Windows 10 – How to Make Space for Documents on a Second Drive

Introduction

If you have a Windows 10 machine with multiple local users, you may find that your primary drive is running out of space due to the large amount of documents and files that are stored in the Documents library. One solution to this problem is to move the Documents library to a second drive, which will free up space on your primary drive. However, when moving the Documents library to a second drive, you may have questions about the ownership and permissions of the directories and files on the new drive. In this blog post, we will answer some common questions about ownership and permissions when moving the Documents library to a second drive in Windows 10.

Who should be the owner of “I:users”?

When you create a new directory on a second drive to store the Documents library for your local users, you may wonder who should be the owner of the directory. In general, it is recommended that the administrator of the computer be the owner of the “I:users” directory. This will ensure that the administrator has full control over the directory and all of its contents.

To set the owner of the “I:users” directory, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the “I:users” directory and select “Properties”.
2. Click on the “Security” tab.
3. Click on the “Advanced” button.
4. Click on the “Change” link next to the “Owner” field.
5. Select the administrator account from the list of available accounts.
6. Click “OK” to close all windows.

Who should be the owner of “I:usersUserA”?

Once you have set the owner of the “I:users” directory, you may wonder who should be the owner of the individual user directories, such as “I:usersUserA”. In general, it is recommended that the individual user be the owner of their own directory. This will ensure that the user has full control over their own documents and files.

To set the owner of the “I:usersUserA” directory, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the “I:usersUserA” directory and select “Properties”.
2. Click on the “Security” tab.
3. Click on the “Advanced” button.
4. Click on the “Change” link next to the “Owner” field.
5. Select the user account from the list of available accounts.
6. Click “OK” to close all windows.

What should the permissions of the files in “I:usersUserA” be?

Once you have set the owner of the “I:usersUserA” directory, you may wonder what the permissions of the files in the directory should be. In general, it is recommended that the user have full control over their own files, and that the administrator have full control over all files.

To set the permissions of the files in the “I:usersUserA” directory, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the “I:usersUserA” directory and select “Properties”.
2. Click on the “Security” tab.
3. Click on the “Edit” button.
4. Select the user account from the list of available accounts.
5. Check the box next to “Full Control”.
6. Click “OK” to close all windows.

To set the permissions for the administrator, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the “I:usersUserA” directory and select “Properties”.
2. Click on the “Security” tab.
3. Click on the “Edit” button.
4. Select the administrator account from the list of available accounts.
5. Check the box next to “Full Control”.
6. Click “OK” to close all windows.

Conclusion

Moving the Documents library to a second drive in Windows 10 can help free up space on your primary drive. However, when moving the library, it is important to set the correct ownership and permissions for the directories and files on the second drive. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can ensure that the administrator has full control over the “I:users” directory, that individual users have full control over their own directories, and that both the administrator and users have full control over their own files.

It is generally a good idea to set the owner of the I:\users directory to be the local Administrators group. This will allow members of the Administrators group to have full control over the contents of the directory and any subdirectories.

As for the owner of I:\users\UserA, it is typically best to set the owner to be the specific user that the directory belongs to. This will allow the user to have full control over the contents of their own directory.

As for the permissions of the files in I:\users\UserA, it is generally a good idea to set the permissions so that the user has full control over their own files and subdirectories. This will allow the user to modify and delete their own files as needed. It is also a good idea to set the permissions so that the Administrators group has at least read and execute permissions, so that members of the Administrators group can access and manage the files if necessary.

It is important to keep in mind that these are just general guidelines, and the specific permissions that you set may depend on your specific needs and requirements. It is always a good idea to carefully consider the permissions that you set, and to make sure that they are appropriate for your specific situation.

In summary, when setting up a secondary drive for local user files on a Windows 10 machine that is not connected to a domain, it is generally a good idea to set the owner of the I:\users directory to be the local Administrators group and the owner of I:\users\UserA to be the specific user that the directory belongs to. The permissions of the files in I:\users\UserA should typically be set so that the user has full control over their own files and subdirectories, and the Administrators group has at least read and execute permissions.

It is important to carefully consider the permissions that you set, and to make sure that they are appropriate for your specific situation. It may also be a good idea to regularly review and update the permissions as needed to ensure that they continue to meet your needs and security requirements.

As a system administrator, it’s important to ensure that the correct ownership and permissions are set for the Users folder and individual user folders on a Windows system. The Users folder, which contains user profiles and settings, should be owned by the built-in Windows account called NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. This ensures that the system has full control over the folder and its contents.

In addition, each individual user folder should also be owned by the SYSTEM account, but with the user themselves given “full access” permissions. This means that the user can read, write, and modify files in their own folder as needed. These permissions should be set to inherit from the parent folder, so that any files created or moved into the user’s folder will also have these permissions.

For example, if UserA has a folder at I:\users\UserA, the permissions for that folder should be set to give UserA full access, while the ownership should be set to SYSTEM. This ensures that UserA can work with their files as needed, but that the system still has overall control over the folder and its contents.