Having trouble moving Outlook PST file from drive C to Drive D?

[cneelsr]

I just installed a SSD drive in my system and I want to move all my data files to Drive D and leave OS and all programs on the C drive. Anybody have experience with doing this? Thanks!

 

[Solder]

Hit Windows + R and type regedit, hit enter, and go here...here....and here.

 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

Set to match "User Shell Folders" plus a few others as you see fit

 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

%USERPROFILE%\Downloads To D:\Downloads
D:\My Documents
D:\My Music
ETC...

As for Office Outlook...

 Outlook 2010: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\

 Outlook 2007: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\

Right click hit New - click Expandable String Value, name it ForcePSTPath and set the value to D:\<Folder>\<Outlook> What ever the location of your new folder is.

Nice and easy

 

[Solder]

Like this...kind-a-thing...

 

[cneelsr]

Thanks, Solder,
I appreciate your help! Would you be so kind as to explain to me what each step is doing to my computer. Also, I noticed some spaces in some of the words, such as, "...\14.0\O utlook\ & ....Office\14.0\O utlook\". Is that intentional or a tying error?

 

[Solder]

Those spaces seem to be an error in the forum's interpretation of what I put in. Not sure why it happens, but it has happened before so I guess it's just a thing. That being said, there isn't supposed to be any space there.

The folder path is to the location of the element you need to change. When you change the path from the default, you are creating a new default location. When you change %USERPROFILE%\Downloads To D:\Downloads
D:\Downloads is now the default location for your downloads. From now on, when you download something from the net, it will reside there instead of on C:\Users\<yourName>\Downloads which is the current default.
Make sure you change the settings in both locations "Shell Folders" and "User Shell Folders". If you don't, you could run into issues when sharing files over your LAN. Not to mention, it should be done that way anyways
to avoid any confusion in the system itself. As for the Outlook .pst file location, that doesn't reside anywhere else other than where I showed you so that is the only place that has to be changed for that entry. As for the current
files in the default location, all you have to do is copy and paste all the files over to the new location. From now on when you click on Music, Pictures, Videos, or Documents in Windows Explorer, it'll show you your new location.

EDIT: This might be redundant but just to make sure there isn't any issue with Outlook...

I copied this from Microsoft to set the default location in Outlook as well so everything jives...
For Outlook '07

1. Open Outlook.
2. On the Tools menu, click Options.
3. On the Mail Setup tab, click the E-mail accounts button, even if you do not have an email account specified.
4. On the Data Files tab, click Add.
5. Click Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst), and then click OK.
6. Find the new location for your .pst file, and then click OK two times.
7. Click Set as Default.
8. If this is your default e-mail delivery location, you will receive the following message:
   
   You have changed the default deliver location for your e-mail. This will change the location of your Inbox, Calendar, and other folders. These changes will take effect the next time you start Outlook.
   
   
   Click OK.
9. Click the .pst file that was identified in step 4 of the "How to identify the name and location of your personal folder file" section, and then click Remove to remove the local .pst file from your profile.
10. Click Yes, click Close, and then click OK to close all dialog boxes.
11. On the File menu, click Exit.
12. Restart Outlook.

Outlook '10

1. Open Outlook 2010.
2. Click the File tab on the Ribbon, and then click the Info tab on the menu.
3. Click the Accounts Settings tab, and then click Account Settings again.
4. On the Data Files tab, click Add.
5. Under Save as type, select Outlook Data File (*.pst).
6. Find the new location for your .pst file, and then click OK.
7. Select the .pst file, and then click Set as Default.
8. If this is your default e-mail delivery location, you will receive the following message:
   You have changed the default deliver location for your e-mail. This will change the location of your Inbox, Calendar, and other folders. These changes will take effect the next time you start Outlook.
   
   Click OK.
9. Click the .pst file that was identified in step 4 in the "How to Identify the Name and Location of Your Personal Folder File" section, and then click Remove to remove the local .pst file from your profile.
10. Click Yes, click Close, and then click OK to close all dialog boxes.
11. On the File menu, click Exit.
12. Restart Outlook.

 

[redduc900]

Just enclose the registry entries in

 tags, and you won't see any spaces in the formatting...

Not enclosed in [CODE] tags... 

[B]HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders[/B]

Enclosed in [CODE] tags...
[CODE]HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

Before you enter the registry path in the Message field, click on the

 button in the toolbar, then either enter the path manually or CTRL+V to paste the path between the tags.

 

[Solder]

Ah, thanks redduc900

 

[Solder]

Another tip for this setup is to have Windows Explorer open to your D:\ drive by default.

Hold Shift and Right Click on the Explorer icon in the task bar, select Properties.
Change Target to read %windir%\explorer.exe /n,D:\ to open in D: instead of the library's folder.