I have always wondered about this. By default, all programs that I install are installed in the Program Files folder, which is on the same drive as the operating system. Would it be possible to install the program files at another location besides the default folder, perhaps on a completely different drive to the operating system?
Yes, you can do that. However you can't simply cut + paste the folders within the Program Files folder. You will have to re-install the program(s) and specify a different installation directory.
So true! because everytime u install a software, it asks you to specify the path, where you wants to install that program...But I would say, unless you are installing a game or something big just use the Programs folder coz if in case you wants to do complete reinstall of your windows by formatting, any program on different drive will not work. Also, you will have to find them and delete them manually....
Thanks for the advice guys! I do use a lot of recording and media programs on my PC that take up quite a lot of HDD space. For an example of some of the BIG programs that I use, check these out. The Symphonic Orchestra (Platinum Bundle) takes 138GB (!) of space alone. Ideally I'd like a seperate HDD/s for these programs and use the default program files folder for the usual stuff like MS Office and Anti Virus etc. Crazy, I know!
you can either tweak the registry or you may find it easier to use TweakUI, ill try to find the registry key that you need to modify to change the default (C:\Program Files) back soon
to edit the default install location, open regedit and navigate to : [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\<User Shell Folders> dbl click "Program Files" and enter a new location like D:\Stuff, then when installing something, its default install directory will be: D:\Stuff
