Install Microsoft Onenote To Another Drive

Installing OneNote on a Different Drive

Microsoft OneNote doesn't come with a native installer option to pick your target drive. The setup wizard defaults to C: and that's pretty much it. But there are ways around it without resorting to hacky registry edits that will break updates. The most straightforward method uses a junction point. You install OneNote normally on C: first, then move the entire program folder to your other drive and replace it with a symbolic link pointing back. Here's how that plays out in practice. Step one is the normal installation. Download OneNote from the Microsoft Store or get the standalone MSI if you're on Windows 10/11. Run through the installer and let it finish on C:. Don't try to skip ahead and figure out a clever shortcut before it's installed — you'll just deal with a broken app and waste more time.

Once installed, close OneNote completely. Check your system tray to make sure no background processes are holding onto the executable. Open Task Manager if you need to be sure, then proceed. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office or wherever OneNote decided to plant its files. Copy the entire OneNote folder to your secondary drive — D:\OneNote for example. Wait for the copy to finish. It's usually around 200 to 300 MB depending on your version, so not huge but not instant either. Delete the original folder from C:. Then open an elevated command prompt and run:

mklink /J "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OneNote" "D:\OneNote" That creates the junction. Windows will treat the D: location as if it's still on C:. OneNote launches normally from there. I ran into an issue a couple years ago where after creating the junction, OneNote would launch but crash on startup when trying to access certain plugins. The problem was a leftover AppData reference. The application data lives in C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneNote and doesn't move with the program files. OneNote was looking for something in its original installation path and hitting a wall. I copied the AppData folder contents to a matching location on D: and created a junction there too, pointing back. That resolved it. Not ideal, but it works.

There's a simpler alternative if you don't want to mess with junctions at all. The Microsoft Store version of OneNote installs to the Windows Apps folder by default, which lives on C: and you generally can't move it. But the standalone OneNote 2016 or OneNote for Windows 10 from the Store sometimes gives you a choice during setup if you right-click the installer and select properties before running it. That option isn't always visible, and it disappeared in later builds, but it's worth checking before you start down the junction route. A few things to watch out for. Windows Update and Microsoft Office updates may try to reinstall the original folder structure on C:. If that happens, you'll need to recreate the junction. It usually takes about five minutes. The updates themselves still work fine — they detect the junction and patch the files on D: correctly. I've seen this happen after major feature updates, typically twice a year. Another limitation: if your secondary drive is external, OneNote won't start until that drive is connected. This sounds obvious but it bites people who set this up and then forget that their app depends on hardware being plugged in. A network drive is even worse — OneNote will sit there spinning on launch if the connection drops.

For most people this whole process takes about 15 to 20 minutes including the copy and junction setup. If you run into the AppData issue, add another 10 minutes. Not terrible, and it does free up meaningful space on your primary drive if you store notebooks there too.