changing path of installed programs...possible?

ishaan · 26-11-2005, 07:34 PM

hi

i got lottsa stuff installed in my C: and now im thinking...is there ne software or anything wich enables me to transfer these installed programs into D: ?

for example if i have quake 3 arena installed on C:, can i sumhow transfer it to D: ?

without uninstalling obviously, keeping all the settings same ?

i dont think its possible but mebe u guys no a way

also, normally wen u install stuff, the path says C:\program files\blah blah

is there any way so that by default only it always diaplays D: ?

thanks

QwertyManiac · 26-11-2005, 07:42 PM

In System Mechanic Pro theres a feature for Relocating Software a.k.a the one u are talking about, i dunno how that works but it deals with some registry editing...

**kalpik** · 26-11-2005, 07:42 PM

If i remember correctly, there was an option of this sort in system mechanic. Check that out. You can also manually edit all registry settings.

sakumar79 · 26-11-2005, 08:10 PM

There are a few software that help you shift apps from one drive to another such as Application Mover at http://www.funduc.com/app_mover.htm. I think they will take a lot of time depending on the size of used space (I believe they go through the registry and all the files to find links to your apps and then revise them). The software I have mentioned above is shareware and is limited to 10 uses in trial... Dont think there are freeware. There is another software called COA32 (Change of Address/32) which is available at http://ftp.iasi.roedu.net/os/Win9x/util/coa32.zip but there is not much info i could find (appears old and works with Win95 and WinNT only), but there is a new shareware version called COA2 that works upto Win2k available at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,960882,00.asp

In Win9x, you can use TweakUI to change default location of various folders including Program Files... In WinXP this feature does not include Program Files, so you have to manually change it afaik... There is something I havent tried in WinXP - check for the entry in regedit that goes like this: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion and change the value of ProgramFilesDir key... and also possibly the environment variable %ProgramFiles%. Would advise you to make a system restore point first before trying it out.

Arun

anandk · 26-11-2005, 08:15 PM

i have used system mechanic to relocate software successfully, and without problems, so try it. (i use winxp/sp2)
www.iolo.com

ps : during installation it chooses the path as the one where ur os is installed, hence 'c'. always change the path to some other drive, manually. the lesser on ur 'c' drive the better.

sakumar79 · 26-11-2005, 08:17 PM

There seems to be a freeware after all (though only upto Win2k). Check out http://www.woundedmoon.org/win32/moveit11.html

Arun

selva1966 · 26-11-2005, 08:33 PM

I have also used system mechanic pro to relocate softwares. So try it.

Vishal Gupta · 26-11-2005, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishaan

also, normally wen u install stuff, the path says C:\program files\blah blah

is there any way so that by default only it always diaplays D: ?

Yes! There is a way

Open regedit and nevigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion

In right-side pane, u'll see 2 keys, named:

ProgramFilesDir
ProgramFilesPath

Change their values to ur desired value, i.e., D:\