Save Videos Automatically to Another Drive in Windows 11

Before you start

Check three things first, because most failures trace back to one of them.

• The drive is connected and visible. Open File Explorer 📁 and look for it under This PC. If it is missing there, it will also be missing from the Settings ⚙️ list.
• The drive has a file system and free space. Windows needs a formatted drive. NTFS (the file system that organises files on the drive) is the usual choice for internal drives. Leave enough room for the videos you already have, because one of the steps moves them.
• You are signed in with the account that makes the recordings. These settings apply per user account, not to the whole PC.

If your PC belongs to a school or employer, an administrator may have locked these options, and some controls may appear greyed out.

Plan for two changes, because they cover different apps. The New photos and videos will save to setting covers apps that follow Windows’ default, such as the Camera app. Moving the Videos folder controls anything that saves into that folder, such as Xbox Game Bar captures. Do both to cover most cases.

How to automatically save videos to another drive in 🪟 Windows 11

These steps make Windows automatically save videos to the drive you choose, first through the Storage setting and then by moving the Videos folder itself.

1. Connect the destination drive. Plug in the external drive, or confirm the internal drive appears under This PC in File Explorer. Note its drive letter, for example D:.
2. Open Settings. Press Windows + I. The Settings window opens on the System page.

   

3. Select Storage. Go to Settings › System › Storage You see a bar showing how much space each category uses on drive C:.

   

4. Expand Advanced storage settings. Scroll down and click the heading. It opens a short list of extra options.

   

5. Select Where new content is saved. A page opens with a list of content types, each with its own drop-down menu. If you cannot find this item, skip to step 9 and use the Videos folder method alone.
6. Open the New photos and videos will save to menu. Click the drop-down. It lists every drive Windows can use, with drive C: selected by default.
7. Choose your destination drive. Select the drive letter, for example New Volume (D:). If the drive is not in the list, reconnect it and reopen this page.
8. Click Apply. The button appears beside the menu once you change the drive. Windows creates the folders it needs on the new drive, and the setting takes effect without a restart.
9. Open File Explorer. Press Windows + E. This starts the second change, which moves the Videos folder itself.
10. Create a folder for your videos on the new drive. Open the drive, right-click an empty area, choose New › Folder, and name it Videos. The result is a path such as D:\Videos.
11. Right-click the Videos folder. Find Videos in the left pane (under Home or This PC) and right-click it. Choose Properties. The Videos Properties window opens.
12. Click the Location tab. It shows the current path, usually C:\Users\USERNAME\Videos. If the tab is missing, see the fix after this list.
13. Click Move. A folder picker opens.
14. Select the new Videos folder. Browse to D:\Videos, then click Select Folder. The new path now appears in the Location box.
15. Click Apply. Windows asks whether to move all files from the old location to the new one.
16. Click Yes. Windows copies your existing videos to the new drive and removes them from the old location. Large libraries take several minutes, so leave the window open until it finishes.
17. Click OK. The Properties window closes. Open Videos in File Explorer and check that the address bar shows the new drive.
18. Test with a short recording. Record a few seconds with the Camera app or Xbox Game Bar (Windows + G), then confirm the file appears on the new drive.

If the Location tab is missing

The Location tab only appears on the real Videos folder. It does not appear on a subfolder inside Videos or on a regular folder that happens to be named Videos. Close the Properties window and right-click the Videos entry in the left pane of File Explorer instead.

If the drive is missing from the Settings list

Reconnect the drive, wait a few seconds for Windows to detect it, and reopen the page. An unformatted drive shows in Disk Management (the Windows tool for managing drives) but not in this list. Formatting erases everything on it, so do that only on an empty drive.

If you see an error when you click Apply

An "Access is denied" message or a stalled move usually means a program is using a file inside the folder. Close apps that play or record video, including Clipchamp and Xbox Game Bar. Then repeat steps 15 and 16.

Which apps follow these settings

Neither change reaches every program. Each app decides where it writes files, and some ignore both Windows settings. This is the part most guides skip, and it explains why videos sometimes keep landing on drive C: after you have changed everything.

Apps that follow the Videos folder

Xbox Game Bar saves captures to a Captures subfolder inside Videos, so moving Videos moves them too. The Snipping Tool saves its screen recordings in the Videos folder as well. After the move, both apps write to the new drive.

The Camera app

The Camera app saves recordings with your pictures, not in the Videos folder. Moving Videos alone therefore does not redirect them. The New photos and videos will save to setting, found in steps 6 to 8, is the one that covers the Camera app.

You can also open the Camera app, click its settings icon, and look under Related settings for a link to change where photos and videos are saved. That link opens the same Storage page.

Third-party recorders and editors

Programs such as OBS Studio and other screen recorders have their own output folder setting. Open the app's settings, find the recording or output path, and point it at the new drive. The same applies to video editors, which often keep exports in a project folder. If an app was open when you changed the Windows settings, close and reopen it so it reads the new location.

Videos you download in a browser

Browsers use their own download folder. In Microsoft Edge, go to Settings › Downloads › Location and click Change. Chrome has the same option under Settings › Downloads This is separate from the Windows setting, so a downloaded clip lands on drive C: until you change it.

What happens if the drive is not connected

An internal drive is always available, so nothing changes there. An external drive is different. If you unplug it, the Videos folder points at a location that no longer exists, and File Explorer shows a "Location is not available" message when you open it.

Apps that save to that folder may fail to record, or they may fall back to another folder. Reconnect the drive and the folder works again. Files saved during the gap may land in a folder you did not expect. For that reason, an internal second drive suits this task better than a USB stick or portable drive.

Sleep settings can also cause trouble, mainly with external drives that power down when idle. Some external drives power down after a period of inactivity and take a few seconds to wake. If a long recording fails at the start, open the drive in File Explorer first so it fully powers up.

How to undo the change

Both changes reverse cleanly. Undo them in the opposite order, and keep the drive connected until you finish.

1. Open the Videos properties. In File Explorer, right-click Videos and choose Properties.
2. Click the Location tab. It shows the path on the other drive.
3. Click Restore Default. The path changes back to the default location inside your user profile on drive C:.
4. Click Apply, then Yes. Windows offers to move the files back. Choose Yes to bring your videos back to drive C:. This needs enough free space on that drive.
5. Open Where new content is saved. Go to Settings › System › Storage › Advanced storage settings › Where new content is saved.
6. Reset the New photos and videos will save to menu. Select your system drive, usually Local Disk (C:), then click Apply.

If you pick No when Windows asks about moving files, the old videos stay where they were and only new ones follow the new path. That leaves your library split across two places, so choose Yes unless you have a reason to keep them apart.

Check that it worked

Open File Explorer and click This PC. The destination drive's free space should shrink as the old videos arrive, and the C: bar should grow shorter. Open the Videos folder and look at the address bar (the path at the top of the window) to confirm it shows the new drive.

For a second check, go to Settings › System › Storage and open the Videos category if it is listed. Storage lists how much space each drive uses, so you can see the videos counted on the new drive. The Storage page can take a moment to refresh after a large move.

A restart is not required for either change. If one app still writes to the old location, close it completely, including from the system tray (the icons next to the clock), and open it again.

What to do next

If an app keeps saving videos to drive C:, open its own settings and change its output folder, because Windows cannot override that. A new Windows user account starts with the default locations, so repeat the steps while signed in to each account that records video. To clear space that old files still take on drive C:, open Settings › System › Storage and turn on Storage Sense (a Windows feature that deletes temporary files on its own).