Moving User Folder With App Data
In my present windows 7 computers, I used a small program to change environmental variables (I think) by making changes to the registry. This moved the Users folder along with App Data to either a second partition or drive.
The purpose was not for saving space but rather for i
solation or the OS and
All DATA (or as much of it as possible) on a separate drive or partition. (Kid does not have separate drive, just partition.)
Windows 7 of course is not using GPT and does not have the OS restoration function that Windows 8.1 has. (BTW, I still use Windoes 7 as does the rest of my family. I am only familiar with Windows 8.1 because as a sort of hobby, I help people with their computers. I had to restore my pastor's mother's laptop to factory settings and put the shell on it to make it look like 7.)
So, I have been using
Acronis 2014 strictly to backup my OS. I do in the following manner. First I do a full backup right after instillation first the C: drive and then the D: drive with no data but the user and app data there. Then I install all the progranms that I normalll use and I do a second full backup of both C: and D: I will then do differentials only of C: at various times over about a year. After that, I think you are including all sorts of junk so if there was a total system crash, I would go back to an earlier backup and would of course have to do system and program updates...no totally foolproof way, I suppose.
As for my data, since I do not have a lot of it, I do not want to use a proprietory system like Acronis for that, but rather I simply do bit for bit syncs with my backup external drive and cloud.
I am going to start doing photos and video so I think I am probably going to have to use something like Acronis for the data.
Finally, I have a couple of old machines which I am going to turn into baby NASs using Amahi
Turn an Old PC Into a NAS, VPN, Media Streamer, and More with Amahi Additionally, I am going to be creating a number of websites which will give me a server which I can use for my own personal cloud using Own Cloud
https://owncloud.org/
So, in summary, I have thought that moving users and app data to a sepearate physical drive would simply things for me. Yes, I have read that Microsoft does not recommend doing this because of problems with updating. However, I have always done clean installs. The thing is, it is my understanding that you will not be able to keep your technical preview of 10 but have to update...no possibility of doing a clean install of 10 unless you buy it...though I am not certain of this. Parenthetically, I just got that email that the preview of the latest Office is available.
Speaking of Office, you might get a laugh out of this. Sometimes new is not better. Personally, I like the organization of the
2003! Outlook with its Master Catagory List. Being a stuborn fellow, I still use a flip phone and a Palm Pilot which does not play nice with 64 bit. So...I run an old XP just when I have to backup my Outlook! Addtionally, I am still using Office 2007...no reason to update. If its not broke, don't fix. it.
1991 I puchased my first PC Clone, put a $700 modem/fax board on it, running DOS. Had I known what I know now, would I have purchased a MAC like my brother? As a physician, I thought computers were to serve us. I never knew that I would have to become an IT expert simply to own a PC. One time I was running DOS, Windows 3.0, and Xenix to manage my practice! "So it goes..."