My primary storage device is an SSD, all of the program giles are stored there and recently my PC started complaining there was no more room in my SSD and i should free up some space. Me being stupid, decided i should move the program to my much larger HDD, however, Windows decided to copy the files instead of simply moving them. I though this was not a problem and so i deleted the original files. This went okay until i started getting multiple messages warning me i was deleting system files, and so i stopped deleting. (It still deleted roughly half of what i asked it to). My PC still works perfectly but every time i boot it up i get 4-5 messages letting me know that certain files cannot be found etc. Do i have to wipe my PC to fix this? It's only a minor inconvenience so i don't really want to do this. Thanks for the help in advance. (P.S, Since i upgraded to windows 10, the time it takes for my PC to boot up from pushing the power button to ready to use has increased significantly, is there a way to fix this, or is that just the way things are? Thanks)
📎 AI Summary:
The thread discusses a user's issue after attempting to move program files from an SSD to an HDD, leading to missing system files and startup warnings. Responders suggest solutions including resetting Windows, performing an in-place upgrade, restoring deleted files, or reinstalling programs properly to fix the problem. The overall sentiment emphasizes caution with drive migrations and recommends regular backups, with some debating the pros and cons of installing programs on non-C: drives.
The thread discusses a user's issue after attempting to move program files from an SSD to an HDD, leading to missing system files and startup warnings. Responders suggest solutions including resetting Windows, performing an in-place upgrade, restoring deleted files, or reinstalling programs properly to fix the problem. The overall sentiment emphasizes caution with drive migrations and recommends regular backups, with some debating the pros and cons of installing programs on non-C: drives.
Solution
kemical
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Hi,
you could try a Reset with the option to keep photos and folders:
How to Use the Windows 10 Reset Your PC Feature
you could try a Reset with the option to keep photos and folders:
How to Use the Windows 10 Reset Your PC Feature
holdum333
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Hi You could also try a in-place upgrade repair and not lose your programs! Before you do the reset suggested by @kemical ; or the In-place Upgrade, you should always create a back up image that you can use to get you back to the place you are now!
Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade - Windows 10 Forums
Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade - Windows 10 Forums
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Hi
You could also try copying all the files from the location that you copied them to, back to where they came from.
That should restore the files that Windows is looking for.
If that works uninstall the program from you SSD and reinstall it on the HDD so that all the registry connections point to the correct place.
The lag booting may be caused by the time that Windows takes looking for the missing files.
If you ever completely redo your setup it's a good idea to install much of your software in Programs Files and Program Files (x86 folders on your HDD, keep your C:\ drive small and easy to backup and recover.
All you have to do is change the C:\ to D:\ and leave the rest of the address alone when you do the install and it will take care of the rest.
Mike
You could also try copying all the files from the location that you copied them to, back to where they came from.
That should restore the files that Windows is looking for.
If that works uninstall the program from you SSD and reinstall it on the HDD so that all the registry connections point to the correct place.
The lag booting may be caused by the time that Windows takes looking for the missing files.
If you ever completely redo your setup it's a good idea to install much of your software in Programs Files and Program Files (x86 folders on your HDD, keep your C:\ drive small and easy to backup and recover.
All you have to do is change the C:\ to D:\ and leave the rest of the address alone when you do the install and it will take care of the rest.
Mike
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2013
- Messages
- 2,419
Hi James,
Sorry to hear what happened to you. But, it's often best to check with a computer expert before you start messing around with moving programs from one hard drive to the next. Bad things usually ensue.
Mike and Holdum gave you some good suggestions here which you may want to follow. You can check your Recycle Bin and attempt to restore the deleted systems files to your bootdrive (C: drive), but in my experience this usually fails, and you are looking at a Windows Reset almost certainly. You said you didn't mind doing it, but didn't want to. That's a Mixed Message I get on a daily basis on the forums I volunteer on. <grin>. Which is it? No one likes to do a complete rebuild, but when you do something catastrophic it's pretty much inevitable.
In regards to Mike's suggestion about installing all your programs onto the D: drive, and leaving C: drive with just the Windows system files and registry hive; I've got mixed feelings about that. It works for Mike, but doesn't work for everyone. There are thousands or tens of thousands of programs out there for Windows machines; however, not all of them take kindly to redirecting their install folders to a non-C: drive location (a secondary drive if you will). It's best to read the installation instructions if the program comes in a retail box with disc, otherwise you need to go to each FAQ on the website of each program you intend to redirect it's installation folder to. If you have 30 or 50 or 100 programs you are currently running on your machine, this can not only be time-consuming, it could lead you into a nervous breakdown. (I've had several from trying to do this for Clients over the years!
Mike has taken months or years to figure out which programs can be run this way, and he may have eliminated the ones he can't with other programs--that's not an easy process, I'm here to tell you. But, it's like a lot of advice we give here; what works well for one user may not work well for another. If you have the patience (as Mike clearly does) to do this, I suggest if you attempt to copy Mike's minimalist Windows install on your SSD bootdrive, when you install your programs onto your secondary hard drive (D: drive), that you do them one at a time, making sure to power-cycle your machine after each program installation. This will mitigate the possibility of overlapping memory leakage; a big problem on computers today and even worse in years gone by. You need to clear out the RAM and make sure that all entries into the Registry are completed for each program individually; as multiple installs can cause havoc in your various Memory Pools. This is tekkie talk for "no-Bueno". Power-cycling after each program install will help prevent this. Don't be surprised though that if you install 25 programs in the same day, you may come up with a Blue-Screen and have to troubleshoot that issue to find out which of the 25 programs is the culprit! Not a fun task, and very likely will require 1 or more Windows resets to accomplish a clean-running system. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it Mike's way, as it has some good advantages. It doesn't work for me, since I use many programs that Windows doesn't like running from a secondary drive location; and I know this, so I suffer through having to make large backup images (right now about 172GB each), and I need multiple external usb drives to store them on. It's quite a process.
Just some food for thought,
Best of luck,
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>
Sorry to hear what happened to you. But, it's often best to check with a computer expert before you start messing around with moving programs from one hard drive to the next. Bad things usually ensue.
Mike and Holdum gave you some good suggestions here which you may want to follow. You can check your Recycle Bin and attempt to restore the deleted systems files to your bootdrive (C: drive), but in my experience this usually fails, and you are looking at a Windows Reset almost certainly. You said you didn't mind doing it, but didn't want to. That's a Mixed Message I get on a daily basis on the forums I volunteer on. <grin>. Which is it? No one likes to do a complete rebuild, but when you do something catastrophic it's pretty much inevitable.
In regards to Mike's suggestion about installing all your programs onto the D: drive, and leaving C: drive with just the Windows system files and registry hive; I've got mixed feelings about that. It works for Mike, but doesn't work for everyone. There are thousands or tens of thousands of programs out there for Windows machines; however, not all of them take kindly to redirecting their install folders to a non-C: drive location (a secondary drive if you will). It's best to read the installation instructions if the program comes in a retail box with disc, otherwise you need to go to each FAQ on the website of each program you intend to redirect it's installation folder to. If you have 30 or 50 or 100 programs you are currently running on your machine, this can not only be time-consuming, it could lead you into a nervous breakdown. (I've had several from trying to do this for Clients over the years!
Mike has taken months or years to figure out which programs can be run this way, and he may have eliminated the ones he can't with other programs--that's not an easy process, I'm here to tell you. But, it's like a lot of advice we give here; what works well for one user may not work well for another. If you have the patience (as Mike clearly does) to do this, I suggest if you attempt to copy Mike's minimalist Windows install on your SSD bootdrive, when you install your programs onto your secondary hard drive (D: drive), that you do them one at a time, making sure to power-cycle your machine after each program installation. This will mitigate the possibility of overlapping memory leakage; a big problem on computers today and even worse in years gone by. You need to clear out the RAM and make sure that all entries into the Registry are completed for each program individually; as multiple installs can cause havoc in your various Memory Pools. This is tekkie talk for "no-Bueno". Power-cycling after each program install will help prevent this. Don't be surprised though that if you install 25 programs in the same day, you may come up with a Blue-Screen and have to troubleshoot that issue to find out which of the 25 programs is the culprit! Not a fun task, and very likely will require 1 or more Windows resets to accomplish a clean-running system. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it Mike's way, as it has some good advantages. It doesn't work for me, since I use many programs that Windows doesn't like running from a secondary drive location; and I know this, so I suffer through having to make large backup images (right now about 172GB each), and I need multiple external usb drives to store them on. It's quite a process.
Just some food for thought,
Best of luck,
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>
- Joined
- May 25, 2009
- Messages
- 6,684
Hi
Bigbearjedi is right that there is some software is hard wired into being installed on drive C, but usually I've found that if that's the case it won't ask you where you want to install the program to start with, it will just default to the location that it wants.
I've only come around to doing it this way myself in the last couple of years, but I'll never go back to jamming everything on my C:\ drive again, it's so much easier to do a system restore when all your other software and data isn't involved and they are more secure from malware, glitches in Windows etc.
I can back up or restore my C:\ drive in a little over 15 minutes, that a lot easier then messing with virus infestations and corrupted operating system files.
I have every thing that Adobe makes and many graphic, video and sound programs on my computer none of it on C:\, same with my dozen or so games.
I've never found a program that didn't run if it would allow me to install it on another location to start with.
And remember always...
Make a system Image and back everything that's important to a different hard drive.
They do fail sometimes.
Mike
Bigbearjedi is right that there is some software is hard wired into being installed on drive C, but usually I've found that if that's the case it won't ask you where you want to install the program to start with, it will just default to the location that it wants.
I've only come around to doing it this way myself in the last couple of years, but I'll never go back to jamming everything on my C:\ drive again, it's so much easier to do a system restore when all your other software and data isn't involved and they are more secure from malware, glitches in Windows etc.
I can back up or restore my C:\ drive in a little over 15 minutes, that a lot easier then messing with virus infestations and corrupted operating system files.
I have every thing that Adobe makes and many graphic, video and sound programs on my computer none of it on C:\, same with my dozen or so games.
I've never found a program that didn't run if it would allow me to install it on another location to start with.
And remember always...
Make a system Image and back everything that's important to a different hard drive.
They do fail sometimes.
Mike
Last edited:
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