Move AppData folder

[exe163]

I want to move the app data folder to another drive along with the rest of my "user profile" folders to speed up the image dragging process with firefox? Is there a way to do that? If not, is it possible to reroute firefox's cache folder to my storage drive?

 

[SelRahc]

I redirect these folders on my domain using Group Policy. I do not believe it can be changed in the local (non-domain) PC Group Policy editor but you can edit the registry entry directly. It's fairly simple.

* Obligatory CMY warning. Its the registry. Edit at your own risk *

With that being said, open regedit (start, run, regedit). Expand to the following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ User Shell Folders

You should see all of the major folder locations here. My Docs, Desktop, Faves, Start Menu, etc... By default they point to the %UserProfile% or %AllUsersProfile% and then the appropriate folder. Enter a direct path to the new location tho. So for example, you could move your app data to D:\Profiles\Application Data . Log off or restart for changes to take effect. I believe it will create the folder location automatically....

I recommend putting it in a sub folder in case you choose to move any other folders later. I create a \Profile folder for myself on my file server.

Let me know your results or if you have any questions.

 

[SelRahc]

Should you desire, you can back-up your registry inside regedit. To back up the User Shell Folders, right click on that folder and select Export. Save it in a good location. To restore it, right click on the .REG file and select Merge.

You can back up the entire registry by exporting at the MyComputer level inside regedit.

 

[bigdogchris]

You can use the mlink command or go to users and groups. Under user properties, 2nd tab, you can drop your entire user folder onto another drive. It just has a spot that you provide the link to the folder it will reside in.

 

[SelRahc]

LOL there is that way too. Completely forgot about that one. Ive been non-local and using GP for so long i completely forgot about the profile entry. I use GP for everything these days. Good call. I'd do it that way ;-)
Can't believe I forgot about that <.<.....>.>..... *puts reminder to self not to go technical at 1am..... crawls back into hole he came from*

 

[exe163]

You can use the mlink command or go to users and groups. Under user properties, 2nd tab, you can drop your entire user folder onto another drive. It just has a spot that you provide the link to the folder it will reside in.

Sorry for the late reply, just manage to get time to do this. Registry is what I used in the past to relocate my user folder, it works but there's a chance of messing things up in the future. What do you mean by users and groups? lusrmgr?