I've got a very large HDD with W2K (SP4) formatted with NTFS. I have a separate partition from the OS where i install all my applications. Whenever i install a new application, the installer always defaults to C:\programs directory. Is there some a way (registry hack) to permanently change it so it points to the other partition?

That default is in the installation program on the CD, not in your registry.

Shelly

The default is technically in the installer, but there are variables that installers can use to locate the default folders of the system it is installing to, i dont know exactly what they are but its something like %programs% for c:\program files and %windows% for the system directory (either c:\windows or c:\winnt).

What youre changing with the registry hack is where those variables point to...

Unless I'm mistaken.

SUPERCZAR
AthlonXP 2600+, NForce2 Ultra, 512 PC3200, DVD+/-RW, XP Pro
Celeron 2ghz, 240gb, Slackware
Powerbook G3 Pismo, 500mhz, 256mb, 10.3

GOOGLE GROUPS How do I change Windows\'s default install path?

In Windows XP, when you want to install a program, the default install path thats set is the drive or partition in which you installed windows on. How can I change this? I would like my default drive to be C:\ rather than D:\ Hope someone can help me!

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Click Start, Run and enter REGEDIT Go to:

HKEY LOCAL MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

Look in the right pane for ProgramFilesPath and CommonFilesDir Change
these two values to point to your D: drive.

Note: Editing the Registry, even correctly can lead to unpredictable
results.
--
Doug Knox, MS-MVP Windows XP/ Windows Smart Display
Win 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Fixes
http://www.dougknox.com

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It's mostly proprietory to each application. While you can change the
ProgramFiles directory to d:\, they may not help in all the cases. Some
program insist or defaults to a specific installation folder or drive.

Thanks Rube, i'll give it a shot.

Hi
If you want to change the installation path of OS then here is an extract from WINXP newsletter
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Stop Searching for the Installation CD Every Time You Need to Add an XP Feature

If you install XP directly from a CD, anytime you later want to add an uninstalled feature, you'll be prompted to insert the CD into your CD DRIVE. That can be a hassle. One way to avoid it is to first copy the XP source files to your hard disk and then install the operating system from there. To do this, you need to copy the i386 folder from the CD onto your disk (warning: it takes up somewhere around 500MB, depending on the version, so be sure there's plenty of room on your disk).

But what if XP is already installed? Are you stuck with inserting the CD each time you make a change? Not if you follow these instructions:

Insert the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, navigate to the i386 folder and copy it to a location on your hard disk.
Open your web browser and download the following zipped file:
http://www.petri.co.il/software/cab_path.zip
This is a VB script that will let you change the path to the source files from your CD-ROM drive to the location on your disk where you copied the folder.
Unzip and doubleclick the file you just downloaded. The Cab Path tool dialog box will show you the current path to your source files (usually D:\ or whatever drive letter represents your CD DRIVE). In the text box, you can type in the new path where you copied the i386 folder (for example, c:\i386).
Now XP will look on the hard disk for the files it needs to make configuration changes instead of asking you for the CD.
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Thanks to both of you. It worked like a charm.