Backup your your registry, Backup your system partition, then go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion change the value of ProgramFilesDir (x86) to D:\programfiles(x86) and the value of CommonFilesDir (x86) to D:\programfiles(x86)\CommonFiles or whatever path you like. If you already installed something in C:\programfiles(x86), then search the Registry for C:\programfiles(x86) and programfiles(x86) (some software uses C?\programfiles(x86)) and change the values according to your wishes. Complex Installation (f.e. antirus or firewall) could get messy using this procedure, so its best to uninstall these and then do a reinstall. there is no such thing as windows recognizing programs. it is nothing without you