[Docker Desktop] Cannot change default installation drive on Windows?

[MoacirSchmidt]

Cannot change default installation drive on Windows?

Is that right? I refuse to believe!

Seizing the opportunity: Congratulations for your excellent product!

[odupuy]

Why cannot we chose the install folder like in any other application?

• Some corporate developer machines only allow installs to specific directories.
• Spaces may be an issue (my case, it is creating all sorts of problems to run in scripts supporting Mac, Linux, Windows 7 (not dead everywhere) and 10 and losing hours and hours on that.
• You may have a faster disc as D: vs the default C:
• Your C: can be full

We are in 2021. Please just give us the choice of where to install. Don't assume our choices and needs.

If you read this, you maybe interested in this band aid solution

[crimunit]

Same issue over here.. Is there somehow a bypass solution in some small steps I can follow to accomplish this please (also running WIN10 Docker Hyper-V with C drive, not possible to use D drive)?

[odupuy]

@crimunit try the band aid solution that I posted upper

[jordanhooper73]

Any update on this?

[nebuk89]

Hey all, sorry we haven't responded! No update on this one yet :( cc @stephanierifai as an FYI

[dmdhrumilmistry]

are there any updates?

[stephanierifai]

Hi all, sorry still no updates here yet :( Thanks for checking in

[sinaqahremani]

Hi, still no updates here yet!

[sahlekebe]

Hi, any updates... ?

[odupuy]

2022 is knocking at our door and still no traction on this.

[logm1lo]

Hi, any updates....??

[sinaqahremani]

We get the "still any updates?" message all the time and still no updates!

[logm1lo]

Fine....... I will do this myself

[Chetan177]

First month of 2022 is about to end still no update !!

[Chetan177]

I have tried this and moved the ext4 volume to a secondary drive and Docker working fine

wsl  --shutdown
mkdir D:\Docker\wsl\data\
wsl --export docker-desktop-data "D:\Docker\wsl\data\docker-desktop-data.tar"
wsl --unregister docker-desktop-data
wsl --import docker-desktop-data "D:\Docker\wsl\data" "D:\Docker\wsl\data\docker-desktop-data.tar" --version 2

Make sure you only use this on the fresh installation only. If you have docker containers and images it throws an OutOfMemory error

Link

[gallargit]

I was able to achieve this by manually creating symlinks. Here's my setup, everything goes into "D:\Program Files\Docker". Run this before installing Docker Desktop

md "D:\Program Files\Docker\ProgramDataDocker"
md "D:\Program Files\Docker\ProgramDataDockerDesktop"
md "D:\Program Files\Docker\ProgramFiles"
md "D:\Program Files\Docker\RoamingDockerDesktop"
md "D:\Program Files\Docker\RoamingDocker"
md "D:\Program Files\Docker\AppDataDocker"

mklink /j "C:\ProgramData\Docker" "D:\Program Files\Docker\ProgramDataDocker"
mklink /j "C:\ProgramData\DockerDesktop" "D:\Program Files\Docker\ProgramDataDockerDesktop"
mklink /j "C:\Program Files\Docker" "D:\Program Files\Docker\ProgramFiles"
mklink /j "C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Docker Desktop" "D:\Program Files\Docker\RoamingDockerDesktop"
mklink /j "C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Docker" "D:\Program Files\Docker\RoamingDocker"
mklink /j "C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Docker" "D:\Program Files\Docker\AppDataDocker"

You'll need to replace "Administrator" with your Windows user name and "D:\Program Files\Docker" with whatever your desired destination folder is.

[sinaqahremani]

I was able to achieve this by manually creating symlinks. Here's my setup, everything goes into "D:\Program Files\Docker". Run this before installing Docker Desktop

md "D:\Program Files\Docker\ProgramDataDocker"
md "D:\Program Files\Docker\ProgramDataDockerDesktop"
md "D:\Program Files\Docker\ProgramFiles"
md "D:\Program Files\Docker\RoamingDockerDesktop"
md "D:\Program Files\Docker\RoamingDocker"
md "D:\Program Files\Docker\AppDataDocker"

mklink /j "C:\ProgramData\Docker" "D:\Program Files\Docker\ProgramDataDocker"
mklink /j "C:\ProgramData\DockerDesktop" "D:\Program Files\Docker\ProgramDataDockerDesktop"
mklink /j "C:\Program Files\Docker" "D:\Program Files\Docker\ProgramFiles"
mklink /j "C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Docker Desktop" "D:\Program Files\Docker\RoamingDockerDesktop"
mklink /j "C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Docker" "D:\Program Files\Docker\RoamingDocker"
mklink /j "C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Docker" "D:\Program Files\Docker\AppDataDocker"

You'll need to replace "Administrator" with your Windows user name and "D:\Program Files\Docker" with whatever your desired destination folder is.

I appreciate your solution and consider it as a good one for my challenge, but I think such an application in this scale of usability must provide this feature.

[stephanierifai]

Thanks all for your continued input! No updates yet, but going to look a bit more into it with the team.

[mouhsineelachbi]

Actually this feature is really demanded, It shows user that they have choices about where they can put file of installed software

[CatalinSerafimescu]

Looks like Microsoft "resolved" it:

Unhandled Exception: System.Exception: Path contains symlink: C:\ProgramData\DockerDesktop at Docker.Core.PermissionUtils.CheckPath(String path, Boolean allowDockerAppData) in C:\workspaces\PR-17739\src\github.com\docker\pinata\win\src\Docker.Core\PermissionUtils.cs:line 274 at Docker.Core.PermissionUtils.CheckACLBeforeRestrictAndCheckSymlink(ILogger logger, String path) in C:\workspaces\PR-17739\src\github.com\docker\pinata\win\src\Docker.Core\PermissionUtils.cs:line 93

[mouhsineelachbi]

Looks like Microsoft "resolved" it:

Unhandled Exception: System.Exception: Path contains symlink: C:\ProgramData\DockerDesktop at Docker.Core.PermissionUtils.CheckPath(String path, Boolean allowDockerAppData) in C:\workspaces\PR-17739\src\github.com\docker\pinata\win\src\Docker.Core\PermissionUtils.cs:line 274 at Docker.Core.PermissionUtils.CheckACLBeforeRestrictAndCheckSymlink(ILogger logger, String path) in C:\workspaces\PR-17739\src\github.com\docker\pinata\win\src\Docker.Core\PermissionUtils.cs:line 93

How they solve It ?

[CatalinSerafimescu]

It explicitly checks for symlinks and blocks the installation. @gallargit 's solution doesn't work anymore. Though one can install it, then move the folders. For me it needed 3 tries until it started eventually (it took a while to initialize)

[mouhsineelachbi]

It explicitly checks for symlinks and blocks the installation. @gallargit 's solution doesn't work anymore. Though one can install it, then move the folders. For me it needed 3 tries until it started eventually (it took a while to initialize)

Fool me, I though they really solved it

[usama-saeed831]

This solution help me in 2022 https://blog.codetitans.pl/post/howto-docker-over-wsl2-location/

[wotupfoo]

Yes!!!!! It's 2022 and I should be able to choose my disk as many of us have a mix of SSD and Hard Disk.

[dmdhrumilmistry]

Yes!!!!! It's 2022 and I should be able to choose my disk as many of us have a mix of SSD and Hard Disk.

Yepp, I don't prefer installing software on my ssd due to lack of storage. We would appreciate if docker team would provide us feature to install docker on drive of our choice.

[jadynekena]

Can't believe they haven't released this feature yet. +1

[sinaqahremani]

@jadynekena I can't believe it, too. More than two years ago, @MoacirSchmidt opened this issue.

[luucaslfs]

no one working on this already?

[thelollipopka]

Hi, we need this feature!