Wed May 28, 2025 2:40 am
While the main Resolve application folder can be placed on drive other than the C: drive, there are also several other folders that can ONLY go on the C: drive. So there has to be adequate C: drive space for the install.
Following is a bit of information about installing Resolve for Windows on a drive other than the C: drive:
Installing Resolve on a non-C: (System) Drive of a Windows PC - Resolve 20
When you do a fresh/first time install of Resolve on a Windows system, it normally all goes on the C: drive.
But you have the option during the install process to select a different drive to install on. You might want to do this if the C: drive on the system has limited free space.
So let's say you have an E: drive that you want Resolve installed on.
During the initial parts of the Resolve install process, it installs the Control Panels app and BRAW components before you get the option of where to put the Resolve app. So all those things go on the C: drive.
After it installs the Control Panel app and BRAW components, you get the option to select where the Resolve app gets installed.
So in this example, select the E: drive. Ideally, you should create a new folder on the E: drive to install into, like Resolve or something like that. Otherwise, all the various Resolve folders will be sitting on the root level of the E: drive. This doesn't cause a problem for Resolve, but makes it messy to manage in the future.
After the Resolve install process completes, launch Resolve. It will run the onboarding app and show you a What's New screen.
After reading the What's New screen, select Continue. Then you get the option to do a Quick Setup. Select Quick Setup.
As part of the Quick Setup process, it will ask you to select a Project Media Location. By default, it will have C:\Users\User_name\Videos selected (where User_name is the user name logged into the Windows system).
All the cache and stills and project backups will by default get saved to this location. So if your goal is to not use up C: drive space, it's very important that you select another drive for the Project Media Location. In this example, we'll select the E: drive. And again, you should make a new folder for these things, as several folders will get created in this location. You can call the new folder Videos as in the default above, or call it anything you like. Just best not select the E:\ root folder.
With Resolve 20 Studio, doing all the above puts about 7 GB of stuff on the C: drive. That includes the Control Panel and BRAW components, plus some Resolve folders that have to live on the C: drive. Those would be:
C:\ProgramData\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve
C:\Users\User_name\AppData\Roaming\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve (where User_name is the name of the user logged into the Windows system)
These folders MUST be on the C: drive. They cannot be moved.
Finally, the default Local Database Project Library (where the Resolve projects get stored) gets created on the C: drive. There is no way to avoid that. So if your goal is not to use C: drive space, then you'll need to make a NEW Local Project Library, in this example, on the E: drive.
On the Resolve Project Manager page, with the Project Libraries exposed, select the Add Project Library button at the bottom. This will open an "Add Project Library" window with a Create and Connect option at the top. Create will be selected, and that's what you want.
Give the new Project Library a Name. Something like Resolve 20 Projects, or whatever you want to call it.
Then select the Browse button in the Location area. That will open a File Explorer window. For this example, select the E: drive then select the Add Folder button in the File Explorer window, and add a new folder for the project library. You can use whatever name you like, but I normally use version then _db. So in this example: v20_db. Then select the Select Folder button. Now that folder should be shown in the Location area of the Add Project Library window. Now select Create. After several seconds, this new Project Library should appear in the Project Library list, and it should be selected.
Now you can create a new project to get started using Resolve. Each time you launch Resolve, it will have the previously used Project Library selected. Which should be the one you just created. Don't use the Local Database project library if you don't want project stuff added to the C: drive. You COULD right click the Local Database project library and select Remove, and that will disconnect it and remove it from the Project Library list. But it does not delete the project library. You can always connect to it again in the future if you needed to.
We would STRONGLY advise NOT to use an externally connected drive for the above. Especially USB connected drives. All the critical Resolve user files will be on that drive. If anything interrupts the drive connection, Resolve is going to crash, and possibly corrupt the project you are working on when it happens. And possibly even other projects and Resolve config files. Using an INTERNAL drive is strongly suggested!
Dwaine Maggart
Blackmagic Design DaVinci Support
