How to Change the Default Drive in Windows 11

Quick Tips

• You shouldn’t swap the drive letters between drives, especially for the boot drive, as that can cause apps to stop working properly.
• The default drive typically only matters for where the system will save new files and downloads.
• There’s no single setting that completely overrides the default drive to another one, so you will need to combine a few options.

Typically, Windows uses the C drive to store all downloaded files and installed programs, as that’s where the operating system is also stored. But that also means you’re less likely to swap out an older drive that had less memory capacity unless you’re performing a full PC rebuild, allowing it to pile up with junk files and random downloads. Here’s how to change the default drive in Windows 11 and save storage space.

Option 1: How to Change the Default Drive in Windows 11 for New Programs and Saves

You can force Windows to change the default drive for saving with a few basic setting modifications.

Step 1. Hit “Win + I” to open Settings.

Step 2. Go to the “System” tab and select “Storage.”

Step 3. Expand “Advanced storage settings,” then select “Where new content is saved.”

Step 4. For each category, pick and choose which drive will become the new default. Note that this might not apply for all files within that category (as additional settings and installations can override them).

Option 2: Windows: Change Default Hard Drive for Saving Downloads

Since you’ll mostly download from your default browser, you can edit its settings to change the downloads folder. The process is similar for most browsers, so here’s how it looks on Edge.

Step 1. Create a new folder on the hard drive you want to use as the default. You can name it “Downloads” or something similar, as it will become the new Downloads folder for most files.

Step 2. Open Edge, click on the three-dots icon on the top-right, and select “Settings.”

Step 3. Go to the Downloads tab on the left.

Step 4. For the “Location” option, select “Change,” then find the folder you created in Step 1.

Step 5. Toggle off the option “Ask where to save each file before downloading.”

Option 3: How to Change Default Hard Drive for User Files

The “User” folder can get excessively large if you load the PC with personal documentation and games, as it stores most saves, added files, and even the stock Downloads folder. You can move that storage to a different drive, which will then continue to be used.

Step 1. Open File Explorer (you can use the toolbar or “Win + E”). On the left-hand panel, you’ll get a list of pinned folders: Downloads, Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos.

Step 2. Right-click on “Downloads” and select “Properties.”

Step 3. Go to the “Location” tab, then click on “Move…” to change the default location of the folder. Alternatively, you can press “Restore Default” to get back the original value or the “Find target…” button to open a wider browser that can target a different PC on the same network.

Step 4. Once you choose a location, hit “Apply” and “OK.”

Step 5. Repeat the process for all other personal folders you want.

System folders such as AppData have to remain on the original partition they were created in, so don’t mess with them.

Option 4: Change Default Locations for Game Installations

In most cases, game launchers or library managers will have an option to create a separate location on a different drive than where you installed the launcher itself. For Steam, this is located in “Settings” under the “Storage” tab. The drop-down at the top will allow you to create a new drive, where Steam will put a dedicated “SteamLibrary” folder to store installations.

When installing new games, Steam will ask you which folder to download to, but you can change the default folder by going to the three-dots icon and selecting “Make Default.”

Option 5: Install Windows on Drive D

This option is only really viable if you’re working from an empty PC. During installation, you can manually choose how the partitions on hard drives will be named. This is available in the “Custom installation” section. Installing Windows a second time on a different installation than the first will just dual-boot your PC. However, the new Windows will see its own partition as C.