How to change the default installation directory in Windows
Jun 29, 2025 am 12:12 AMTo change the problem of Windows software being installed on C drive by default, there are three methods to solve it: First, modify the system user folder path, which is suitable for new users. The default folder such as "document" and "download" will point to the new path, but it will not affect the installation path of the third-party software; Second, use symbolic links, first install to the C drive and then move to other disks, and create links to deceive the system identification; Third, manually select the path during installation, which is the most common method, and most software supports custom installation directories. Note that the path does not contain Chinese or special characters, so you need to run the installer as an administrator to avoid permission issues.
If you find that the program is always installed on the C drive by default when installing software on Windows, and want to change to another drive but don’t know how to operate it, there are actually several ways to adjust the default installation directory. The key is to understand the difference between the system level and the software itself.

Modify the default user folder path of the system (for new users)
Windows itself does not directly provide the function of modifying the default installation path of all programs, but you can indirectly affect the behavior of some applications by changing the default location of the user folder. This method is mainly aimed at the default path of the newly created user, not effective globally, nor is it suitable for existing accounts.

- Open the Registry Editor (regedit) and find
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
- View
ProfileImagePath
in each user configuration item and modify it to the path you want - When creating a new user, the default "Document", "Download" and other folders will also point to a new path.
??Note: This method has certain risks. It is recommended to back up the registry before operation, and it will not affect the installation path selection of most third-party software.
Using symbolic link spoofing system (advanced skills)
If you just want to install some software on D disk or other disks, but the installation interface does not allow you to change the path, you can use the "symlink" method to bypass the restrictions:

- Install the software first to the default path (such as C:\Program Files\AppName)
- After the installation is completed, cut the entire folder to the target location of the D disk (such as D:\Program Files\AppName)
- Create a symbolic link in the original location, with the following command:
mklink /J "C:\Program Files\AppName" "D:\Program Files\AppName"
In this way, the system will think that the software is still on disk C, but in fact the data exists on disk D. Suitable for SSD users with tight space.
Manually select paths when installing third-party software (most commonly used)
Most regular software will let you choose the installation directory during the installation process. At this time, you only need to click "Browse" or "Custom Installation" and manually specify the path you want.
Common precautions:
- Do not include Chinese or special characters in the path to avoid abnormal operation
- Do not nest too deep folder structures to facilitate later search
- If the installation fails to prompt permission issues, try running the installer as administrator
This method is the easiest and most versatile and is suitable for most desktop software and games.
Basically these are the methods. System-level global modification is more troublesome, so most of the time it is still solved by manually selecting paths or using soft links. Although it looks a bit tangled, you only need to do it once and you basically don’t need to move it later.
The above is the detailed content of How to change the default installation directory in Windows. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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