Full Guide: Move the Downloads Folder from C Drive to D Drive

Most of you must know that if the C drive stores too many files, the computer will gradually have a bad performance. Therefore, some people will hope to free up the space of the system drive. One method is to move the Downloads folder from C drive to D drive. But how to do that?

I have two drives on my PC. An SSD for boot and a hard drive for mass storage. I was trying to change the location of the downloads to my D: drive, but whenever I do, the file automatically installs itself to the C: Drive download folder. I tried to move it to the D: drive, but it doesn't have an option to do so. So whenever I do try to download something it installs it to the SSD instead of my Hard drive. I am asking for any tips or suggestions that would help me leap towards a way to fix this issue without breaking the rest of my PC. – alexruarkanswers.microsoft.com

How to Change the Location of the Downloads Folder

Here are three methods for you to move the Downloads folder from C drive to D drive or change the location of the download files.

Way 1: Change the Location via Windows Settings

Step 1: Press Win + I to open Windows Settings.

Step 2: Navigate to System > Storage, then scroll down on the right pane to find and click on the Change where new content is save option under the More storage settings section.

Step 3: You can select the location of new apps, photos, documents, and other files from the drop-down menu.

Way 2: Move the Folder Using the Properties Feature

You can also change the Downloads folder to another drive by using the Move feature in Properties. Here is a specific introduction to how to do it.

Step 1: Press Win + E to open the File Explorer. Go to the location where you want to move the Downloads folder. Here we will move the folder to D drive.

Step 2: Right-click on the blank space on the right pane and choose New > Folder to create a new folder.

Step 3: Rename this new folder as Downloads.

Step 4: Find and right-click on the Downloads folder of C drive under the Quick Access section.

Step 5: Choose the Location tab and click on the Move button to select the newly created Downloads folder in D drive.

Step 6: Click Apply > OK to save the change. In the prompt window, click on Yes to apply the change.

Way 3: Change the Default Location of the Internet Download Files

If you are always downloading files from the Internet, you can change the download path directly to save the downloaded files to another drive.

Step 1: Open the browser you use to download files and find its Settings page. Here we take Google as an example.

Step 2: Choose the Download button on the left pane, then click on the Change button to change the Downloads location.

Step 3: You can choose the target folder from the window and click Select Folder to confirm.

After this setting, any file you downloaded from this browser will be saved to the new location.

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How to Move the Folder Back to the Original Path

However, some people failed to move files from C drive to D drive due to maloperations. This improper action will mess your files up. But you can get rid of this situation by moving the folder back to the original path. Follow this guidance to do it.

Step 1: Press Win + R to open the Run window.

Step 2: Type regedit into the text box and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor window.

Step 3: Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer > User Shell Folders.

Step 4: You may find subkeys named {374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B} or {7D83EE9B-2244-4E70-B1F5-5393042AF1E4}, double-click on each subkey to change its Value data to %USERPROFILE%\Downloads.

Step 5: Click OK to save the change.

Then, you can check whether the Downloads folder is back to the original path.

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Bottom Line

You can find it is a simple process to change the location of the Downloads folder from C drive to D drive. But you should still be careful when making changes to avoid data loss caused by maloperations.