Is changing the InstallDirectory in the Windows Registry safe?

Pete De Bonte · 2024-11-29T23:53:06+00:00

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I'm running the desktop app on Windows 10. Today I moved my installation to an SSD simply by:

⒈ Moving the folder from %LOCALAPPDATA% to the SSD

⒉ Updating, with the Registry Editor, the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Verbum\InstallDirectory to point to the path on the SSD

⒊ Updating the Start Menu shortcut to the same.

The only problem I've found so far was transient: the Text Comparison tab that I had open was nonfunctional and displayed a message that there was unexpected error; however, that was resolved by simply closing it and then "Reopen closed tab" and/or opening a new one. I haven't noticed any problems in any other previously open tabs.

I thought to post this because I my search results didn't find it documented elsewhere and, vs. the options that I skimmed on the wiki, e.g. it seems cleaner than directory junctions and less drastic than a complete reinstall.

Does anyone know of any downsides to this method? If not, how about promoting it in the wiki?

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Accepted answers

Dave Hooton

@Pete De Bonte
Does anyone know of any downsides to this method? If not, how about promoting it in the wiki?

There are a number of registry keys that contain the installation path:

Firewall Rules (numerous)
Executable Path for Indexer
Default Icon and Shell Open Command (e.g. instances that affect opening Logos from external links)
SmartTag location
Uninstall information (not checked)

I will not promote this method in the wiki. Directory Junctions (also not supported by Faithlife) have an explicit redirection capability for any application path.

Method 2 allows you to move the install location without downloading and indexing.

All comments

Dave Hooton

@Pete De Bonte
Does anyone know of any downsides to this method? If not, how about promoting it in the wiki?

There are a number of registry keys that contain the installation path:

Firewall Rules (numerous)
Executable Path for Indexer
Default Icon and Shell Open Command (e.g. instances that affect opening Logos from external links)
SmartTag location
Uninstall information (not checked)

I will not promote this method in the wiki. Directory Junctions (also not supported by Faithlife) have an explicit redirection capability for any application path.

Method 2 allows you to move the install location without downloading and indexing.

Pete De Bonte

Thanks for your insights, Dave! : )
I investigated your 5 concerns, mostly with v38.0.578 (updated near the start of my testing)

Firewall Rules: I didn't find a relevant entry in Windows Defender Firewall's "Allowed apps" list.
Executable Path for Indexer: The Indexer is running from the SSD, although I do now have a second entry in Windows Settings' "Select which icons appear on the taskbar" — could be a little confusing:
- the SSD entry has the "… Indexer" name
- the old/now-nonexistant one is labeled "…Indexer.exe" — I wonder if it will eventually go away *shrug*
opening Logos from external links: In Chrome, "logosres:esv;ref=BibleESV.Is45.22" (suggested in this Logos "Help Center" article) opened the app from the SSD.
SmartTag location: I haven't used SmartTags before, but "Note that Smart Tags are deprecated by Microsoft and unsupported by Faithlife."
Uninstall information:
- I do see that the Installer subdir has been recreated in its original path on the HDD, with a recent installer.
- but those files are relatively small/few, so I simply moved the rest of those files back to the HDD

So it still seems functional for me, but thanks for the items to check. : )

I will not promote this method in the wiki.

Well, that seems understandable, as I can imagine feeling responsible for any problems if you did promote it.

Dave Hooton

@Pete De Bonte
I investigated your 5 concerns

My concerns are not alleviated even if "a recent installer" may have corrected some things e.g. the Logos\Install subdir (incl. \Installers ) is always kept on the System drive C:. Are you stating that the registry has two different paths for the Indexer?

There are some Firewall rules in both the Registry and Firewall (as Logos Bible Software).

Pete De Bonte

My concerns are not alleviated even if "a recent installer" may have corrected some things…

I'm not trying to refute you, e.g. did you see my "Well, that seems understandable…" sentence? I'm only conveying my own experience.

Are you stating that the registry has two different paths for the Indexer?

No, not the registry, but Start menu> ⚙ Settings, paste "Select which icons appear on the taskbar" into the "Find a setting" box. It's the list of "notification area" (aka "tray") icons. I looked again while writing this: that problem did "go away" (as I guessed it might with my previous post). I guess that settings page is cleared (maybe on on every reboot?) and repopulated as icons (re)appear in the taskbar's notification area.