Moving the program files folder to a different partition

[quickquestion]

I have a partition on my hard drive that I allocated specifically for
program files - it is about 8 gigs and I do not want my program files
folder to ever become so big that I cannot back it up to two dvds, no
matter how much junk I install.

My C drive is on a partition with just 4 gigs, and it holds windows,
and ideally it will never hold anything other than windows and other
system files I don't understand but that have to be on the boot drive
- it should always be back-up-able on one dvd.

What I want to do now, is have windows assign my h:\ drive, the 8 gig
partition to c:\program files, so that programs can install normally
where they expect but files will be going onto the other partition.

I used a rescue disk to copy all of program files to the new
partition, but when rebooting xp, program files has been reconstructed
on the c:\drive, full of empty folders - which means I cannot use disk
management local to assign the h:\drive to an empty c:\program files
folder.

Have I clearly expressed what I am trying to do, and is it possible?

What I want is the operating system to think my program files are in c:
\program files, but for all of the contents of that folder to really
reside on h:\

The problem I am having is that I'm not able to empty the folder and
still be in windows where I can change the folder location for c:
\program files to the h: drive.

 

[Guest]

The %ProgramFiles% variable is hard wired into the %SystemDrive% variable.
The System app in Control Panel has an Advanced tab, and an Environmental
button, that lets you set any environmental variable you wish, but it won't
help you with setup apps built for Windows.

 

[Ron Martell]

I have a partition on my hard drive that I allocated specifically for
program files - it is about 8 gigs and I do not want my program files
folder to ever become so big that I cannot back it up to two dvds, no
matter how much junk I install.

My C drive is on a partition with just 4 gigs, and it holds windows,
and ideally it will never hold anything other than windows and other
system files I don't understand but that have to be on the boot drive
- it should always be back-up-able on one dvd.

What I want to do now, is have windows assign my h:\ drive, the 8 gig
partition to c:\program files, so that programs can install normally
where they expect but files will be going onto the other partition.

I used a rescue disk to copy all of program files to the new
partition, but when rebooting xp, program files has been reconstructed
on the c:\drive, full of empty folders - which means I cannot use disk
management local to assign the h:\drive to an empty c:\program files
folder.

Have I clearly expressed what I am trying to do, and is it possible?

What I want is the operating system to think my program files are in c:
\program files, but for all of the contents of that folder to really
reside on h:\

The problem I am having is that I'm not able to empty the folder and
still be in windows where I can change the folder location for c:
\program files to the h: drive.

Download and install TweakUI from
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

That will create a new TweakUI icon in the Control Panel. Launch this
and go to the My Computer tab. The "Special Folders" dropdown allows
you to reconfigure the location of a number of the specified folders,
including Program Files, Common Program Files, My Documents, etc.

It may not always work, as some program installs are hard coded to use
the C:\Program Files folder rather than checking the Windows
environment to see where they should go.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I have a partition on my hard drive that I allocated specifically for
program files - it is about 8 gigs and I do not want my program files
folder to ever become so big that I cannot back it up to two dvds, no
matter how much junk I install.

This isn't an answer to your question, but I wanted to point out out that
most people who create a separate partition for their program files do so
because they think that if they ever have to reinstall Windows, their
program files will be safe in a separate partition and they won't have to
reinstall the programs.

In fact, that is false. All programs, except for a rare trivial one, have
many associated files and entries pointing to them within Windows, in the
registry and elsewhere. So if you ever have to reinstall Windows, you also
have to reinstall all your programs.

So there is really no advantage to having program files in a separate
partition. Programs will all have to be reinstalled if Windows has to be.
Backing up the program files folder by itself is useless, for the same
reason.

 

[guice666]

What I want is the operating system to think my program files are in c:
\program files, but for all of the contents of that folder to really
reside on h:\

That's not possible. The only way to do this is change the registry
key from C:\Program Files\ to H:\Program Files\ and reinstall all your
files onto that drive.

Warning, this configuration will break Outlook Express as the program
is dumb and doesn't handle well when moved out of C:\ on top of that,
leaving OE's files on C:\ doesn't even work.

And as Ken Blake mentioned earlier in the thread, moving the Program
Files folder won't do anything but give you more space to install
files. It's not completely pointless, I do it myself, but the one file
you should be concerned with is "Documents and Settings" which can be
moved, too:
http://www.askdavetaylor.com/moving_documents_and_settings_folder_onto_second_hard_disk.html