Relocating a folder in windows 7
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Dunno if anyone can help me here but I feel like a rant. I'm trying to relocate the C:\Users folder in Windows 7 to a different drive. The primary reason is so that all the temp folders, web cache etc are on a HDD rather than my solid state disk and I've done this in the past under XP with "Documents and Settings", some subfolders under "Windows" and some subfolders under "Program Files" with no problems. On XP I'd boot into BartPE and use the xcopy command to clone the folder preserving NTFS permissions, attributes etc, delete the original and then use the sysinternals junction utility to create a junction point that links to the new location. In Win 7 I was just getting vague "Access denied" errors constantly under BartPE but got a little further under the recovery console (booting windows CD and going into the command prompt). After hours and hours of frustration I still can't get the folder copied though. :( The furthest I've got is using the following command.... xcopy E:\Users H:\Junctions\Win7UsersTest /E /I /H /K /O /X /B /J /F At first this was getting some way but then just failing with an "Insufficient memory" error. I tried various workarounds to this without any luck but ended up resorting to deleting all of the problematic files (they were all under "Temporary Internet Files" anyway). After deleting a few other problem files under the Temp folder which for some reason were causing "Access denied" errors when they were reached it eventually completed but doesn't seem to have cloned the junction points the win 7 installation has as standard properly. The junctions under under the original "Users" folder have become copies of the entire destination directory on the destination despite having the switch (think it was the /B can't remember) present to shallow-copy the symbolic links rather than deep copy the destinations of the link. The switch seems to work for symbolic links but not junction points. I can see this causing major problems in the future potentially if some apps are using the "Default User" alias and some are using "Users\Default" (why can't MS ever keep consistent names across versions of the OS?!?) so abandoned that idea. I've tried checking out xxcopy but it looks like it needs installation so not sure I can use it from the recovery console. Anyway when I try to run the executables it tells me that it's for 32-bit systems only and gives me a link to a 64-bit version that you have to pay for. I've also tried robocopy using the /E /copyall and /SL switches but that doesn
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Dunno if anyone can help me here but I feel like a rant. I'm trying to relocate the C:\Users folder in Windows 7 to a different drive. The primary reason is so that all the temp folders, web cache etc are on a HDD rather than my solid state disk and I've done this in the past under XP with "Documents and Settings", some subfolders under "Windows" and some subfolders under "Program Files" with no problems. On XP I'd boot into BartPE and use the xcopy command to clone the folder preserving NTFS permissions, attributes etc, delete the original and then use the sysinternals junction utility to create a junction point that links to the new location. In Win 7 I was just getting vague "Access denied" errors constantly under BartPE but got a little further under the recovery console (booting windows CD and going into the command prompt). After hours and hours of frustration I still can't get the folder copied though. :( The furthest I've got is using the following command.... xcopy E:\Users H:\Junctions\Win7UsersTest /E /I /H /K /O /X /B /J /F At first this was getting some way but then just failing with an "Insufficient memory" error. I tried various workarounds to this without any luck but ended up resorting to deleting all of the problematic files (they were all under "Temporary Internet Files" anyway). After deleting a few other problem files under the Temp folder which for some reason were causing "Access denied" errors when they were reached it eventually completed but doesn't seem to have cloned the junction points the win 7 installation has as standard properly. The junctions under under the original "Users" folder have become copies of the entire destination directory on the destination despite having the switch (think it was the /B can't remember) present to shallow-copy the symbolic links rather than deep copy the destinations of the link. The switch seems to work for symbolic links but not junction points. I can see this causing major problems in the future potentially if some apps are using the "Default User" alias and some are using "Users\Default" (why can't MS ever keep consistent names across versions of the OS?!?) so abandoned that idea. I've tried checking out xxcopy but it looks like it needs installation so not sure I can use it from the recovery console. Anyway when I try to run the executables it tells me that it's for 32-bit systems only and gives me a link to a 64-bit version that you have to pay for. I've also tried robocopy using the /E /copyall and /SL switches but that doesn
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Dunno if anyone can help me here but I feel like a rant. I'm trying to relocate the C:\Users folder in Windows 7 to a different drive. The primary reason is so that all the temp folders, web cache etc are on a HDD rather than my solid state disk and I've done this in the past under XP with "Documents and Settings", some subfolders under "Windows" and some subfolders under "Program Files" with no problems. On XP I'd boot into BartPE and use the xcopy command to clone the folder preserving NTFS permissions, attributes etc, delete the original and then use the sysinternals junction utility to create a junction point that links to the new location. In Win 7 I was just getting vague "Access denied" errors constantly under BartPE but got a little further under the recovery console (booting windows CD and going into the command prompt). After hours and hours of frustration I still can't get the folder copied though. :( The furthest I've got is using the following command.... xcopy E:\Users H:\Junctions\Win7UsersTest /E /I /H /K /O /X /B /J /F At first this was getting some way but then just failing with an "Insufficient memory" error. I tried various workarounds to this without any luck but ended up resorting to deleting all of the problematic files (they were all under "Temporary Internet Files" anyway). After deleting a few other problem files under the Temp folder which for some reason were causing "Access denied" errors when they were reached it eventually completed but doesn't seem to have cloned the junction points the win 7 installation has as standard properly. The junctions under under the original "Users" folder have become copies of the entire destination directory on the destination despite having the switch (think it was the /B can't remember) present to shallow-copy the symbolic links rather than deep copy the destinations of the link. The switch seems to work for symbolic links but not junction points. I can see this causing major problems in the future potentially if some apps are using the "Default User" alias and some are using "Users\Default" (why can't MS ever keep consistent names across versions of the OS?!?) so abandoned that idea. I've tried checking out xxcopy but it looks like it needs installation so not sure I can use it from the recovery console. Anyway when I try to run the executables it tells me that it's for 32-bit systems only and gives me a link to a 64-bit version that you have to pay for. I've also tried robocopy using the /E /copyall and /SL switches but that doesn
If I can't find a better way I'll probably do it using xcopy as mentioned earlier, and then manually delete and subfolders that should be junctions and recreate them. Just did a list using dir /a:l /s and there are quite a lot. I agree that things names like "Music" are better than "My Music" but I've always saw junctions / symlinks more as hacks to be used when either theres no other way to achieve something important or because they'd help save an immense amount of time etc. I've always liked to be aware of what all the junctions on my system are and where they're point to and don't think they should be littered about all over the filesystem. I don't think someone at MS deciding to change the name of something is important enough to justify their use or maybe that's just my opinion. Anyway, dir /a:l /s brought up the following.... Volume in drive C is Core Win7 System Volume Serial Number is 5AEA-DFCD Directory of C:\Users 14/07/2009 05:08 All Users [C:\ProgramData] 14/07/2009 05:08 Default User [C:\Users\Default] 0 File(s) 0 bytes Directory of C:\Users\All Users 14/07/2009 05:08 Application Data [C:\ProgramData] 14/07/2009 05:08 Desktop [C:\Users\Public\Desktop] 14/07/2009 05:08 Documents [C:\Users\Public\Documents] 14/07/2009 05:08 Favorites [C:\Users\Public\Favorites] 14/07/2009 05:08 Start Menu [C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu] 14/07/2009 05:08 Templates [C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Templates] 0 File(s) 0 bytes Directory of C:\Users\Default 14/07/2009 05:08 Application Data [C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming] 14/07/2009 05:08 Cookies [C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies] 14/07/2009 05:08 Local Settings [C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local] 14/07/2009 05:08 My Documents [C:\Users\Default\Documents] 14/07/2009 05:08 NetHood [C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Network Shortcuts] 14/07/2009 05:08 PrintHood [C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Printer Shortcuts] 14/07/2009 05:08 Recent [C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent] 14/07/2009 05:08 SendTo [C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo] 14/07/2009 05:08 <
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Unfortunately all that yields (along with any other searches I've tried in google) is information on moving a single user folder. I want to move the parent folder to also affect all newly created accounts and take care of any extra gubbins (not that i'm sure if there is any) that windows might shove in All Users, Default User, etc.
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Dunno if anyone can help me here but I feel like a rant. I'm trying to relocate the C:\Users folder in Windows 7 to a different drive. The primary reason is so that all the temp folders, web cache etc are on a HDD rather than my solid state disk and I've done this in the past under XP with "Documents and Settings", some subfolders under "Windows" and some subfolders under "Program Files" with no problems. On XP I'd boot into BartPE and use the xcopy command to clone the folder preserving NTFS permissions, attributes etc, delete the original and then use the sysinternals junction utility to create a junction point that links to the new location. In Win 7 I was just getting vague "Access denied" errors constantly under BartPE but got a little further under the recovery console (booting windows CD and going into the command prompt). After hours and hours of frustration I still can't get the folder copied though. :( The furthest I've got is using the following command.... xcopy E:\Users H:\Junctions\Win7UsersTest /E /I /H /K /O /X /B /J /F At first this was getting some way but then just failing with an "Insufficient memory" error. I tried various workarounds to this without any luck but ended up resorting to deleting all of the problematic files (they were all under "Temporary Internet Files" anyway). After deleting a few other problem files under the Temp folder which for some reason were causing "Access denied" errors when they were reached it eventually completed but doesn't seem to have cloned the junction points the win 7 installation has as standard properly. The junctions under under the original "Users" folder have become copies of the entire destination directory on the destination despite having the switch (think it was the /B can't remember) present to shallow-copy the symbolic links rather than deep copy the destinations of the link. The switch seems to work for symbolic links but not junction points. I can see this causing major problems in the future potentially if some apps are using the "Default User" alias and some are using "Users\Default" (why can't MS ever keep consistent names across versions of the OS?!?) so abandoned that idea. I've tried checking out xxcopy but it looks like it needs installation so not sure I can use it from the recovery console. Anyway when I try to run the executables it tells me that it's for 32-bit systems only and gives me a link to a 64-bit version that you have to pay for. I've also tried robocopy using the /E /copyall and /SL switches but that doesn
I haven't tried your approach, but I know that with vista and I assume 7, that if you update the location of the user folder registry key new users are created in the updated location. If you create new users, copy files and delete the old ones, you'd only have the system users on the solid state disk. Not sure if that is less painful than messing with pre-configuring a new install.
I can imagine the sinking feeling one would have after ordering my book, only to find a laughably ridiculous theory with demented logic once the book arrives - Mark McCutcheon
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Dunno if anyone can help me here but I feel like a rant. I'm trying to relocate the C:\Users folder in Windows 7 to a different drive. The primary reason is so that all the temp folders, web cache etc are on a HDD rather than my solid state disk and I've done this in the past under XP with "Documents and Settings", some subfolders under "Windows" and some subfolders under "Program Files" with no problems. On XP I'd boot into BartPE and use the xcopy command to clone the folder preserving NTFS permissions, attributes etc, delete the original and then use the sysinternals junction utility to create a junction point that links to the new location. In Win 7 I was just getting vague "Access denied" errors constantly under BartPE but got a little further under the recovery console (booting windows CD and going into the command prompt). After hours and hours of frustration I still can't get the folder copied though. :( The furthest I've got is using the following command.... xcopy E:\Users H:\Junctions\Win7UsersTest /E /I /H /K /O /X /B /J /F At first this was getting some way but then just failing with an "Insufficient memory" error. I tried various workarounds to this without any luck but ended up resorting to deleting all of the problematic files (they were all under "Temporary Internet Files" anyway). After deleting a few other problem files under the Temp folder which for some reason were causing "Access denied" errors when they were reached it eventually completed but doesn't seem to have cloned the junction points the win 7 installation has as standard properly. The junctions under under the original "Users" folder have become copies of the entire destination directory on the destination despite having the switch (think it was the /B can't remember) present to shallow-copy the symbolic links rather than deep copy the destinations of the link. The switch seems to work for symbolic links but not junction points. I can see this causing major problems in the future potentially if some apps are using the "Default User" alias and some are using "Users\Default" (why can't MS ever keep consistent names across versions of the OS?!?) so abandoned that idea. I've tried checking out xxcopy but it looks like it needs installation so not sure I can use it from the recovery console. Anyway when I try to run the executables it tells me that it's for 32-bit systems only and gives me a link to a 64-bit version that you have to pay for. I've also tried robocopy using the /E /copyall and /SL switches but that doesn
Isn't C:\Users a ntfs jucntion point that points to C:\Documents And Settings. [EDIT]Nope I am wrong it is the other way. http://www.svrops.com/svrops/articles/jpoints.htm[^] [/EDIT]
John
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Unfortunately all that yields (along with any other searches I've tried in google) is information on moving a single user folder. I want to move the parent folder to also affect all newly created accounts and take care of any extra gubbins (not that i'm sure if there is any) that windows might shove in All Users, Default User, etc.
I thought the first link did that and it even provided a utility. http://www.starkeith.net/coredump/2009/05/18/how-to-move-your-windows-user-profile-to-another-drive/[^]
Later, JoeSox CPMCv1.0 - Last.fm - MyFriendfeed - Joesox.com
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If I can't find a better way I'll probably do it using xcopy as mentioned earlier, and then manually delete and subfolders that should be junctions and recreate them. Just did a list using dir /a:l /s and there are quite a lot. I agree that things names like "Music" are better than "My Music" but I've always saw junctions / symlinks more as hacks to be used when either theres no other way to achieve something important or because they'd help save an immense amount of time etc. I've always liked to be aware of what all the junctions on my system are and where they're point to and don't think they should be littered about all over the filesystem. I don't think someone at MS deciding to change the name of something is important enough to justify their use or maybe that's just my opinion. Anyway, dir /a:l /s brought up the following.... Volume in drive C is Core Win7 System Volume Serial Number is 5AEA-DFCD Directory of C:\Users 14/07/2009 05:08 All Users [C:\ProgramData] 14/07/2009 05:08 Default User [C:\Users\Default] 0 File(s) 0 bytes Directory of C:\Users\All Users 14/07/2009 05:08 Application Data [C:\ProgramData] 14/07/2009 05:08 Desktop [C:\Users\Public\Desktop] 14/07/2009 05:08 Documents [C:\Users\Public\Documents] 14/07/2009 05:08 Favorites [C:\Users\Public\Favorites] 14/07/2009 05:08 Start Menu [C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu] 14/07/2009 05:08 Templates [C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Templates] 0 File(s) 0 bytes Directory of C:\Users\Default 14/07/2009 05:08 Application Data [C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming] 14/07/2009 05:08 Cookies [C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies] 14/07/2009 05:08 Local Settings [C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local] 14/07/2009 05:08 My Documents [C:\Users\Default\Documents] 14/07/2009 05:08 NetHood [C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Network Shortcuts] 14/07/2009 05:08 PrintHood [C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Printer Shortcuts] 14/07/2009 05:08 Recent [C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent] 14/07/2009 05:08 SendTo [C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo] 14/07/2009 05:08 <
Good luck with registry paths!
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Edition -
I thought the first link did that and it even provided a utility. http://www.starkeith.net/coredump/2009/05/18/how-to-move-your-windows-user-profile-to-another-drive/[^]
Later, JoeSox CPMCv1.0 - Last.fm - MyFriendfeed - Joesox.com
No, I'm not trying to move the user profile, I'm trying to move the location where the profiles are stored. I'll keep it in mind though as a possible option after I've done more research though, thanks.
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Good luck with registry paths!
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth EditionNah that should be fine, if the registry points to the old location it should transparantly redirect. I've tried alternate methods of moving Documents and Settings before though that have involved registry edits rather than junctions, and they have always led to problems, particularly with some of the accessories included as standard with Windows XP.
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I haven't tried your approach, but I know that with vista and I assume 7, that if you update the location of the user folder registry key new users are created in the updated location. If you create new users, copy files and delete the old ones, you'd only have the system users on the solid state disk. Not sure if that is less painful than messing with pre-configuring a new install.
I can imagine the sinking feeling one would have after ordering my book, only to find a laughably ridiculous theory with demented logic once the book arrives - Mark McCutcheon
I'll consider it. With XP I've had a lot of problems in the past doing it the registry way though whereas the junctions have worked near flawlessly - the only problem I've had is a bug in XP that prevented me deleting folders via the junction (C: drive). If I wanted to delete one I'd have to delete it from the junction destination instead. I've not tried it for a while but I think the problem was with the recycle bin and shift+delete worked fine. I've never tried in vista / win 7.
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Nah that should be fine, if the registry points to the old location it should transparantly redirect. I've tried alternate methods of moving Documents and Settings before though that have involved registry edits rather than junctions, and they have always led to problems, particularly with some of the accessories included as standard with Windows XP.
Have you tried booting with some rescue CD/alternate and move the files from in there?
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Edition -
Have you tried booting with some rescue CD/alternate and move the files from in there?
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth EditionYeah, works with an XP installation but with a Win 7 installation I get "Access denied". Might be to do with the junctions that are already there, not sure. Anyway I think I might be able to get xxcopy working. It failed when I booted from a 64-bit win7 DVD but I've a feeling it might work on the 32-bit version. I have to leave this for now but I'll give it a try tonight. If it doesn't work I'll just make the copy in xcopy and then sort out the junctions manually afterwards. EDIT: Scrap that, xxcopy needs installation so dunno if that's possible in recovery console, plus it turns out the free version doesn't let you copy ACL info.
modified on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 5:42 AM
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Yeah, works with an XP installation but with a Win 7 installation I get "Access denied". Might be to do with the junctions that are already there, not sure. Anyway I think I might be able to get xxcopy working. It failed when I booted from a 64-bit win7 DVD but I've a feeling it might work on the 32-bit version. I have to leave this for now but I'll give it a try tonight. If it doesn't work I'll just make the copy in xcopy and then sort out the junctions manually afterwards. EDIT: Scrap that, xxcopy needs installation so dunno if that's possible in recovery console, plus it turns out the free version doesn't let you copy ACL info.
modified on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 5:42 AM
Dave Parker wrote:
"Access denied"
You will need to take ownership of that entire folder. Not sure how safe that is or if you can revert it back again.
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Edition -
Dunno if anyone can help me here but I feel like a rant. I'm trying to relocate the C:\Users folder in Windows 7 to a different drive. The primary reason is so that all the temp folders, web cache etc are on a HDD rather than my solid state disk and I've done this in the past under XP with "Documents and Settings", some subfolders under "Windows" and some subfolders under "Program Files" with no problems. On XP I'd boot into BartPE and use the xcopy command to clone the folder preserving NTFS permissions, attributes etc, delete the original and then use the sysinternals junction utility to create a junction point that links to the new location. In Win 7 I was just getting vague "Access denied" errors constantly under BartPE but got a little further under the recovery console (booting windows CD and going into the command prompt). After hours and hours of frustration I still can't get the folder copied though. :( The furthest I've got is using the following command.... xcopy E:\Users H:\Junctions\Win7UsersTest /E /I /H /K /O /X /B /J /F At first this was getting some way but then just failing with an "Insufficient memory" error. I tried various workarounds to this without any luck but ended up resorting to deleting all of the problematic files (they were all under "Temporary Internet Files" anyway). After deleting a few other problem files under the Temp folder which for some reason were causing "Access denied" errors when they were reached it eventually completed but doesn't seem to have cloned the junction points the win 7 installation has as standard properly. The junctions under under the original "Users" folder have become copies of the entire destination directory on the destination despite having the switch (think it was the /B can't remember) present to shallow-copy the symbolic links rather than deep copy the destinations of the link. The switch seems to work for symbolic links but not junction points. I can see this causing major problems in the future potentially if some apps are using the "Default User" alias and some are using "Users\Default" (why can't MS ever keep consistent names across versions of the OS?!?) so abandoned that idea. I've tried checking out xxcopy but it looks like it needs installation so not sure I can use it from the recovery console. Anyway when I try to run the executables it tells me that it's for 32-bit systems only and gives me a link to a 64-bit version that you have to pay for. I've also tried robocopy using the /E /copyall and /SL switches but that doesn
Dave Parker wrote:
I think there's a way to tell the windows installer to put certain folders such as the Users folder on a different partition during installation. I've not tried this but for reasons I won't go into the destination of the link must end up being set as drive letter 'H' and my guess is the installer doesn't allow you to assign specific drive letters to partitions prior to the install. It sounds like a headache anyway as my guess is it involves slipstreaming and usually when I've done that before somethings gone wrong.
You could slipstream hard coded drive letters into paths in XP. I haven't tried doing it with newer OSes. Current SSDs are long enough lived that writing temp files isn't going to wear them out and at 120GB mine is big enough I don't need to worry about running out of space with them. For bulky media files I'm using the feature to merge multiple logical folders into a single displayed folder (eg my music).
3x12=36 2x12=24 1x12=12 0x12=18
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Dave Parker wrote:
"Access denied"
You will need to take ownership of that entire folder. Not sure how safe that is or if you can revert it back again.
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth EditionNevermind, got it sorted using the professional version of xxcopy on evaluation. This is what I did... Stuck pro version of xxcopy somewhere on my HD (H: drive) Booted windows 7 CD 32-bit version (couldn't find the 64-bit version of xxcopy) and went into the command prompt Ran H:\Installers\General utils\XXCopy\xxfw3000\xxcopy.exe and "installed" to "H:\Installers\General utils\XXCopy\XXCopyPro32Installation" Went over to that installation dir and ran... xxcopy E:\Users H:\Junctions\UsersWin7XXCTest /H /K /KCFS /KCDS /E /I /V /SC Renamed E:\Users to E:\OldUsersDir Created junction E:\Users targetted at H:\Junctions\UsersWin7XXCTest using mklink with the junction option. Booted up Win7, everything seemed fine with correct permissions and attributes etc. Only weird thing is the directory "OldUsersDir" shows as "Users" still in explorer, so there are 2 folders (a junction and a real folder) both called "Users" in the root. If I rename the Users folder from explorer to, say, RenamedFolder, it still continues to appear as Users in explorer but gets the new name "RenamedFolder" if I do a dir command in the command prompt. I've no idea why this is, but I've not got the hang of the Win 7 explorer yet.