Visualstudio-docs: Installation paths are greyed out and unable to be changed

[trosel]

Hey all, this article is very helpful except that nothing can be changed in these install paths.

Even in the screenshot, it shows the greyed out install locations that can't be changed.

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Document Details

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• ID: f065a76a-2046-ebfd-2aa2-ebb0afbc4110
• Version Independent ID: f3501eb1-bfa1-1c2e-9e05-bc0f1fa8971d
• Content: Change installation locations in Visual Studio 2017 - Visual Studio
• Content Source: docs/install/change-installation-locations.md
• Product: visual-studio-dev15
• GitHub Login: @TerryGLee
• Microsoft Alias: tglee

[TerryGLee]

@WildYorkies Thanks for your feedback; we appreciate it. Question: Are you trying to modify a previous installation? If so, please know that the Installations locations feature works only for new installations of Visual Studio. That being said, we can update the page to make this clearer, and we can update the screenshot accordingly.

[trosel]

Thanks @TerryGLee . I'm trying to change the install location for _new_ packages. For example, I don't want 20 gigs of xamarin files going on my C drive. I want them on my D drive instead.

However, because the locations are greyed out, I cannot change them. Not sure why.

[Mayitzin]

I'm having the same problem. I already have the core installation of Visual Studio in my second drive (D), but the extra tools (Xamarin, dotnet, etc.) are set for my main drive (C) and cannot change them.

[jrhawley]

I have the same issue. I'd like to move the "Shared Components" location to a different hard drive, but it's just greyed out and I can't change it, without uninstalling/reinstalling Visual Studio entirely

[paulie4]

What I did was to move the files from C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio to D:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio and then use mklink /j to make a directory junction so everything can still think that the files are in C:.

[benjisanders]

$o the clear micro$oft $olution i$ to download the profe$$ional (or higher) ver$ion. Way to go micro$oft.

[heaths]

You can't move these directories after installing anything at this time. This is because many packages we install (first- and third-party), once installed, must keep going to the same location and themselves cannot be moved.

[fahnix]

Problem here is clearly some inept focus on Microsoft's end as to what a high priority issue is. This is a high priority issue! The thing automatically picks your existing drive for beta installations, even if you choose [Custom Installation]. You end up in a position to where you have to remove your original installation & re-install that to another drive, so the product will automatically pick the alternate drive. It's really pathetic that you would waste so many programmer's time on something that should be less than a 1-day fix for your company on its end, to automatically prompt for drive location for all beta product installations would be a best case scenario.