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WARNING: EDITING THE REGISTRY CAN CAUSE BAD THINGS TO HAPPEN IF NOT DONE CAREFULLY. I RECOMMEND YOU BACK UP YOUR ENTIRE REGISTRY AS WELL AS ANY FILES YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE BEFORE TRYING THE STEPS LAID OUT BELOW
My apologizes if this isn't new information for the power users
So after looking up how this was done in XP (I never had to do it in XP because I only ever used one hard drive) and looking through the registry, I came up with a method for transparently moving User home directories. This isn't just a cut and paste job or modifying paths in file properties, this will move the whole user account, including all that temporary application junk (Game profiles, internet cache, etc) as well as your documents, music and pictures.
My Harddrive setup is as follows:
System Raptor 74GB (WD740ADFD) (C:\)
Storage Caviar SE16 250GB (WD2500KS) (D:\)
1. Copy Users folder to new destination
For me this was simply copying it from "C:\Users\" to "D:\Users\"
2. Modify User ProfileList
This is the template Vista uses to set up new User accounts.
2.1 Open "regedit" or any registry editing tool you prefer.
2.2 Navigate to the following Key: "\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList"
2.3 You should see 4 String values under that Key. Change any key referencing "%SystemDrive%\Users\..." (should be 3 of the 4 keys) to "X:\Users\..." where X is your destination drive. Do not change the ProgramData value.
If you are dealing with a clean windows install you can use method 3.a, otherwise it is probably best to use method 3.b if you already have lots of applications installed.
3.a At this point if your working with a clean Windows install the easiest way to procede is to delete your current user accounts and remake them. To do this, create a new Administrator account (I called mine TempAdmin), then delete your current user accounts (Keeping files) and remake them. Upon being remade they should be assigned to the new User directory and pick up the files you copied over earlier.
3.b If you have lots of stuff already installed and don't wish to reinstall windows you can go modify EVERY reference in the registry referring to "C:\Users\" to "X:\Users\ " I recommend using a registry editor that allows "Find and Replace" actions. You will also need to modify for each user the "Homedrive" value found under the "\HKEY_USERS\<User Hash>\Volatile Environment" (default setting should be "C:").
This is necessary because if the references are not changed, any already installed programs which reference user directories may start complaining next time you use them or behave oddly.
4. Rebooting at this point would probably be a good idea. You can also delete the admin account you had to create earlier. After rebooting you can delete the original Users Folder on your system drive freeing up space. If Windows will not let you delete it then you did something incorrect.
My apologizes if this isn't new information for the power users
So after looking up how this was done in XP (I never had to do it in XP because I only ever used one hard drive) and looking through the registry, I came up with a method for transparently moving User home directories. This isn't just a cut and paste job or modifying paths in file properties, this will move the whole user account, including all that temporary application junk (Game profiles, internet cache, etc) as well as your documents, music and pictures.
My Harddrive setup is as follows:
System Raptor 74GB (WD740ADFD) (C:\)
Storage Caviar SE16 250GB (WD2500KS) (D:\)
1. Copy Users folder to new destination
For me this was simply copying it from "C:\Users\" to "D:\Users\"
2. Modify User ProfileList
This is the template Vista uses to set up new User accounts.
2.1 Open "regedit" or any registry editing tool you prefer.
2.2 Navigate to the following Key: "\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList"
2.3 You should see 4 String values under that Key. Change any key referencing "%SystemDrive%\Users\..." (should be 3 of the 4 keys) to "X:\Users\..." where X is your destination drive. Do not change the ProgramData value.
If you are dealing with a clean windows install you can use method 3.a, otherwise it is probably best to use method 3.b if you already have lots of applications installed.
3.a At this point if your working with a clean Windows install the easiest way to procede is to delete your current user accounts and remake them. To do this, create a new Administrator account (I called mine TempAdmin), then delete your current user accounts (Keeping files) and remake them. Upon being remade they should be assigned to the new User directory and pick up the files you copied over earlier.
3.b If you have lots of stuff already installed and don't wish to reinstall windows you can go modify EVERY reference in the registry referring to "C:\Users\" to "X:\Users\ " I recommend using a registry editor that allows "Find and Replace" actions. You will also need to modify for each user the "Homedrive" value found under the "\HKEY_USERS\<User Hash>\Volatile Environment" (default setting should be "C:").
This is necessary because if the references are not changed, any already installed programs which reference user directories may start complaining next time you use them or behave oddly.
4. Rebooting at this point would probably be a good idea. You can also delete the admin account you had to create earlier. After rebooting you can delete the original Users Folder on your system drive freeing up space. If Windows will not let you delete it then you did something incorrect.
