[Docker Desktop] Cannot change default installation drive on Windows? #94
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stephen-turner
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Why cannot we chose the install folder like in any other application?
We are in 2021. Please just give us the choice of where to install. If you read this, you maybe interested in this band aid solution |
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Same issue over here.. |
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@crimunit try the band aid solution that I posted upper |
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Any update on this? |
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Hey all, sorry we haven't responded! No update on this one yet :( cc @stephanierifai as an FYI |
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are there any updates? |
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Hi all, sorry still no updates here yet :( Thanks for checking in |
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Hi, |
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Hi, |
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2022 is knocking at our door and still no traction on this. |
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Hi, |
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We get the "still any updates?" message all the time and still no updates! |
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Fine....... |
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First month of 2022 is about to end still no update !! |
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I have tried this and moved the ext4 volume to a secondary drive and Docker working fine Make sure you only use this on the fresh installation only. |
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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 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. |
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Thanks all for your continued input! No updates yet, but going to look a bit more into it with the team. |
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Actually this feature is really demanded, It shows user that they have choices about where they can put file of installed software |
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Looks like Microsoft "resolved" it: Unhandled Exception: System.Exception: Path contains symlink: C:\ProgramData\DockerDesktop |
How they solve It ? |
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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 |
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This solution help me in 2022 |
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@charithjayasanka you may want to quote the path: |
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This is no good. We need a way to store all the container and image data in another drive, not just docker install files |
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For being able to configure the location of the data, there is a separate issue, see e.g. my comment there. |
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Closing this due to the new installer flag used to change the installation location. For changing where Docker Desktop stores it's data please follow progress on the following roadmap item here |
...are you serious? This still doesnt work.
Does NOT work! PS D:\> .\Docker.exe install --installation-dir=D:\Docker
PS D:\> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------->8
Version: 4.17.0 (99724)
Sha1:
Started on: 2023/03/17 16:53:28.438
Resources: D:\resources
OS: Windows 10 Pro
Edition: Professional
Id: 2009
Build: 19045
BuildLabName: 19041.1.amd64fre.vb_release.191206-1406
File: C:\ProgramData\DockerDesktop\install-log-admin.txt
CommandLine: "D:\Docker.exe" install --installation-dir=D:\Docker
You can send feedback, including this log file, at https://github.com/docker/for-win/issues
[2023-03-17T16:53:28.635419400Z][ManifestAndExistingInstallationLoader][I] Install path is D:\Docker. Loading manifest first
[2023-03-17T16:53:28.644420200Z][ManifestAndExistingInstallationLoader][I] No manifest found, returning no existing install
[2023-03-17T16:53:28.644420200Z][Installer][I] No installation found
[2023-03-17T16:53:28.872417900Z][InstallWorkflow][I] Cancel pending background download
[2023-03-17T16:53:28.875418500Z][BackgroundTransfer][I] Cancel current background transfer job
[2023-03-17T16:53:28.886421200Z][InstallWorkflow][I] Using package: res:DockerDesktop
[2023-03-17T16:53:28.887419200Z][InstallWorkflow][I] Downloading
[2023-03-17T16:53:29.074420900Z][InstallWorkflow][E] Installation failed System.Exception: Download failed: Diskte yeterli yer yok.this tries to download to C DRIVE. year is 2023, and I cannot pick where I can install the software, well done, bravo, woohoo! |
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Someone please re-open this issue. The issue he leads to #239 is completely unrelated with INITIAL installation of Docker Desktop. NOT Docker Data. DOCKER DESKTOP. |
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Why it is difficult to set the desired path for docker after 3 years? using
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Hi, apologies that there continues to be some difficulty with changing the default installation drive. I've made a note of the various issues and we're going to look at these in planning early next week. |
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Just to provide a bit more "current" info, since much of what I see is 5-7 years old.
I am using WSL2 (most recent, installed from MS Store) to do cross-compilation on Windows for a custom Yocto-based distribution that requires Docker. So I am attempting to install Docker Desktop on my Windows system rather than a Linux Docker Desktop inside a WSL2 Distro. This is because much (most) of the application container development will be done using Windows, so I want to understand the process and be able to help get developers up-and-running. You can't give them a development container if you can't get the environment working... For my Linux distros, they also installed "by default" on the C: drive under AppData -- but I was able to successfully move them to my external development drive (8TB) ... this simply required wsl --shutdown, move the .vhdx files to the desired location, and then (1) edit the base path in the registry /or/ (2) use wsl --import-in-place ... I have done it both ways and had no issues. I have also modified the .vhdx descriptor, and used fdisk inside the distro, to extend the storage space available inside the WSL2 environment (20GB -> 128GB to support Yocto builds) -- again, with no issues. After having installed Docker Desktop 4.19.0 (106363) once, and finding it placed 3GB of program and another 2GB of Linux distros and sundry on my C drive, I attempted the same process to move the Docker distros. It worked for one (wsl\data), but not the other (wsl\distro); every time I restarted Docker it would recreate the wsl\distro .vhdx on the C drive under AppData\Local in addition to some stuff under ProgramData. And like others have mentioned, I could not change the path for the "image" under Settings -> Resources, so it's pretty obvious there must be some "magic strings" lurking and/or no accounting for moving across volumes rather than just renaming within one. Doing some research, I was initially "excited" to see the --installation-dir option for installing. So I uninstalled, and re-installed using that method. Unfortunately, it didn't work ... in fact, it failed rather spectacularly. I am completely baffled why anyone would distribute a system in 2023 without the ability for the user to completely control where everything is stored. Not just the program and supporting infrastructure, not just the output data --- everything. I get it: this was originally created under Linux, and then "ported and adapted" to Windows -- but that only leaves me more confused, because most Linux users/admins are positively rabid about controlling their systems, mounting separate drives for large databases, etc. Yet the equivalent under Windows -- junction points -- has apparently been explicitly disabled! The very technique any Linux sysad would immediately use (graft a new drive onto the filesystem at the point of use) has been disallowed for Windows installs! I have no idea how the Docker devs work; maybe like one of my other vendors they have access to systems with 32 cores and 64GB of memory, with effectively infinite storage on their C: drive ... or maybe they work totally in Linux and have zero experience with Windows. Regardless, many devs who need to use Docker are working on Windows machines, with controlled resources, and can't afford to run the Docker system inside a Linux VM or WSL2 distro. Many companies "lock down" the C drive, or at least provide drives just large enough to boot and then expect all tools and data to be on an external drive. I am heartened to see this issue has been re-opened, with a recognition that the initial solution didn't work. I'm not sure why this issue has remained open for 5+ years -- perhaps the Windows dev community is simply too small? -- but we need a real, robust, solution built into the installer, not requiring people to run hither and yon attempting to patch together a Chucky-doll of a solution that works for some but not others. Thanks, and Best Regards, |
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2023 cannot choose where i install my wsl docker disk... it's so sad 😢 |
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Thank you for your patience on this. We had fixed the issue with changing the installation drive. This will be included in the next Docker Desktop release, due at the end of this month. |
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Thanks Mihaela! #464 is also solved, but it is closed anyways. |
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Hi guys, I recently trying to download DockerDesktop 4.21.1 and I think i successfully installed Docker to different path. By using the cmd, I changed the current directory to the directory that the installed DockerInstaller.exe file is in, then I typed this into the cmd: start /w "" "Docker Desktop Installer.exe" install --installation-dir=E:\Other_tool\VSCode\Downloaded-package-local\Docker And it started to download the packages to the mentioned path above. I hope this helps somehow to you guys |
My disk C is FULL space. |
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Hi @CodePlayer, as per comment above from @MihaelaStoica , this was resolved in Docker Desktop v4.20 (released end of May). Let us know if any issues once you've tried on a version of Docker Desktop >= v4.20. Cheers, Chris |
I believe that the installation directory is irrelevant when considering disk space usage. The primary space consumption in Docker Desktop is attributed to image storage, which is downloaded by default to %ProgramData%\Docker and it cannot be changed anywhere. This issue becomes even worse when dealing with windows images. |
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Both the installation and the data directories can be changed at install time, see the installer flags here. This issue can be closed. |
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An option for anyone using the interactive installation would be helpful too. |
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2024 and we're still stuck with an installer from 1995. Hello people from 2027! I'm sure you'll be here when the time comes. |
I ceased trying to use Docker Desktop. Last time I installed it (on a different drive), still eat 10GB from my system drive. |
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C disk capacity is small because of this problem into storage anxiety |
Why should we have to use command-line flags? Why not simply include the option to choose a data directory in the graphical installer like many other applications do? |
This solution didn't worked for me @gallargit . I have created the symlinks following your commands like :
I have tried to run Docker Installer as Administrator but still didn't worked and it displayed the same issue again. |
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Well, I haven't used Docker for a while and it seems my original solution does not work anymore as Docker itself has blocked it. It's a real shame they did that. What I would do is either get a new C: drive or move the entire C:\ProgramData folder to a different drive, as explained here: Another workaround that might work is moving individual virtual machine folders immediately after they are created, while their size is still small, using the same symlink technique. Or there's always the option of using an old Docker Desktop version and do not update it, ever 😄 |
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I ceased to use Docker Desktop after its Scout almost left me without space on system drive. I deactivated it, and I was still using a different drive for data, but it eat space on system drive at each command. So I uninstalled. |
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Actually, the line I used is: |
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Thanks @elvirag for the command! Somehow, changing this in the Docker options in GUI was not possible after the installation for me. |
and others
Cannot change default installation drive on Windows?
Is that right? I refuse to believe!
Seizing the opportunity: Congratulations for your excellent product!
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