- #How to change default file location in windows 10 how to
- #How to change default file location in windows 10 update
- #How to change default file location in windows 10 full
- #How to change default file location in windows 10 download
- #How to change default file location in windows 10 windows
the path might look like C:\Users\YourUserName\Downloads.
#How to change default file location in windows 10 windows
USERPROFILE is a variable that refers to the logged in user's profile directory on the Windows computer, e.g.
#How to change default file location in windows 10 download
mklink /j c:\windows\SoftwareDistribution d:\NewUpdateFolderĪfter you run the command, you should see a reply stating “Junction Created For” followed by the paths you specified.How to Specify Where Files Are Downloadedīy default, Chrome, Firefox and Microsoft Edge download files to the Downloads folder located at %USERPROFILE%\Downloads.
#How to change default file location in windows 10 full
Clicking Start, type “cmd” into the search box, right-click on the “Command Prompt” result, and then select the “Run As Administrator” command.Īt the prompt, type the following command (replacing “d:\NewUpdateFolder” with the full path to the folder you created in step one). These act much the same way a shortcut does they point to a real folder somewhere else on your computer.įirst, run Command Prompt as an administrator. To do this, we use what’s called a Symbolic Link, or symlink.
#How to change default file location in windows 10 how to
Now that you’ve created the new folder you want the downloads to go and renamed the old “SoftwareDistribution” folder to get it out of the way, you need to show Windows how to find the new folder. Step Four: Create a Symbolic Link to the New Folder If prompted for permission again, click “Yes.” The easiest thing to do is to just stick “Old” at the front or back to signify this isn’t the current folder we’ll be working with. You’ll be prompted for permission to do this click “Yes.” Right-click the “SoftwareDistribution” folder there and then click the “Rename” command.
That’s because you’ll be creating a new symlink folder and Windows doesn’t let you have two folders of the same name, even though one is only pointing to the new folder you created in step one. Now, you’ll need to rename the existing folder to something different. Step Three: Rename the Old Download Folder Scroll down until you find the wuauserv service near the bottom of the list. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open the Task Manager and click the “Services” tab.
#How to change default file location in windows 10 update
The Windows Update service won’t let you do that if it’s running. Next, you have to stop the Windows Update service to prevent it from updating anything while you change things around and because in the next step, you’ll be renaming the old update folder. Step Two: Stop the Windows Update Service We’ve named ours “NewUpdateFolder,” and it’s located on the D:\ drive. Next, name the folder to whatever you want. In File Explorer, find the location you want to use, right-click anywhere, point to the “New” submenu, and then click the “Folder” command. (You really should be backing up regularly, anyway.) It’s a pretty safe process, but better being safe than sorry. Note: Before going any further, you should back up your computer just in case anything goes wrong while altering things in system folders. It’s not complicated, though, and we’ll walk you through the steps.
We’ll be shutting down the update service, using the Command Prompt to create a symlink (a virtual link to a new folder so Windows still thinks it’s using the original folder), and then restarting the update service. You’ll have to jump through a few hoops to make it work. Since these updates can often take up a lot of space-16-20 GB in some cases-you might want Windows to download them to a different drive, especially if you’re using something like a solid state drive where disk space is at a premium. Windows takes care of removing update files at some point after they’ve been installed, but often-especially in the case of major updates like the October 2018 Update-it keeps those files around for a while in case you want to uninstall the updates or roll back your version of Windows. If the system drive is too full and you have a different drive with enough space, Windows will often try to use that space if it can.
Windows will automatically try to use a different drive if your system drive is full, but with a few steps, you can also force Windows to download updates somewhere else.īy default, Windows will store any update downloads on to your main drive, this is where Windows is installed, in the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder. To update your system to the latest release, there must be enough space on your hard drive for the update files.