Adjust where the operating system is installed or rename the drive letter for Windows 10.
Adjust where the operating system is installed or rename the drive letter for Windows 10.
Adjust the installation location so that the C drive remains standard and the OS stays on D or E. You can change the drive letter by editing the system settings or using a tool like Disk Management. This way, even if untrusted apps install files in the C drive, they won’t affect the intended installation path.
This idea doesn't quite fit. Switching the primary boot drive's letter and moving apps to another partition won't affect files on the main operating system. To protect your main OS from risky software, avoid installing untrusted apps or use dual booting with separate operating systems on different drives.
What do you really aim for here? With a limited storage space, the simplest approach is to change the drive letter during software installation. The OS still requires certain files—mainly configuration, profiles, and temporary data. You can't bypass this requirement with any modification. I suggest using symbolic links instead; they let Windows treat folders as if they were on the boot drive even when they're elsewhere. However, I caution against that method since altering it could cause problems later, especially if you ever need to fix the installation.