AOMEI Partition Assistant
How to Change Default Download Location Windows 10 in 2022?
What’s the correct way to change default download location Windows 10 when the storage of the C drive drains quickly? If you still have no idea how to do that, luckily, in the following tutorial, 3 methods will be provided to help get it done.
By Michael / Updated on May 12, 2023
Help! My laptop is 5-year-old now and the C drive is low on space. I also notice that as long as I download things from the internet the downloaded files are automatically saved to the C drive. Is there any way to change default download location Windows 10? Appreciate!
Why change default download location Windows 10?
Generally, when we download things from the internet, they’re automatically saved to “Downloads” in the C drive. The C drive is also the system drive that contains system files to ensure your computer runs normally. When the C drive is full, plenty of errors including system crashes and black screen could happen. So, it’s pretty necessary to change default download location Windows 10 to free up space on the C drive. In the following content, 3 most effective methods are provided for you to get it done.
How to change default download location Windows 10?
As mentioned above, when you find the C drive is running out of space, you should consider changing default download location on Windows 10 to free up storage. However, how to do that? Here, I gathered 3 pragmatic ways to help with it.
Method 1. Use File Explorer
If you wish to change default download drive Windows 10, the first thing you think of should be File Explorer which is also the most straightforward and simplest way.
1. Double-click on “This PC” on your desktop to enter Windows Explorer.
2. Right-click on the “Downloads” folder and then, select “Properties”.
3. Click on the “Location” tab.
4. Now, hit “Move” to change the default download location to another drive like D and hit “Apply” to proceed.
5. When prompted with “Do you want to move all the files from the old location to the new location?”, hit “Yes”.
Wait a few seconds before the process is completed.
Method 2. Use web browser
To change default download location Windows 10, you can also tweak your web browser like Chrome and Firefox to make the downloaded file be automatically saved to another drive instead of C.
1. Open your web browser.
2. Click on the “Settings and more” 3-dot option. Then, select “Settings”.
3. Under “Advanced settings”, click on “View advanced settings”.\
4. Under “Downloads”, click on “Change” to change the default download location to another drive.
Method 3. Use Registry Editor
The last method is to change default download location Windows 10 registry. If you are not a pro user, this method is not recommended for once you make a wrong step, you’re likely to have a system crash.
1. Press “Windows + R” to bring up the Run box.
2. Type “regedit.exe” and hit “ENTER” to bring up Registry Editor.
3. Follow the path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders.
4. Find the data or string named "%USERPROFILE%\Downloads" and double-click on it.
5. Now, under “Value data”, change the default download location or path. After it’s done, click on “OK”.
Optional reading: move files from the C drive to another drive to free up space?
In the content above, I introduced how to free up the storage on the C drive by changing default download location on Windows 10. They’re indeed useful to some extent, however, if you wish to free up more space, maybe, some third-party software is required. Here, I recommend AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional that easily transfers different files, Apps, and programs from the C drive to another drive like D, E, and F. Moreover, with this powerful software, you can allocate free space, merge unallocated space into the C drive, and delete large files.
How do I move files from C to other drives? Try the demo of the most powerful disk manager to do it with ease!
Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Then, all disks along with their info will appear.
Step 2. Click "Free Up" on the upper interface and then choose "App Mover".
Step 3. Select the C drive and click on “Next”.
Step 4. Tick the Apps and programs you want to move from the C drive to another drive and preset a destination for them.
Step 5. Click on “Move” and hit “OK” to start the moving process.
Step 6. When it’s completed, click on “Finish”.
Conclusion
How to change default download location Windows 10 to free up space on the C drive. In the tutorial above, I provided 3 tools – File Explorer, web browsers, and Registry Editor. The procedures might be different but the result is the same. Meanwhile, third-party software AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional has also been introduced. With it, you can freely transfer any files from the C drive to other drives to give enough space to the system partition. If you want to use this software on Server, please try the Server edition.
