How to Move Personal Folders to Another Drive in Windows 10 and 11 Before a Reinstall

The idea: keep your files off the drive you might wipe​

Alvi says he doesn't mind losing apps or settings in a reinstall, because apps can be re-downloaded and account-linked settings restored. His real fear was personal data. He admits he doesn't back up everything regularly and keeps only the important files on an external HDD. So he redirected his personal folders to a second drive.

His claim is that every reinstall since then has felt like routine troubleshooting. That's a sensible approach, but it comes with conditions.

What this moves, and what it doesn't​

This is the most important distinction. The method redirects individual known folders such as Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures and Videos. It does not relocate C:\Users or your whole user profile.

Microsoft treats moving the profiles directory as a separate deployment setting, ProfilesDirectory, and its documentation says it doesn't recommend the setting except perhaps in a test environment. Microsoft also notes that Microsoft Store apps aren't supported when the setting is changed, according to its deployment docs. The destination must be an NTFS volume and can't be a drive holding a different copy of Windows. Alvi makes the same point from experience: moving the whole Users directory needs a different approach, and he recommends it only for fresh installations.

Folder redirection is the gentler option. Your profile, app data and registry hive stay on C:. Only the document-type folders move.

How to move a personal folder​

The steps match Alvi's account and the published guides I checked (Digital Citizen, GroovyPost and Microsoft's own troubleshooting page).

1. On the second drive, create a destination folder for each one you plan to move, for example D:\Documents and D:\Downloads.
2. Save and close any files open from the folder you're about to move. Alvi tripped over a Notepad file. Microsoft's OneDrive documentation also notes that open files can't be moved.
3. In File Explorer, right-click the folder (Documents, say) and choose Properties.
4. Open the Location tab.
5. Click Move, browse to the new folder on the other drive, and choose Select Folder.
6. Click Apply. When Windows asks whether to move all files from the old location to the new one, choose Yes to move the existing contents.
7. Repeat for each folder, one at a time.

Success looks like the Location tab showing the new path, with your files present there and applications saving to the new location. The Location tab lets you see the current location, move it, restore the default, or find the target. It appears only for supported personal folders.

Avoid these mistakes​

• Don't point one folder at another. Microsoft's troubleshooting page describes Documents mapped to Videos. No error appears, but the two folders end up not truly separate. Another failure involves folders mapped into OneDrive, which can produce an access-denied error when you try to move again. Give each folder its own destination. Digital Citizen also warns against moving a user folder into another user folder.
• Don't batch it. Alvi stresses doing one folder at a time and using the native Location method.
• Mind the drive letter. If the second drive is removed or gets a different letter, the redirected folders won't resolve properly. GroovyPost notes you may need to reconnect it and possibly reset the path.

Undoing it​

To revert, go back to the Location tab and click Restore Default. Confirm whether to move the files back, as Alvi describes. Other guides say the same thing. If OneDrive's Known Folder Move is active for a folder, one guide suggests restoring defaults on each affected folder and then redoing the moves one at a time. If Restore Default fails, Microsoft's workaround is to reset the matching values under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders. For Documents, the registry value is Personal and the default is %USERPROFILE%\Documents. Back up the registry first, as Microsoft warns.

After a reinstall​

Alvi's after-reinstall recipe is simple. Once Windows is back, redirect each new folder to the existing folder on the second drive using the same Location tab. His words: everything goes back to the way it was. Note that after a reinstall, Windows creates fresh default folders. Repointing them to the existing ones is the step that reconnects your data.

Caveats you shouldn't skip​

A second drive isn't a backup​

This is my main caution, and Alvi's own habits show why. Moving folders creates no second copy. The files are still exposed to drive failure, accidental deletion, malware, or picking the wrong drive in the installer. A second partition on the same physical disk doesn't protect against that disk failing, and a clean install that repartitions or formats it can still destroy your data. That's my inference from how storage works, not something Microsoft says about this specific technique.

The protection is therefore conditional. It works if the second drive is physically separate, you select the correct target disk during setup, and you don't format or repartition the data drive.

Reinstalls aren't all equally destructive​

Alvi says reinstalling wipes everything on the system drive. Microsoft's recovery documentation is more nuanced, and the outcome depends on the method:

• Reinstall via Windows Update: keeps personal files, apps and settings.
• Reset this PC: you choose whether to keep or remove personal files. Apps and settings are removed.
• Cloud rebuild: removes personal files, apps and settings.
• Installation media: you can choose to keep personal files and apps, personal files only, or nothing, depending on how setup is started.
• Recovery drive: removes personal files, apps and settings.

Microsoft's own advice before any recovery is to back up important files and enable Windows Backup. If BitLocker is on, have your recovery key ready. Microsoft says you'll need it for most recovery options from WinRE.

Backing up properly​

Microsoft's File History guide describes backing up libraries such as Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music and Desktop to an external drive or network location. Folders elsewhere can be added by including them in a library. Restoring a previous version replaces the current file or folder, and that can't be undone. Microsoft's guidance for copying to an external device also says to verify the files and then eject the drive safely.

A sensible layered setup is the second drive for separation, plus a File History or external-drive backup for protection.

OneDrive​

Alvi says OneDrive may need reconfiguring after the move, but he doesn't use it, so he didn't test it. Treat that as a possibility, not a certainty. Microsoft's documentation treats OneDrive folder backup (Settings > Sync and backup > Manage backup) as a separate setting from Windows' own folder locations. If you use OneDrive folder backup, check it after moving folders. Microsoft also notes that error 0x80070005 can mean a group policy prohibits redirecting profile folders. That's most relevant on managed PCs, so ask your administrator if you hit it.

What about the performance claim?​

Alvi mentions possible speed gains but hedges, noting that many factors are involved. The documentation I reviewed doesn't establish a performance benefit. The defensible gain is space: his folders totalled roughly 20 GB, which he expects to buy him a year or more before C: fills up again. Treat any speed boost as a bonus, not a reason to do this.

Bottom line​

For people who can't or won't keep disciplined backups, redirecting Documents, Downloads, Pictures and the rest to a separate physical drive is a low-effort way to reduce reinstall anxiety. It takes a few minutes and is reversible. It works only if you pick the right disk when installing and keep a real backup alongside it. And it doesn't move your whole profile, so don't treat it as that.