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I have a server that is running on Windows 7. And I have plans to upgrade it to newer Windows versions (potentially Windows 11). The thing is, nowadays there is no support to make this upgrade anymore from Microsoft itself, and the data I have there is important.

I know that on the Windows 10/11 install tool, there is a way for you to set a drive partition as a specific folder inside your OS. I'm not sure this works on Windows 7.

Is there a way for me to set some folders like "Program Files" into a new partition? Like a tool that would ask for a size bigger than the folder's current size, resize the C: partition to have that much less space, create a new partition, copy everything over and remap that for me.

So this way I could simply "install a new Windows" and have those partitions already mapped and saved. It would be great if that tool could also break that back again into a single partition on the new OS.

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    Upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 then upgrading to Windows 11 is absolutely supported. You will need to purchase yourself a Windows 11 license key for it to work.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Mar 13 at 12:08
  • Sorry, but I found this Reddit post that said otherwise
    – FMorschel
    Commented Mar 13 at 13:35
  • Do you have any official sources to support what you said? I could not find anything in my little research.
    – FMorschel
    Commented Mar 13 at 13:36
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    I have been using Windows for 30 years. I have written hundreds of answers to questions about upgrading Windows. I don't really care what a random user has to say about the process of upgrading Windows 7 to Windows 10 then upgrading Windows 10 to Windows 11. Worth pointing out Reddit post is about the free upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. Which I of course knew, which is the reason, I said you would have to purchase a Windows 11 license. WinPE does not support what you want, so you will have to move the folder, then upgrade to Windows 11.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Mar 13 at 14:09
  • I understand now. Thank you. I'm sorry if I sounded rude, I was just sharing what I found. I missed the information you mentioned on that being only about free upgrades. I would just like to point out that no one here meant to hurt your feelings or belittle your time working with Windows. So please, next time, try to calm down first and answer without trying to hurt someone's feelings simply because they are not believing what you said without any kind of proof.
    – FMorschel
    Commented Mar 13 at 17:14

2 Answers 2

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Is there a way for me to set some folders like "Program Files" into a new partition?

No. A new partition can be mounted as a folder and have files copied onto it, but you cannot simply convert an existing folder into a separate partition.

Additionally, most of the software that typically gets installed to "Program Files" will require more to run than just the files, like registry keys or DLL registrations for example. Just mounting that folder to a new windows install would not be enough to keep all your software.

The Windows 7 to Windows 10 upgrade is still supported and recommended by Microsoft. They've stopped offering the free upgrade, so it will ask for a Windows 10 license after completion.

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    The no part, I don't agree upon, see my answer. As for the windows 10 license, I would add that one does not need a windows 10 license. It will run in a trial for 45 days, fully functional, and they can then upgrade to windows 11 and buy the license then. No need to buy both 10 and 11.
    – LPChip
    Commented Mar 13 at 13:47
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Windows 2000 and onwards, by default, use the NTFS filesystem. Windows 7 included.

You can use the command mklink from a command prompt run as admin, to create a folder shortcut from one location to another.

This allows you to move a folder from one harddisk to another, then create the symbolic link using mllink and Windows will now automatically follow that link to the new location and everything keeps working, but the data is actually on the other disk.

Do note, You are talking about the Program Files folder. When you start windows, it will start running programs, and these programs are usually installed into Program Files. As you will have a moment where the Program Files folder is missing, you may not be able to actually remove the Program Files folder as there is a lock by a file somewhere.

This means that you may have to boot into safe mode, or perform the operation from anything outside of windows. For example, you can download a Windows 11 usb install, start the install, and while you are at the first screen in the setup, press SHIFT-F10 to open a command prompt from there, and then you can use move and mklink to make the changes.

Lastly, understand that a windows install for major versions, eg. windows 7 to 10 and 10 to 11 will most likely remove your link and create a new Program Files folder again.

So you will have to repeat the steps once you are in Windows 11.

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