I want to change the default location for all software installs from C:\Program Files to E:\Program Files How?

On my previous system I found the location in the Registry of the default installation path and changed it from C: to E: but that was five years ago and I've forgotten how to do it. The idea is to keep the C: drive clean so I can reinstall windows (which seems to be a necessity every six months or so)

I want to change the default location for all software installs from C:\Program Files to E:\Program Files How?
I don't really know how you could keep the software installed while reinstalling windows. There's always registry keys and tricky dll, that's why you have to reinstall all your apps when you reinstall windows. A few programs can be use without installation, however, but it's not most of the soft.





Beside, if you want to install your apps in E:\, just select "custom installation" every time you install one, and select the path where you want to install them.





Well, you can switch to linux, it's far more easy to install software with package managers ! Installing every software you need when you reinstall your OS is so easy !!
Reply:I have 2x250gb internal hard drives, one is my C drive second is 'D'. My operating system with recovery partition is on C. A few programs I put onto the D drive worked fine, all you have to do is upon installation just change the drive letter to specify installation directory. Only thing is, when you reformat the pc the programs you installed onto the D drive will still be there but you will have lost the associations in the start menu and quick launch which means to run that program you have to go into the hard drive and click the .exe manually. What I do is if i'm installing a program that I've downoaded I save the installer and put it on the spare drive. Saves sooo much time when it comes to reformatting the pc again.





Hope this helps
Reply:Open your registry and find the key


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion





Change the value of "ProgramFilesDir" and "CommonFilesDir" to the desired Program Files and Common Files directories.





Disclaimer: Modifying the registry can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Use the information provided at your own risk.

quince