How to Change Default Save Location in Windows 10?

If you are an avid Windows 10 user, you might be aware that the default save location in Windows 10 for personal data and apps is the partition where the OS is installed (Generally, it is the C drive). The idea of keeping your personal files such as Documents, Music, and Photos on the drive other than the drive where Windows 10 is installed is pretty good. It will ensure that in case of the operating system or partition failure, all your other data is safe. It would also help in organizing your system and utilizing the other drive partitions.

The good thing is, Windows 10 provides its users with the ability to change the default save location of the Apps, Documents, Music, Photos & Videos, Movies & TV Shows, and Offline Maps. Users do not have to manually select where the OS must save the new files.

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Let us discover the methods to change the default save location in Windows 10.

Change Default Save Location from Windows Settings

This is the most straightforward way to change the default save location in Windows 10. This Windows 10 setting would allow you to change the default save location of Apps, Documents, Music, Photos, and others. Here is how to configure it,

  1. Open Windows 10 settings from the start menu

  2. Select System settings
    System settings

  3. From the left pane, choose Storage.
    Storage settings

  4. Under Storage settings, scroll down and look for More storage settings. Click on “Change where new content is saved.”
    change where new content is saved

  5. A new window would be launched. Change where your documents, apps, photos, music, etc., would be saved by default.change default save location

The only drawback of this method is, you won’t be able to select a particular folder to save your data. Like C Drive, Windows would create separate folders on each drive for Documents, Music, etc. 

When you try to change the default location of apps and other data, you will also get the option to chose an external drive.

change default location to external drive

Also, to make the changes effective, you need to restart the system.

Change Default Save Location from Properties

If you require to change the default location of your Documents, Music, Videos, and other data, you can do that from the Properties option. 

In this example, we would change the default save location of Music.

  1. Open the File Explorer.
  2. Look for the Music folder and right-click on it.Music Folder right click
  3. From the Context Menu list, select PropertiesMusic properties
  4. Switch to the Location tab and change the path of the default save location.Change Music Location
  5. Click Apply and OK to finish the process.

You can follow similar steps to change the location of Documents, Downloads, and others.

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Change Default Save Location using Registry

If you are somehow unable to change the default save location in Windows 10 using the above two ways, you can use the Registry method.

  1. Press Windows key + R to launch the Run Command Box.
  2. Type regedit and hit the Enter key.Regedit
  3. On the Registry Editor window, navigate to the following path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders.
  4. You will see the number of strings like My Music, My Pictures, Personal, etc. Strings
  5. Right-click on any of them to change their default save path. For example, if you want to change the default save location of Documents, you need to configure the Personal string. Double click on it and type the path under Value data.Edit string
  6. Click OK and exit the Registry Editor.

That’s it. The default location would be set according to your preference.

Bottom Line

There might be various instances when the user needs to change the default save location in Windows 10. For example, when the primary partition is full. This practice would also separate your essential files from the Windows Drive, thereby safeguarding them from OS failures. You can also organize your device by saving different set at different partition. For example, assign one partition just for OS, one just for applications, one for Documents, Music, or Pictures, and so on.

All in all, it is quite a handy feature for Windows 10 users.

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3 thoughts on “How to Change Default Save Location in Windows 10?”

    • Once you change the default folder location, it would remain the same, irrespective of any updates. However, when you RESET the system, the folder location would again set to the default one.

      Reply

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