Windows 11 Move Pictures Folder to Another Drive

Can I Move Picture Folder to Another Drive in Windows 11?

“I saved a bunch of pictures in the Picture folder and I want to move them to the D drive because there is more space there. How to do that? Also is there a way to set the D drive as the default drive so pictures saved will automatically go there?”

Yes, you can move Pictures folder to another drive in Windows 11 and set it as the default location to save the new photos. And this article will introduce you to 2 effective methods to move it in the next part.

How to Move Windows 11 Picture Folder to Another Drive

By default, the Windows 11 Picture folder location is in the user profile, such as C:\Users\username\Pictures. You can directly go to File Explorer and it will be listed under This PC automatically. To move it from C: drive to D: drive, select one of the methods and follow the steps.

Way 1: Transfer Picture Folder to Another Drive with the Move feature

Step 1. Create a new Picture folder in D drive. Go to D: drive, right-click the blank space and select New > Folder.

Step 2. Open Windows Explorer. Go to the Pictures folder under This PC, right-click it, and select Properties.

Step 3. Click the Location tab and then the Move... button. Select D:\Pictures drive as new Picture folder location and click OK. Click Yes to confirm you want to move this picture folder and wait until the process completes.  

Way 2: Migrate Picture Folder to Another Drive with Sync Freeware

AOMEI Backupper Standard is one of the best free folder sync software to help you sync and duplicate a copy of your Picture folder. Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista supported. To make it safer, you could consider using the following feature:

Schedule Sync: In the free edition, you sync Pictures folder from C drive to D Drive automatically with Daily, Weekly, or Monthly setting. In the advanced edition, you still can enjoy Event triggers and USB plug in.

Sync Deletion: It allows you to sync the deletion from the source directory to the destination as long as you enable it. Otherwise, the Basic Sync method will NOT do this.

Various Sync Destination: It supports the internal drive, external drive, network drive, NAS, cloud drive, etc. And you can set multiple sync tasks for this Picture folder to enhance data security.

To get started, please download and install AOMEI Backupper Standard on your computer.

(PS: The free version only support Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista. For server users, try AOMEI Backupper Server.)

Step 1. Launch this free folder sync software - AOMEI Backupper Standard. Click Sync and select Basic Sync option.

Step 2. Click Add Folder to select the Picture folder on this PC. And then choose D:/Pictures to save all your photos on it.

Step 3. Confirm this operation and click Start Sync to sync Pictures folder to another drive in Windows 11.

✍ Important: good and sustainable data protection

AOMEI Backupper only syncs all the photos currently in the Picture folder with the above steps. To add new photos in Pictures folder, you need to set daily, weekly, or monthly Schedule Sync for this task.

If you sync Pictures folder to a USB drive, you could consider using USB plug in feature (supported by the professional version). It will automatically sync files when USB connected and you don't need to keep it always connected.

✍ Important: Sync deleted picture from D: drive

The Basic Sync method in AOMEI Backupper will not sync deletions automatically unless you enable it. Click Options and General and check “Sync the deletions in the source directory to destination”.

✌ Advanced Feature: Sync files with certain file extensions

AOMEI Backupper provides you with Filter settings to sync files with certain file extensions and save disk space. You can choose to include or exclude certain file extensions. Separate them with * if it is two or more. Refer to: backup files with certain file extension.

How to Change Default Location to Save Photos

Step 1. Go to Settings > Systems > Storage, and find Change where new content is saved.

Step 2. Scroll down to the “New photos and videos will save to” section and change the default location to D: drive. Then select Apply to make this change.

Can’t Move the Picture Folder Location

You may receive “can't move the folder because there is a folder in the same location” in Windows 11 when you move Picture folder to another drive. And it usually happens to move Picture folder from OneDrive to another location.

This may be because you have already changed this folder beforehand and the value cannot be set back correctly. You can choose to unlink this folder and then restore it to the default path.

Part 1: Unlink Pictures Folder from OneDrive

Step 1. Click the OneDrive icon and select Help & Settings icon > Setting > Sync and Backup.

Step 2. Click Manage backup under Back up important PC folders to OneDrive.

Step 3. Here you will see all the important PC folders, uncheck the Pictures folder and click Start Backup.

Part 2: Restore Pictures Folder to Default Path

Step 1. Right-click the Pictures folder and select its Properties.

Step 2. Switch to its Location tab and click Restore Default button.

Step 3. Click OK and Apply to make this change.

Summary

You can perform Windows 11 move picture folder to another drive easily to free up space with the above methods and change the location to save photos. To enhance the security of your photos, you can choose to sync and duplicate a copy of your files. More importantly, you can set it a scheduled task and include new photos in the Picture folder.

Except for Basic Sync methods, you can also enjoy Real-Time Sync, Mirror Sync, and Two-Way Sync on the Professional edition or higher. Besides, you still can use it to clone system, disk (HDD/SSD), and partition, or download it to explore more features.