Microsoft's Instruction Set (continued)

8. Log off the computer, and then again log on to the computer as an administrator.

9. Start Registry Editor, and then click Find on the Edit menu.

10. Type documents and settings, and then click Find Next.

11. For every registry key or value that contains the original path, replace the value data or rename the value or registry key to the new path.

IMPORTANT: You must complete this change in the registry for every instance of the original path, or your computer may not start. It is imperative that you update all registry keys and values with the new path.

12. Restart the computer. You can now safely remove the original Documents and Settings folder."

My preference is to open Windows Explorer for step 2 through 5, instead of the Documents and Settings folder. Collapse My Documents, expand My Computer, expand C:\, expand the target partition/drive, click on C:\Documents and Settings in the left pane, then drag the folders one-at-a-time from the right pane to the target folder on the target partition/drive in the left pane, remembering to LEAVE the folder for the Administrator account that is logged on to perform this first part of the procedure. The target folder for the move can also be named "Documents and Settings" if it is on a drive/partition different from the system drive, which is our intent for isolating the OS to its own small partition.

You can do the registry editing by hand per the MS instructions, or you can download and install a very handy shareware tool, Registry Toolkit. It is simple to use, and can speed up the process considerably. Read the documentation thoroughly before using the tool. Any registry editing has a serious potential for dangerous consequences, and using a powerful tool such as this, you can very easily crash your system very hard, even to the point of being unrecoverable. Remember, I have recommended a full system backup, preferably a disk image, before beginning any of these procedures.