How to Change the Default Installation Location on Windows Using Regedit

In this tutorial, we are going to see how to change the default installation location on Windows using regedit. By default, Windows installs all programs in the C:\Program Files directory. But if you are running out of free space on your main hard disk (C:), maybe you would like to change the default installation directory, right? Well yes, because there are some programs that do not allow you to select the installation drive and directory.

So if you want to change the default installation location in Windows 10, well, you should know that it is quite possible. A workaround exists and you will only need to edit the Registry to change the default installation directory.

To start with, make sure you have enough free space in your new directory that you’re going to set as default.
 

 

How to Change the Default Installation Location on Windows Using Regedit

 
Step 1: Press Windows + R keys simultaneously to open the Run dialog box. Then type regedit and confirm with OK.
 

 
Step 2: From the registry editor, go to the following key:

Ordinateur\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

 

 
Step 3: Locate the value named ProgramFilesDir and change the default value “C:\Program Files” to your new directory path, then confirm with “OK”.
 

 
Step 4: Close the Registry Editor and restart your system to apply the change.

PS: This tweak should normally work correctly on Windows XP, Vista, 7, and 10.