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Hey I've recently bought a new computer with a 120GB SSD (solely for Windows 7) and a 2TB WD mechanic drive.

Now obviously 120GB isn't that much - but some installers keep on insisting placing files on C: even though I set the main install directories on D: (the 2TB HD).

Is it possible to somehow prevent stuff from being added to my op system drive and just install them all on my 2nd drive?

Thanks!

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Not easily. The files they install on the C: drive are often shared libraries that have to go into specific windows folders to work correctly, even if you're installing the application-specific executables onto a different partition.

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Pretty much this -- if the installer doesn't allow for it, you probably can't force it. The easiest thing you can do is symlink/junction particular folders to a different volume after the fact. – afrazier Jun 23 '11 at 20:37
They shouldn't be putting THAT much there anyway. 120GB is more than enough for Windows AND all your software applications (unless you play a ton of games AND leave them all installed simultaneously) – Shinrai Jun 23 '11 at 20:41
Yeah I feared this.. I run several development environments and they always take up so much space on the main drive. And always trash gets left behind even if you uninstall games/programs. – Ron Rejwan Jun 24 '11 at 22:11
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You can play around with the access rights to the Program Files and Program Files (x86) directories on the C: drive to remove all but one user's rights to write to those directories. Then, only ever log in as that user (or use that user account's credentials in a UAC prompt) when you simply must go in and make a change to those folders.

However, Darth's right on the whole; a lot of programs are architected with the assumption that they'll be installed on the C drive, and/or they require assemblies to be placed in the GAC (%windir%\assembly) or System (%windir%\system32) folders. There are nearly always ways to avoid this, but many programmers/software architects/installer writers make the incorrect assumption that you'll do it their way, and not your own.

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