Moving user folders to HDD - what is the best and simplest method

I need to reinstall Win10 as I keep getting BSOD since the recent update, but want to replicate my current document library heirarchy which is saved on the HDD.

1. SSD – contains OS, plus c:\users\UserABC > (Folder: Documents)
2. HDD – d:\users\UserABC > (Folders: Desktop; Downloads; Music; Pictures; Videos)

I don’t want to format the D: drive, but simply reinstall Win on C: and then have the user folders (Desktop; Downloads; Music; Pictures; Videos) point to the existing ones on D: I.e. When I look at Libraries, I want to see all the folders and when copying files to them, the files will save to the appropriate drive.

What is the best way to do this? I think when I initially set this up, there was a complex process done in audit mode / create an unattended answer file while Windows was being installed. (which I think was a tutorial on this site)

I found this link – will this achieve a similar outcome or is there a better approach?

Move your Windows 10 libraries to a separate drive or partition | PCWorld


Thanks
(Win ver 21H1)

I've always moved my user library folders using the location tab on folder properties. When you re-install Windows and you relocate your folders that way, the existing data in the folder you are moving to is preserved, it is not erased. My user library folders have survived many re-installs of Windows as well as multi-booting different versions of Windows 10 and 11 all sharing the same user folders on my D: drive.

Great - thanks. No need to overcomplicate things I guess.

If you're doing a Win 10 clean install the easiest way to move C:\users to D:\users is by sysprep tool.
Use Kari tutorial - Move Users Folder
Attached are the needed files.

Megahertz said:

If you're doing a Win 10 clean install the easiest way to move C:\users to D:\users is by sysprep tool.
Use Kari tutorial - Move Users Folder
Attached are the needed files.

Thanks Megahertz. This is the method (sysprep) I used in the past.

My question is: Once my User files are on D: drive, would I need to use this ''sysprep'' method everytime I reformat C and reinstall Windows? I was hoping for a simplir way as I remeber this being a little finicky.
I suppose once I have done this, I should create and image of C and use this to reinstall in the future which should make this process quicker.

larrens said:

My question is: Once my User files are on D: drive, would I need to use this ''sysprep'' method everytime I reformat C and reinstall Windows? I was hoping for a simplir way as I remeber this being a little finicky.
I suppose once I have done this, I should create and image of C and use this to reinstall in the future which should make this process quicker.

As you're doing a clean install, it's a fresh windows so it will make \users on C:, not on D:.
Your files will already be on D: but you have to instruct the fresh windows that you want \users on D:
With the attached files I provided it's so easy and won't take more than 10 minutes to move \users from C: to D:.
Once you reach the installation point where it ask a user name, press Crtl+Shift+F3 to enter Audit mode.
Before you run the script, you have to do some arrangements.
Once in Audit mode, make sure the other drive (with old \users) is assigned D: letter. If not, open Disk Manager and change it.
Then rename D:\users to something like D:\users.old.
Run the script to move the new C:\Users to D:\Users.
Finish the installation and move your data from D:\users.old"Name" to D:\users"Name". When done, you may delete all remaining files and folders from D:\users.old.

Create a disk image from the two drives and save them on an external drive.