What is a safe way to move AppData\Local to a different drive?

Question

I use a 60GB SSD for the C: partition where Windows and other essential programs are installed, using a larger mechanical HDD for D:, and I repeatedly find myself short of disk space on C:, with the main culprits being folders within %LocalAppData% [Picasa & Outlook files].

How can I move these folders to D:, recovering space on C:?

Answer 1

1. Open the %LocalAppData% Properties dialog
2. Location tab → Enter desired new location
3. Move

Answer 2

How about using mklink to create a symbolic link:

1. MkLink /d C:\Users\Nikhil\AppData\Local D:\AppData\Local
   

   • I haven't tried this, so maybe give it a test drive in a VM first; you may also have to create separate symbolic links for each subfolder
2. Move all the files/folders from the %LocalAppData% to D:\AppData\Local
3. Delete %UserProfile\AppData\Local

Answer 3

This isn't an answer to your question but probably a solution to your problem, as I'm thinking:

• Generally, C:\Hiberfil.sys is huge and since you don't need hibernation with an SSD as it lowers boot time, disable hibernation via an Admin terminal:

  PowerCfg –h Off
  

On my system, this freed 12GB since hiberfil.sys is no longer needed, and, for me, this would be a much better solution than moving the %LocalAppData% since moving it to a mechanical HDD would slow down drive-access for every affected program, thus defeating the purpose of the SSD.

Answer 4

Using the registry method within Shell Folder/User Shell Folder, folder redirection for all subsequent data will be saved at the new location by default:

• Microsoft's Deploy Folder Redirection with Offline Files article shows how to change the location of the Desktop folder by using folder redirection. (replace Desktop with AppData, Start Menu, etc.)

Answer 5

Microsoft does not recommend moving %AppData% off the system partition.

• Use TreeSize Free to see if there other ways to remove files, as sometimes C:\hiberfile.sys and C:\pagefile.sys are candidates
• %LocalAppData%\Temp could be redirected to a mechanical HDD

You should really consider getting a bigger SSD, as you want to run with at least 30% free so the SSD has vacant blocks to write to; running at 99% full on an SSD increases wear level, with the performance you come to expect from SSD being greatly diminished.

Answer 6

Login using Safe mode:

1. Press F8 at boot and select Safe Mode from the menu
2. Navigate to %AppData% → Right-click LocalLow and/or Roaming → Properties
   • You can't safely move %LocalAppData% since it's also being used in Safe Mode, but the Roaming and LocalLow folders hold great potential for space recovery.
3. Tab: Location → Move

Answer 7

It's possible to move Outlook .pst files to a different location, changing your profile to point to the new location:

• How to manage .pst files in Microsoft Outlook

Answer 8

I just recently did something about this to move 100gb of data.

First of all, I did not try to move the whole appdata. Instead, I search in appdata to find where It consumes the most space. Turns out, the adobe folder was getting about 70 gb.

So I did a joint folder with a mklink.

First, I created the folder D:\mklinks\appdata\adobe. The name here is purely organizational.

Second, I copied the contents of C:\users\user\appdata\roaming\adobe to the folder in D.

Third, I ran command prompt in administrator mode. There I entered the command

MkLink /J "C:\Users\User\AppData\roaming\adobe\linkadobe" "D:\mklinks\AppData\adobe"

The /J will create a joint connection named linkadobe, which will look like a shortcut. But all the adobe programs kept running smoothly (the only complain is the icon on the taskbar changed to a blank icon). The name "linkadobe" is just my own chosen pattern. The citations are necessary in case any folder is not single word named.

I repeated the process for a few more big folder and did not see any problems so far. I just checked the adobe folder as I was writting these. It seems that adobe recreated all the folders there were on the original directory, but the folder is 19mb so far.

Answer 9

Over a period of time, I mysteriously lost 100gb HD space within Win 7 Home Premium, with Space Monger reporting it was from subfolders within %UserProfile%\AppData, which I think are hidden files.

• Research online suggested that since these are temporary user files, I could delete them, which I did via Space Monger, recovering 100GB with no noticeable ill effects.

Answer 10

While it's not recommended to move the entire %AppData% folder, if you have folders that are taking up a lot of space (Pictures, Documents, etc.), these can be easily moved to another partition:

1. File Explorer → Right-click on %UserProfile%\Pictures → Properties
   
2. Tab: Location → Change directory to the desired location (e.g. D:\Pictures) → OK
   • If you have OneDrive set up, you may run into an issue here; in this case, you need to make a change to the Registry:
     1. Open OneDrive → Settings → Backup
     2. Deselect the desired folder (e.g. Pictures) → Save
     3. +R → regedit → OK
     4. Navigate to:

        HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
        

        
     5. Change the value of My Pictures to the desired folder (e.g. D:\Pictures). You can also change all of the %UserProfile% data folders (Documents, Downloads, etc.)
     6. You should be able to move the directories you specified in the Registry via the directory's Properties → Location tab

If you want to continue backing up these folders in OneDrive, go back into your OneDrive settings and select the new location to sync.