How to Move Program Folders in Windows XP

Windows XP makes it easy to manage the contents of your hard drive. Unlike MS-DOS and older operating systems, it's no longer necessary to know long strings of code in order to perform simple actions. Today's Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) are capable of allowing even the most casual user to complete complex tasks with the click of a mouse button. Moving program folders used to be a very complicated process that would be invalidated by a single typo, but Windows XP makes it easy.

Things You'll Need

• Windows XP

Instructions

1. Start Windows XP normally. You do not need to use the MS-DOS Command Prompt in order to move program folders.

2. Move your mouse over the "Start" button.

3. Right-click on the "Start" button to bring up the right-click context menu.

4. Click on either "Open All Users" or "Explore All Users" to access the program folder explorer window.

5. Click through the browser to find the user whose program folders you want to move. You may need to double-click certain entries to make deeper menu options appear. Expandable menu options will be displayed with an arrow or a plus sign.

6. Click on menu sections in the browser, or double-click on the folders in the explorer, finding the one you want to move.

7. Drag and drop program folders from one area of the explorer to another.

8. Copy and paste program folders between users. Copy the folder in one section of the browser and open the location in which you wish to paste it. Then right-click "Copy the folder" or press the "Ctrl" and "V" buttons at the same time.

9. Place program folders in the "All Users" section of the Start menu to ensure everyone will have access to the same program links within Windows XP. Otherwise, each person will have to be granted access directly from the administrator.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep your folders organized as much as possible. It can become a huge chore to find things in the future if you just have your program folders strewn haphazardly across your desktop or hard drive.

• Avoid moving program folders that contain information linked to the system registry. Moving program folders with registry entries will cause the entries to fail whenever they call for that folder, unless you manually change each registry entry to correspond with the new folder location.

Resources

• Folder customization at Microsoft.com