Windows – Link My Documents folder to external SD Card

sd cardsymbolic-linkwindows 7

I have a laptop with 120GB SSD (limited space) and a 64GB SD card in the laptop. I have cloned my hard drive from a clean install of all the software installed.

I would like to have the My Documents folder linked to the SD card which is E:/ drive, so that when I reinstall back from the clean operating system, I can have all the info in My Documents there.

What are my options of doing this? I do not want to change the location of My Documents, just have a copy of it or a matching copy of this on the SD Card. I have looked at symbolic links or maybe a hard link, but I am unsure which would be suitable.

Best Answer

As I see it, you have two options, redirect Documents folder in registry or create symbolic link. I recommend using registry option, it's easier and you don't need any extra utils.

Redirecting method

  1. Open regedit.exe (via Run win+R)
  2. Find key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders
  3. Change path under REG_SZ record called Personal to your SD
  4. Logoff and back on

On pro version of Windows, you may do this also via gpedit.msc.

Symbolic link

Download utility junction from Microsoft Systeminternals. Delete your Documents folder and run from command line: 

junction c:\users\%username%\Documents X:

(replace X: with path on your sdcard)

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