“In most cases, your new data drive will be slower
than your Windows drive, particularly if you boot
from an SSD,so be prepared for a performance hit”
Windows 1
Free up some spac
December 2019 | |^61
1
Set up new folders
You can choose to monitor all
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Make your choice and click OK. Wait
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you’ll see a three-paned window. The
bottom provides a colour-coded ‘map’
of your hard drive according to how it’s
being used.
2
Move user folders
Browse back to This PC. Right-
click Documents and choose Properties
> Location tab. Click Move... to browse
to and select the Documents folder
you just created. Click ‘Select Folder’
followed by Apply. When prompted,
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to your new drive.3
Rinse, repeat
Now repeat the process for all
the other folders listed – be prepared for
a long wait if you have large folders to
move across to your new drive. The
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complete, you’ll have freed up space
on your system drive without having to
delete anything.Move data to a new drive
but use your network connection, so
may be a more practical alternative
should you not wish to have your laptop
permanently connected to a USB drive.
Once your new drive is set up, you’ll
want to transfer your data across – the
step-by-step guide below reveals how
to do this for all your user folders,
which are where the bulk of your data
can be found.
Move some apps
If you’re running Windows on a very
small boot drive – say 32GB – then it’s
not enough to move data off your
system drive, you’ll quickly run out of
space for new apps too. Where it’s not
possible to upgrade your system drive
for a larger model (see over the page),
you can also investigate ways of
moving your programs from your
system drive to your data one. One
caveat: in most cases, your new data
drive will be slower than your Windows
drive, particularly if you boot from an
SSD, so be prepared for a performance
hit and try to keep those apps you use
most often on your boot drive.
There are two ways to move apps to a
new drive: first, Windows Store apps
(including those pre-installed with your
PC like Photos) can sometimes be
moved via ‘Settings > Apps > Apps &
features’. Click the app in question and
look for a Move button – if it’s not
greyed out, click it, select which drive to
move it to and finally click Move again.
Regular programs are so well
integrated into the operating system
that you can’t simply move their folder
from the Program Files folder to your
new drive. One option might be to
uninstall and reinstall, but that comes
at a cost of losing your preferences
and assumes the program in question
allows you to choose where to reinstall
the program too.
A simpler, foolproof option is to use
SteamMover (www.traynier.com/
software/steammover). This clever tool
moves your program files to your data
drive but leaves a “symbolic link” in its
place. This shortcut fools Windows into
thinking the programs are still on your Cdrive, so they continue to work
seamlessly. It’s easy to use: click ‘...’
under ‘Steam Apps Common Folder’
and select C:\Program Files, Ctrl-click
on the programs you plan to move
based on their size and how frequently
you use them, then click the right
arrow button to move them all across.
Changed your mind? Simply select
your program and click the left arrow
button to move it back, no questions
asked. Windows 64-bit users should
also check the C:\Program Files(x86)
folder for 32-bit apps to move.SteamMover allows you to move any program on your PC to another drive without reinstalling it.