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How? Would junction points be a good technique? The purpose is to free space for upgrade, so obviously the setup would have to survive the upgrade

Olav
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    It is usually better to look at other ways to clear up space than attempting this, it will likely not end well moving the user directory to a USB drive. Have you tried a drive cleanup with system files? There are also numerous tutorials online for clearing up space in Windows (the typical culprit). Also, if you are this tight on space, it might be worth considering backing up necessary files, wipe the drive, and perform a clean installation. – acejavelin Feb 11 '18 at 18:15
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    Moving your user profile to another volume will likely result in the upgrade failing to install. – Ramhound Feb 11 '18 at 18:48
  • Will any user profile unavailable break an upgrade? How big a problem is that? Can transfer programs circumvent this? – Olav Feb 12 '18 at 00:23
  • stonewareslord's answer is probably your best option, but you could also try using the [Windows 10 Update Assistant](https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/81031-update-latest-version-windows-10-using-update-assistant.html) if you prefer. – user1574981 Feb 12 '18 at 21:28

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You probably shouldn't erase the user directory because Windows might need it to upgrade, but you can copy the entire user directory to a USB drive, then erase large files on the computer (like downloads/documents) then copy them back after the upgrade. This way, you free up space, still have a user directory, and still have a backup on the USB drive.

You can use WinDirStat to see which folders are taking up the most space on the computer after copying.

Junction points could easily break since the upgrade might not mount USB sticks, which might cause the installation to fail.

stonewareslord
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