..

... moving the Desktop from the System drive to a permanent
"Data" drive seems like the Good-Right-And-Holy path.


Has anybody done this?

Caveats? Gotchas?

Are you using TweakUI for Windows XP, or the older TweakUI made for
Win9x? I don't suggest using the old version for messing with system
folder locations.

The easiest way to move the Desktop and all it files is to use Windows
Explorer to right-click-drag the Desktop folder, and select "Move Here"
on the menu that appears when you drop it in the new location. Windows
should record the move and auto-adjust the new location in the Registry
keys for Shell Folders and User Shell Folders.

If you use TweakUI for XP, as Tim mentioned, it will move the location
by changing the Registry keys for you, but you still have to manually
move all the files via Windows Explorer.

Move Shell Folders:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_shell_folders.htm