Moving User Profile on Windows XP

rikishi19 · 16. Jul 2011, 02:08 PM

Hi

I have just had to do a clean install of Windows XP on my parents PC.

I am wanting to know how to change the default location for the user profiles so that I can have the System on one drive (C:\) and all the user profile information e.g. My Documents, App Data etc. on another (D:\).

I know how to do this on Windows 7 and did this successfully on my personal machine. I had to do a simple registry edit to point the default, public and profiles directory to the other drive and any new profiles created would have their profile on the D drive instead.

However I'm unsure as to whether this would be successful on XP aswell.

The only method I can seem to find is where you enter a new target in the My Documents folder and set this as the other drive. However I've read this can cause problems with some programs as they still look in the default location on the original drive location.

Any help would be great. I have done the clean install of XP already, but want to do this step of moving the user profile before I continue on with anything else.

torres-no-tan-magnifico · 16. Jul 2011, 05:42 PM

The following should more than answer your questions:

http://www.techsupportalert.com/part...d-drives-1.htm

http://www.techsupportalert.com/part...d-drives-2.htm

http://www.techsupportalert.com/part...d-drives-3.htm

http://www.techsupportalert.com/how_..._documents.htm

http://www.techsupportalert.com/cont...election_Guide

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best...election_Guide

rikishi19 · 17. Jul 2011, 11:14 PM

Thanks for pointing me to the never re-install windows links. I knew I had read about moving the my documents folder on this site somewhere, but I couldn't find which article it was in.

The solution in that article doesn't do what I was wanting, however I am not sure if you can do what I am after in XP. In Windows 7 it is very easy to do.

I have for now used this solution as it will do for the moment. I am encouraging my parents to let me build them an upgraded PC, so this is a good solution for now.

Remah · 20. Jul 2011, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rikishi19

Hi

I have just had to do a clean install of Windows XP on my parents PC.

I am wanting to know how to change the default location for the user profiles so that I can have the System on one drive (C:\) and all the user profile information e.g. My Documents, App Data etc. on another (D:\).

I know how to do this on Windows 7 and did this successfully on my personal machine. I had to do a simple registry edit to point the default, public and profiles directory to the other drive and any new profiles created would have their profile on the D drive instead.

However I'm unsure as to whether this would be successful on XP aswell.

The only method I can seem to find is where you enter a new target in the My Documents folder and set this as the other drive. However I've read this can cause problems with some programs as they still look in the default location on the original drive location.

Any help would be great. I have done the clean install of XP already, but want to do this step of moving the user profile before I continue on with anything else.

Yes you can do it on XP and the method is very similar so you should manage it without difficulty. The best way to do it is with an unattended install when you can easily specify the location of Windows components. Paul Thurott's Windows site has good instructions.

I've done it manually (30+ times years ago) and at unattended install (20+ times more recently). Microsoft do warn about moving documents and settings but have some info on doing it. I have never had any problem with programs hardcoded to point at drive C:. That was a significant problem a decade ago but most 'bad' programs are not used anymore or have been upgraded since then.

The main differences are that the location of the document and settings folders are changed. For example, a user account called PROFILE has the documents folders located as follows:
XP - C:\Documents and Settings\PROFILE\My documents
7 - C:\Users\PROFILE\Documents

It might be as simple as the few registry edits you say for Windows 7 but I'm pretty sure you will have to do more for XP. The most common procedure is something like this - from memory so check yourself by searching on "XP move documents and settings folder":

install XP and make the changes before installing any additional software (as there are potentially more registry edits to be made)
create a temporary account with admin privileges
copy C:\Documents and Settings folder and subfolders to the new drive - you don't need to copy the temporary account
edit the registry to change the home drive and anything that includes "Documents and Settings" or "Docume~1". The important keys will at places like "Hkey_LocalMachine\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Cu rrentProfile\ProfileList"
reboot and login with the temp account
confirm that the changes have worked by renaming (I wouldn't delete until I'm sure I've got it right) C:\Documents and Settings folder or the account folder
if it hasn't worked properly edit the registry again and repeat
When complete delete the temporary account

I may not have answered your question completely.

rikishi19 · 20. Jul 2011, 10:48 PM

Hi

Thanks for your advice. Yes that method is very similar to the Windows 7 method that I was after.

I did give that a try at first by changing what I thought was necessary in the registry, however I must have missed a key somewhere (one you don't need to change in 7) as when I logged into the new user account the documents folders etc. had moved successfully, however all the default programs (everything under Accessories in start menu for example) were missing and a couple of other quirks.

At the moment I am quite happy with the moving My Documents method in the article posted above as it does the main thing of successfully separating personal files from the system.

I'm pretty sure the PC in question will be replaced in a couple of months anyway.

If this was a couple of years ago I would have delved into the registry method more intently to make sure it was done properly, but XP is getting to the end of its life, along with my parents current PC.

16. Jul 2011, 02:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
rikishi19 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 107	Moving User Profile on Windows XP Hi I have just had to do a clean install of Windows XP on my parents PC. I am wanting to know how to change the default location for the user profiles so that I can have the System on one drive (C:\) and all the user profile information e.g. My Documents, App Data etc. on another (D:\). I know how to do this on Windows 7 and did this successfully on my personal machine. I had to do a simple registry edit to point the default, public and profiles directory to the other drive and any new profiles created would have their profile on the D drive instead. However I'm unsure as to whether this would be successful on XP aswell. The only method I can seem to find is where you enter a new target in the My Documents folder and set this as the other drive. However I've read this can cause problems with some programs as they still look in the default location on the original drive location. Any help would be great. I have done the clean install of XP already, but want to do this step of moving the user profile before I continue on with anything else.

16. Jul 2011, 05:42 PM	#2 (permalink)
torres-no-tan-magnifico Copy Editor Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 622	The following should more than answer your questions: http://www.techsupportalert.com/part...d-drives-1.htm http://www.techsupportalert.com/part...d-drives-2.htm http://www.techsupportalert.com/part...d-drives-3.htm http://www.techsupportalert.com/how_..._documents.htm http://www.techsupportalert.com/cont...election_Guide http://www.techsupportalert.com/best...election_Guide __________________ Torres-no-tan-magnifico

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17. Jul 2011, 11:14 PM	#3 (permalink)
rikishi19 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 107	Thanks for pointing me to the never re-install windows links. I knew I had read about moving the my documents folder on this site somewhere, but I couldn't find which article it was in. The solution in that article doesn't do what I was wanting, however I am not sure if you can do what I am after in XP. In Windows 7 it is very easy to do. I have for now used this solution as it will do for the moment. I am encouraging my parents to let me build them an upgraded PC, so this is a good solution for now.

20. Jul 2011, 10:48 PM	#5 (permalink)
rikishi19 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 107	Hi Thanks for your advice. Yes that method is very similar to the Windows 7 method that I was after. I did give that a try at first by changing what I thought was necessary in the registry, however I must have missed a key somewhere (one you don't need to change in 7) as when I logged into the new user account the documents folders etc. had moved successfully, however all the default programs (everything under Accessories in start menu for example) were missing and a couple of other quirks. At the moment I am quite happy with the moving My Documents method in the article posted above as it does the main thing of successfully separating personal files from the system. I'm pretty sure the PC in question will be replaced in a couple of months anyway. If this was a couple of years ago I would have delved into the registry method more intently to make sure it was done properly, but XP is getting to the end of its life, along with my parents current PC.