How to Move Your Desktop Folder Location in Windows 10
The desktop is the main screen area that you see after you turn on your PC and sign in to Windows. Like the top of an actual desk, it serves as a surface for your work. When you open apps or folders, they appear on the desktop. You can also put items on the desktop, such as files, folders, and shortcuts, and arrange them however you want.
By default, Windows stores your personal Desktop folder in your account's %UserProfile% folder (ex: "C:\Users\Brink").
You can change where files in this Desktop folder are stored to another place on the hard drive, another drive, or another computer on the network.
This tutorial will show you how to move the default location of your Desktop folder to where you want in Windows 10.
It is highly recommended to create a system image backup first to make it easy to undo if you were to make a mistake in the steps below.
For a Windows 11 version of this tutorial, see:
Move or Restore Default Location of Desktop Folder in Windows 11
Here's How:
1 If you currently have your Desktop folder protected by OneDrive, then you will need to temporarily turn off OneDrive protection for this folder until after you move it.
2 If you haven't already, you will need to create a new folder named Desktop at the location (ex: "E:" ) you want to move your personal Desktop folder to. (see screenshot below)
3 Open This PC in File Explorer (Win+E), right click on your Desktop folder, and click/tap on Properties. (see screenshot below)
4 Click/tap on the Location tab, and click/tap on the Move button. (see screenshot below)
If you don't have a Location tab, then you can type shell:desktop into the address bar of File Explorer, and press Enter to find it's current location.
5 Browse to and select the Desktop folder at the location (ex: "E:\Desktop" ) from step 2, and click/tap on Select Folder. (see screenshot below)
6 Click/tap on OK to apply. (see screenshot below)
7 Click/tap on Yes to move all the files from the old location to the new location. (see screenshot below)
8 Your personal Desktop folder and all of its contents will now be moved to the new location (ex: "E:\Desktop" ). (see screenshot below)
That's it,
Shawn Brink
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