Moving Apps and Data Between Hard Drives

martindow

I've got a PC with two drives, C and D.  C is a SSD and D a conventional hard drive.  Originally I planned to have just Windows on the smaller C drive and everything else on the larger D drive.

Over the years various apps and files have ended up on C which is now nearly full, so I need to move some apps and files across to D which has lots of space.  How should I do this?  Can I simply copy and paste things to D and then delete them on C?  I don't want to end up with a muddle where files can't find the program they are associated with or create any other issues.

Peter999_2

There is no easy way to do this at all unfortunately.

The best way is to un-install the app and re-install it using the drive for the installtion location.

Vitor

Do you use OneDrive? That can complicate matter, otherwise -

How do you MOVE Documents from C: Drive to D Drive? - Microsoft Community

martindow

Thanks Peter and Vitor, that's very helpful.  If I move documents or reinstall aps  from C to D, will double clicking on a file still open its associated program even though it's in a new location?  For example .odt to open Libre Office?

HillStreetBlues

It does depend on the app. I use a lot of portable ones so any transfer is easy. Some even though aren't suppose to be are.
What you can do is copy and paste them to the D drive and see if they still run. An issue you might have is some programs you can't change the default location.
What is the size of your C drive?  Have you cleaned it up of late?
 

SiliconChip

It makes sense to have your apps on the C drive as they'll load and run faster from a SSD than from a HD. But that isn't usually the case for data, and it should be relatively straightforward to move data items from C to D and change the place that they are opened from within the relevant app - in fact, you could copy the data, check that it opens OK in the new location, and only then delete it from the old one. If, like me, data makes up a large proportion of the size of your files then that may free up enough space on the C drive to keep it usable for a while longer.

Newcad

Moving your files should give no problems, Windows knows that you have moved them and where to.

Moving apps/programnes can be more of an issue. When you install an app it is installed on a particular drive, in a particular location, and expects to find it's own needed files there. But more than that the Windows Registry is also set to look for those files in the install location.

Which means if you just move them elsewhere Windows registry doesn't know where to find them.

That is why the uninstall and reinstall advice given above is best when it comes to the apps themselves

But do be sure to make a note of any registration keys, licence keys, user names, passwords, etc. before uninstalling any app because you will need them to re-register the new install.

If you want to be extra sure then save your own  files to an external drive (back them up) before uninstalling the app and reinstalling it on the other drive. (You should have your own files backed up anyway, you never know if a drive may fail or get corrupted).

martindow

Thanks all.  It sounds a sensible strategy to start by moving files and see how much space that frees up.  Downloads probably has a lot in it so I could empty that too.  I'll have a go later in the week and report back.

Vitor

'Forcing' apps onto D is usually problematic, unless they're games which have GBs of content and explicitly offer an install directory.

I'd focus on pics, videos and documents then run a Disk Cleanup on C, including system files to remove old Windows update files etc.

martindow

After your suggestions, I've not attempted to move apps, but a lot of large files are now on D and I've also deleted a lot of items from downloads.  The SSD is 120GB and had only 4GB free.  Now there is over 40GB of free space there.  Thanks again for your help.