Move Users Folder Location in Windows 10

L1nK · 12 Aug 2015

yep, i read about drive letter warning. i relocated the folder to d:\ which is my data partition. i think i typed everything right and i doubt my dvd is corrupted. i namely upgraded from this dvd. i went to recovery and used command prompt to rename the drive letters, the process changed my data partition to something else. the loop is although still there. is there other solution than reinstalling? i dont want to lose my apps and settings, system restore was disabled and i didnt make an image of the system yet. thanks. o yea, i had a users folder on d: from before, when i used windows 7.

Kari · 12 Aug 2015

The big blueish note box telling how to create a system image before proceeding at the beginning of the tutorial is just because of this, to avoid the loss of your data and installed software.

I am sorry but if the Windows goes to reboot loop after the sysprep it always indicates a user caused error. In these cases there's nothing to do but to either restore a system image, or to reinstall.

L1nK · 12 Aug 2015

what if i move d:users back to c: ? red flame says he did it and it worked.

my dvd medium is ok , i have install.wim in sources folder

but i might have forgotten to change the #windows 10 pro line to education, i am not sure

Kari · 12 Aug 2015

How will you move your Users folder back if you can't boot?

L1nK · 12 Aug 2015

run command prompt from windows 10 cd? repair windows. but i still dont understand this drive letter renaming. when exactly do i rename my data partition (to be the location of users folder)? i dont see any meaning in your procedure with renaming the volume to something else and then immediately back to D before sysprep is run. can you explain this please?

Kari · 12 Aug 2015

You can try but as there's a failed sysprep "under the hood" I doubt if it will work. Please post about how it went!

L1nK · 12 Aug 2015

ok, i'll try. read my previous post again, please, i added something

Kari · 12 Aug 2015

When you change the drive letters manually, they stick. If you don't do it, sysprep defaults them. I cannot explain it any simpler way than what I have already done in the tutorial:

Warning

If you intend to use drive D: as the location for the relocated Users folder, please read this before proceeding!

When Windows is sysprepped it resets the drive ID letters to default:

Drive C: > The system drive where Windows will be installed
Drive D: > First optical drive (CD / DVD drive)
Drive E: > Second partition on the same disk where the C: is located, or in case that disk only has one partition, the first partition on the secondary disk

Now when you sysprep telling it to move the Users to D: drive, after the reboot Windows finds that the D: is an optical drive and your intended drive D: is now E:, sysprep fails and you have to reinstall.

To be able to use drive D: for the relocated Users folder you need to set the drive letters manually before the sysprep is run. In Audit Mode you can do this for instance with Disk Management by manually changing the drive letters:

Change the optical drive letter to something at the end of the alphabet, I use X:
Change the drive letter of the partition or disk you intend to use for the Users folder to D:
If the partition or disk you want to use already has a letter D:, change it to something else, close the Disk Management, open it again and change the letter back to D:

See the tutorial at our sister site the Seven Forums: Drive Letter - Add, Change, or Remove in Windows - Windows 7 Help Forums

I recommend to always set drive letters manually to override the defaults but this is extremely important for those wanting to use drive D: for relocated Users folder.

L1nK · 12 Aug 2015

that is not true in my case. i definitely changed my data partition letter manually but sysprep messed it up obviously

L1nK · 12 Aug 2015

ok, i ran this procedure once again on my laptop, point to point, i followed every step in detail. renamed the d partition twice, empty d drive, now it starts looping when the "defaultuser01" appears on the screen. i think this procedure is a rulete. it practically isnt safe and appropriate like it was in win 7 when it could be done failproof. both my install dvds are ok, i checked. im not using this anymore. is there any other, working solution?