How to Move or Restore Default Location of Personal Folders in Windows 11?

Suppose you are running out of storage and want to move your personal folders to another location or have already transferred your folder to another drive and now want to restore it to its original place. In that case, this gearupwindows article will guide you. Windows 11 allows you to move the default location of personal folders (such as Desktop, Pictures, Downloads, Documents, etc.) to a new destination.

Using a similar process, you can restore the personal folders to their original location. We will guide you with both methods, how to move your personal folders to a new place and after that how to restore them to their original location. When you change the default location, the folder and content will be moved to the new site, but you can still access them as you were doing before.

How to Move Default Location of Personal Folders in Windows 11?

As said above, moving the default location of personal folders in Windows 11 will transfer its contents also to your new desired location. However, you can still access them as you were doing before. If you are running out of storage or due to some reason, you want to vacate Windows 11 installation drive, do the following:-

Step 1. First, launch the Run command box using Windows + R keys.

Step 2. When the Run box opens, type the following and hit Enter from the keyboard to view all personal folders items:-

shell:UsersFilesFolder

Step 3. After that, please select a folder by clicking on it to move to a new location. For example, we want to move the Documents folder to a new path.

Step 4. Then right-click on the selected folder and click the Properties option.

Step 5. Next, on the Properties window, select the Location tab and then click the Move button.

Step 6. When File Explorer opens, select the destination folder and then click the Select Folder button.

Step 7. Click Apply in the Properties window.

Step 8. In the Move Folder dialog box, click the Yes button to move all files to a new folder.

Step 9. Finally, click the OK button to exit from the Properties window.

That’s it. Now your select personal folder contents have been moved to a new location. But, you can still access your documents from the old spot.

How to Restore Default Location of Personal Folders in Windows 11?

As said above, moving the default location of personal folders in Windows 11 will transfer its contents also to your new desired location. However, you can still access them as you were doing before. If you are running out of storage or due to some reason, you had transferred personal folder items to a new location, and now you want to restore them to their original location, you need to perform the following steps:-

Step 1. First, launch the Run command box using Windows + R keys.

Step 2. When the Run box opens, type the following and hit Enter from the keyboard to view all personal folders items:-

shell:UsersFilesFolder

Step 3. After that, please select a folder by clicking on it to restore it to its original location. For example, we moved the Documents folder earlier to a new path, and now I want to restore it to its original location.

Step 4. Right-click on the selected folder and click Properties option.

Step 5. Next, on the Properties window, select the Location tab and then click the Restore Default button.

Step 6. Now, choose the Apply button.

Step 7. Click Yes button in the “Create Folder” dialog.

Step 8. In the upcoming window, select Yes.

Step 9. Finally, click the OK button to exit from the Properties window.

That’s it.