Move Users Folder Location in Windows 10  


  1. Posts : 5,478
    2004
       #360

    Kari said:
    The above also applies to all external drives (both USB and memory cards) on the host. Physically they belong to another machine, the host, and are not considered as drives belonging to the WindowsToGo machine.
    Windows 2 Go uses SAN policy 4 so only internal (not external) disks are offline.

    Note   Note
    All external disks and the boot disk are online.
    WinPE: Storage Area Network (SAN) Policy).

    As you can see only my internal drive (disk 0) is offline when booting Windows to Go. SD card (disk 3) and USB are online.

    Move Users Folder Location in Windows 10-disk-management.png

    iano said:
    I just realised my S drive (the 2nd removable drive where I want the user folder to reside is formatted as exFAT).
    That is your only problem - as Kari said it needs to be NTFS.

    As a test while booted into Windows to Go I followed method 2 in this tutorial and it worked perfectly (I relocated Users folder to F - a separate USB key (actually my Windows 10 installation USB so it is formatted NTFS).

    Move Users Folder Location in Windows 10-file-explorer-users.png

    Now to change it back again as I don't think I actually want it on a separate drive
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 4
    Windows 10
       #361

    Thanks Kari and especially lx07!! Hopefully I'll find time to try again. I've already wasted so much time with this lol - I'm pretty upset with myself because I should rather be spending my time on other higher priority stuff but in it's own way this is also fun although also frustrating...

    I wish the error was more descriptive such as saying something about NTFS etc. but this looks more promising now...

    For anyone reading this it's less admin just to buy a 128 or higher w2g drive! But I wanted to save a few hundred $s.
    The Windows to go drives are awesome - they aren't ordinary flash disks - they are actually Solid State Drives with it's own hard drive controller so it's probably worth spending more on it but I didn't realize that at the time of purchase as for some reason Kingston don't advertise that info upfront - I had to spend hours searching and researching before I realized it....
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #362

    lx07 said:
    Windows 2 Go uses SAN policy 4 so only internal (not external) disks are offline.
    Thanks for correction and clarification :)

    I still think it shouldn't be done, it defies the sole purpose of WindowsToGo. Doing this means that you can practically only use WindowsToGo on one specific host. It will in that sense no longer be portable.
    Last edited by Kari; 17 Jan 2016 at 20:53.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 1
    win 10
       #363

    Swapping Hard drives Containing User Data


    Kari, Thanks so much for your methods of moving the user folders - this has always been a pain in the neck to me using separate drives, one for System and other for Data. I ended up using Libraries a lot but I like your solution especially when setting up machines for the kids and wife.

    My question is: Do you have a good method to swap out one drive containing user data with another larger drive, e.g. If I backed up user data to another drive and then swapped the drive in its place. I saw your recommendation to move back to C: for upgrading the OS, but how about swapping the D:\Users hard drive with another larger one, or if it were need to be replaced because of malfunction?

    Thanks!
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #364

    Ho Munstermoon, welcome to the Ten Forums.

    Munstermoon said:
    My question is: Do you have a good method to swap out one drive containing user data with another larger drive, e.g. If I backed up user data to another drive and then swapped the drive in its place. I saw your recommendation to move back to C: for upgrading the OS, but how about swapping the D:\Users hard drive with another larger one, or if it were need to be replaced because of malfunction?

    Thanks!
    Short answer: No.

    Long answer: Maybe.

    Interesting scenario, I have never tested it but in theory it just might work. You forced me to think how I would do it if I ever were to test it. I think the below procedure would be the first I would test.

    Note   Note
    The below shows the process as I would do it if I ever tested this scenario. However, as I have never done it and the below is only a theory, I take no responsibility if you decide to give it a go and end up with a totally screwed Windows :).

    1.)
    Clone the disk currently containing the Users folder. Use any cloning software you want to, here's a video I've made about cloning a disk with free EaseUS ToDo (http://www.todo-backup.com/download/). The video will show how to clone a Windows system disk but the method is exactly the same to clone any disk:


    (Video from the Ten Forums video thread.)

    Clone the disk to new replacement disk, the one where you want to move the Users folder.

    2.) When cloning is done, shut down the PC. Replace the old disk containing the Users folder with the new clone.

    3.) The drive letter should be correct on the new drive but because it is an essential detail for this scenario to work, I would in any case want to be absolutely sure about it. Therefore I suggest you boot the PC with Windows 10 install media (DVD or USB).

    When the setup shows the first dialog, the language, formats and input method selection, press SHIFT + F10 to open the Command Prompt:
    Move Users Folder Location in Windows 10-2016_01_17_21_47_481.png

    4.) Use Diskpart command to check / change the drive letter of the new disk containing the cloned Users folder to exactly the same than the old disk had. If the old disk was D:, be sure to assign D: to this new disk.

    5.) Close the Command Prompt, close Windows setup and let the PC restart normally:
    Move Users Folder Location in Windows 10-2016_01_17_21_52_412.png

    6.) When restarted and on desktop, use Windows Disk Management to expand the partition on the new disk. Example: if the old disk was 500 GB, all of it in one partition used as D: drive for the user profiles, and the new disk is 1 TB, you will notice that the new disk at the moment has the D: partition as 500 GB and the other 500 GB as unused space (when cloning, the target will be exactly the same size as the source).

    You can increase the size of the user profile partition now simply by extending it, claiming the unused space.

    That's it. A theoretical non-tested scenario.

    Kari
    Last edited by Kari; 17 Jan 2016 at 17:42. Reason: Fixed some typos.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 7
    Many
       #365

    Hi everyone, and Kari, great job so far on this info.

    This is my first post here and I've been trying to make this work in VirtualBox (testing before I do this on several baremetal installs in computers) for the last couple days and haven't had success. I'm using Windows 10 Version 1511 Build 10586 64-Bit English from the Microsoft TechBench website, and installing the OS on a virtual disk in VirtualBox, and then creating a second disk in that same VirtualBox configuration and attaching it to the VM.

    I boot the VM and upon entering the OOBE screen for the first time, I enter Audit Mode and restart. The VM is disconnected from the network the entire time, and I make absolutely zero configuration changes, modifications, or software installs to Windows once I'm in, except for setting the virtual optical drive to E, and initializing the extra virtual disk and formatting as NTFS and assigning drive D. I'm *only* testing the ability to change the profile/programdata directories. I'm using an identical sysprep file to the one I've used successfully many times with Windows 7 Home and Pro, which is this:

    Code:
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
    <unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
        <settings pass="generalize">
            <component name="Microsoft-Windows-PnpSysprep" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
                <DoNotCleanUpNonPresentDevices>true</DoNotCleanUpNonPresentDevices>
                <PersistAllDeviceInstalls>true</PersistAllDeviceInstalls>
            </component>
        </settings>
        <settings pass="oobeSystem">
            <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
                <FolderLocations>
                    <ProfilesDirectory>D:\Users</ProfilesDirectory>
                    <ProgramData>D:\ProgramData</ProgramData>
                </FolderLocations>
            </component>
        </settings>
    </unattend>
    The second attached virtual disk is formatted as NTFS, and initialized as either MBR or GPT (doesn't seem to make a difference to whether I'm successful). I then run sysprep.exe /oobe /shutdown /unattend:unattend.xml and the process starts. Upon restart, I get to the locale/privacy settings screen and configure my options, and then when I continue, I get "Just a moment..." for a long time, and then the system eventually restarts and I'm back at locale/privacy settings. I never get advanced to the user account creation step.

    At first I thought it may have been a problem with the persistent installs part, or the fact that I wasn't running /generalize to execute that section. I tried the same command with generalize, and the sysprep process still loops. I also tried it with only:

    Code:
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
    <unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
        <settings pass="oobeSystem">
            <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
                <FolderLocations>
                    <ProfilesDirectory>D:\Users</ProfilesDirectory>
                    <ProgramData>D:\ProgramData</ProgramData>
                </FolderLocations>
            </component>
        </settings>
    </unattend>
    and dropping /generalize again from when I run sysprep, and that still loops as well. I receive zero sysprep errors the entire time either before shutdown when the process/cleanup phases are running, or after the first/subsequent boots. The interesting thing is if I Shift+F10 at the locale/privacy settings page and navigate to drive D, the Users directory and ProgramData directory were created just fine.

    Just to eliminate the fact that Build 10586 wasn't completely screwed up, I ran sysprep on the machine with an extra formatted drive (Drive D virtual drive attached to the VM), but with no unattend file; just sysprep.exe /oobe /shutdown, and it works. The system will restart and after locale/privacy settings, ask me to create a user account, and logs in just fine. The formatted NTFS drive D is still there, empty and ready for use, as it was before sysprep.

    Again, I haven't tested this on actual hardware yet. But before I do this to my own machine, I'd REALLY like to make sure this actually works. I haven't been successful once on a VM. Kari, if you can't see a problem with my process, I'm about ready to either blame it on Build 10586 having a weird bug, or the fact that I'm doing this in a VM. I hope to try this on actual hardware sometime this week.

    Thanks in advance.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #366

    Hi Link470, welcome to the Ten Forums.

    link470 said:
    I'm *only* testing the ability to change the profile/programdata directories.
    Your mistake highlighted in above quote. In Windows 7 you could relocate the ProgramData folder, too, but since Windows 8 it's no longer supported. In Windows 8 and 8.1 it could be done but it really breaks down Windows, in Windows 10 it's no longer possible.

    I bet that if you remove the ProgramData part from the answer file, it will work for you relocating the Users folder.

    Kari
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 7
    Many
       #367

    Kari said:
    I bet that if you remove the ProgramData part from the answer file, it will work for you relocating the Users folder.
    I can't believe it. That worked. Thank you very much! I'm surprised WSIM lets you add the ProgramData configuration to the answer file, when the application should know perfectly well that you've selected the Windows 10 .WIM as your source for configurations. *sigh*

    What's your opinion on this?

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/949977 said:
    By changing the default location of the user profile directories or program data folders to a volume other than the system volume, you cannot service your Windows installation. Any updates, fixes, or service packs cannot be applied to the installation. We recommend that you do not change the location of the user profile directories or program data folders.
    I've been doing this with Windows 7 for a few years. But with Windows 10 and the fact that even the July 2015 build to version 1511 appears to act as more of an in-place upgrade than a service pack (judging by the fact that a Windows.old folder gets created after the November update is complete), do you think that even redirecting Users on a Windows 10 system will cause issues down the road? Or has Microsoft definitely confirmed that redirected Users directories will be ok for upgrades?

    I can fix it for myself, but I'm more concerned about the average home user with an SSD and an HDD data drive that I may set this configuration up on with Windows 10, and the user just updating and not thinking anything of how their drives are set up and the potential problems.

    Again, thanks very much for lending me another set of eyes!
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #368

    link470 said:
    What's your opinion on this?
    I can somehow understand that MS feels they have to warn users, mostly because as any advanced feature in Windows, when done by newbies without any or limited knowledge on what is possible and can be done and the processes involved, it might cause issues.

    However, this is easy for you and everyone else to test: If you follow the instructions to the letter, for example those in this tutorial, you will not have any issues with updates and upgrades. You can, to change the words of that warning a bit, "service your Windows installation without issues and all updates, fixes, or service packs can be applied to the installation".

    Don't take my word for it. Test it. Install the RTM Build 10240 on a vm and in Audit Mode relocate the Users folder (Method One in this tutorial). Start using it, boot to desktop. Using Windows Update, make sure that Windows is fully updated until it offers the TH2 version 1511 upgrade. Upgrade. No issues. Absolutely no whatsoever issues.

    Kari
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 7
    Many
       #369

    Kari said:
    No issues. Absolutely no whatsoever issues.
    Great, thanks! That was my assumption as well.

    Thanks again for your time and great work on these forums!
      My Computer


 

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