Changing Default Storage on Win 8

Hi,
I hope someone can help because I can not work this out!! I have a very small 64gb Solid State c drive on my pc but 2 huge 2TB HDD too.
Is there anyway of switching the default storage setting so that Windows 8 will not save anything further to my C drive such as Apps etc? I know its early days but I just can not get this problem sorted and while my C drive isn't too clogged up at the moment, I'm sure it wont be long!!
Thanks,
Mike

Well, you can't tell it to never store new files on your C: drive, but you can tell it to store some files elsewhere. To change Program Files (and Program Files (x86) in 64 bit versions) then open regedit and navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

In the right hand pane look for ProgramFilesDir and ProgramFilesDir (x86) and right click edit and change the locations.

Now, some older apps hard code writing their files to c:\ but most should be good citizens. Also, files that are installed to the system directory will always go to C:, no way to change that.

You can also change your Libraries to go to another location, by right clicking on those and editing them.

Sean's Windows 8 Install & Optimization Guide for SSDs & HDDs

Here is a great Guide for doing exactly that.

Sean's Windows 8 Install & Optimization Guide for SSDs & HDDs

I used his Guide to setup my Windows 7 with a 3 x 10,000 rpm SATA drives in a RAID 0 array (striped), and a RAID Mirrored array for my "DATA" drive. I moved my entire USER directory to the mirrored drive and linked the C: Drive User directory to it. It has been working great for 2 years and it is fast as can be. Check out the Guide, it gives specifics for every possible issue and configuration.


You can boot up in command prompt safe mode and move your USER directory to the other disk and then setup a hard link from the C: drive. Be sure to read the entire guide. There are a few gotchas with a few Windows backup restore features that can reset these links, so check first before you do anything like a Windows refresh or anything like that.

Don't move the user directory and mess with the links. It's far, far easier and safer to simply right click, drag, and move the actual library folders.