Move Users Folder Location in Windows 10  


  1. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #150

    SkyDiver said:
    Hi (moi?) Kari,

    Reposting as you may have missed my question.
    I'd appreciate an answer.

    Thanks.
    In your case the best and safest approach would be:
    • Remove all possible juntions / symlinks you might have
    • If you changed location of any personal folders to another drive with Location tab in folder properties, set all back to defaults in C:\Users
    • Copy the content of D:\Users to an external drive, format D:
    • Upgrade to Windows 10, enter Audit Mode from the Settings dialog after the last reboot
    • Run the sysprep to relocate Users
    • When back in the OOBE phase, please read Method Two Step 3 to see why you need to use a "dummy" user account when finalizing the Windows 10 installation


    This warning has now been added to the tutorial:

    warning   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.


    Kari
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #151

    waterfall66 said:
    Thank you so much Kari, it worked out now so that was definitely the issue that was plaguing me. Have you noticed any issues doing this by the way? Any programs that don't run properly?
    The sysprep method is flawless and works without issues. All issues for instance posted in this thread have been caused by user, be it typos in answer files, wrong CPI source (last line in the provided answer file), use of junctions and symlinks with relocated Users folder and so on.

    When done properly and correctly there are no issues.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #152

    Gainsandgames said:
    Hi Kari. When I followed the steps and initiated sysprep everything seemed to be working, but when my PC rebooted and started to run the sysprep it finally ended up rebooting once more and now it just continuously reboots over and over. The blue windows 10 square shows up, the loading circle does about two rotations, and then it reboots again. So my computer is now completely unusable. I could use some help! ��
    Gainsandgames said:
    So after trying to fix this for several hours I ended up downloading a repair software using my other computer to a bootable usb drive and tried to get that to fix the issue. When I booted from the usb drive however, the software is saying that I don't have a valid copy of windows on any of my storage devices...which certainly wasn't the case before running the sysprep. Did this process completely corrupt my copy of windows?
    The reboot loop means there's either a typo in the answer file, invalid Windows install media, invalid CPI source (last line in the provided answer file), or other user error.

    I suspect the issue told in this warning in your case:

    warning   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.


    In your case a reinstall seems to be the best approach, if you don't have recent system image to restore.




      My Computer


  4. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #153

    I've added this recommendation to the tutorial:

    Note   Note
    Windows 10, clean install:

    Before starting the installation, create a boot disk for your chosen imaging program. I use Macrium Free, see the tutorial at our sister site the Seven Forums.

    When installation has done the last reboot you will arrive to settings dialog (screenshot from this tutorial):

    Move Users Folder Location in Windows 10-19603d1432307145t-windows-10-clean-install-8-install_windows_10.jpg

    Now turn of the PC. Insert the imaging boot disk and reboot from it, create a system image. As Windows is quite barebone at the moment it only takes a few minutes.

    When the image has been created, remove the imaging boot disk and boot the PC normally. It will resume the setup from the above shown settings dialog. You can now reboot to Audit Mode as told in this tutorial and use Sysprep to relocate the Users folder. Before sysprepping save a copy of your answer file to an external drive.

    If the sysprep fails, it is always a user error. A typo in answer file, wrong CPI source (last line in the answer file), invalid install media, wrong drive letters and so on. In this case you can restore the image you created and try again, and ask for help by posting the copy of your answer file here. Often the answer file itself can reveal the cause for the failing sysprep and your next try might be successful when the errors have been fixed :)


    Windows 10, upgrade install:

    Before starting the upgrade process create a system image as told above.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 26
    Windows 10 Pro
       #154

    @Kari

    Do you know if this will work with the upcoming SR1 update, or are we gonna have to undo the changes first?
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #155

    Keldian said:
    Do you know if this will work with the upcoming SR1 update, or are we gonna have to undo the changes first?
    Of course I cannot know it yet. Everything we know at the moment tells all future upgrades will work without any issues even with relocated Users folder. The upgrade process already works when the Users is relocated when upgrading from 7, 8.1 or earlier build of 10; I see no reason why MS would change this, nor can I see any issues in the future regarding the upgrade process.

    Kari
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 17
    Windows 10
       #156

    Hello Kari,

    I wanted to thank you for this procedure. After you answered my questions, I did get this procedure to work perfectly. I had to relocate the D:\Users back to c: and move stuff around to shrink it so it fit on the C Drive. Once I emptied d:\users your procedure worked perfectly. Having an existing d:\users was what caused it to fail for me in the past. So thank you.

    I did a full backup of the machine once it was upgraded before I started putting everything back under d:\users that was there originally. Then I put everything back. The machine was working flawlessly for about a day. Then suddenly, when I pressed the start menu it would not respond. Doing many searches, this seems to be a common problem with a variety of fixes. I tried each and every fix I could find out there and none would work. I even restored the machine to the image I took after it upgraded at the point where the start menu was working and after restore it was still broken. After a day of frustration I restored the machine back to Windows-7. This start menu problem seems to be VERY prevalent out there and while for some people one of the various fixes seem to work in some cases, for many of there seems to be no solution that brings it back unless you do a fresh install, or reset.

    To me Windows 10 does not seem like it is ready for prime time. But I will use this fine method again in a few months once MS can get their act together.

    Thank you for posting all this good information and helping us.
    Last edited by Flame Red; 09 Aug 2015 at 13:21.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 3
    windows 95
       #157

    If I want to relocate ProgramData folders and few other system folders, which method is recommended? Audit mode or symlink?
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #158

    publicENEMY said:
    If I want to relocate ProgramData folders and few other system folders, which method is recommended? Audit mode or symlink?
    Sorry, can't help you.

    Sysprep method will work in relocating the ProgramData but it should only be done in Vista and Seven. The Windows versions with immersive apps (8 and later) do in most cases not work when PrograData is relocated; it can be done if you don't care about having a totally dysfunctional Windows, but as the Users folder is the only one of the system folders which can be relocated without issues, I advice against relocating any other folders.

    Because of this I will not give any recommendations nor will I participate in any conversation about processes which put the functionality of Windows in danger.

    Kari
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 3
    windows 95
       #159

    removed repost. sorry
    Last edited by publicENEMY; 09 Aug 2015 at 19:50. Reason: repost
      My Computer


 

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